Flic-Flac is a classical ballet term meaning “a crack of a whip.” It describes a ballet dancer “flicking” a foot on the ground and around the standing leg, then another quick hit of the floor to arrive in a coupe position. A flic-flac can be done both en dedans and en dehors and is usually done with an en tournant, or turn.
Flic-flac has the dancer start with her standing leg in plie and the other out to à la seconde, then quickly bringing that leg in towards the standing leg, and to the back for en dehors, while “flicking” the floor into a coupe. The dancer then turns and flicks the foot around to the front after having hit the floor again. So, there are two “flicks” of the floor in a flic-flac: the flic and then the flac.
A flic-flac is practically never seen in any type of performance and is usually a combination done at barre to increase the dancer’s awareness and speed of their feet, legs and overall body.
