Both Uses of
pirouette
in
The Count of Monte Cristo
- Owing to the very judicious plan of dividing the two acts of the opera with a ballet, the pauses between the performances are very short, the singers in the opera having time to repose themselves and change their costume, when necessary, while the dancers are executing their pirouettes and exhibiting their graceful steps.†
Chpt 33-34 *
- Mesdemoiselles Noblet, Julie, and Leroux executed the customary pirouettes; Robert duly challenged the Prince of Granada; and the royal father of the princess Isabella, taking his daughter by the hand, swept round the stage with majestic strides, the better to display the rich folds of his velvet robe and mantle.†
Chpt 53-54
Definition:
-
(pirouette) a spin of the body on one foot -- on the toes for a ballet dancer or on the ball of the foot more generally
or:
metaphorically: to spin or reverse a course of action