Which term is the long phrase for 'Half counterbeat and assembling step over darted, danced on the diagonal line'?

• A. En diagonale
• B. Glissade, assemblé
• C. Trois glissades changés et deux petits changments de pied
• D. Demi-countretemps et assemblé dessus élancé, danced en écarté en diagonale

Answer: (D)

In Cecchetti vocabulary, a long descriptive phrase for a movement is built from standard French terms that name each element and then specify how and where it’s performed. Half counterbeat is demi-countertemps and the assembling step is assemblé, so the essential portion is “demi-countertemps et assemblé.” The rest of the phrase tells you how it sits and where it’s done: “dessus élancé” indicates a lifted, extended line on top, and “danced en écarté en diagonale” places the movement in a stretched side position along the diagonal.

So the option that writes it as “Demi-countretemps et assemblé dessus élancé, danced en écarté en diagonale” captures all the described aspects—the exact steps plus the elevated line and the diagonal execution. Other options use different steps or omit the diagonal/position cues, so they don’t fit the description as precisely.