ailes de pigeon

ailes de pigeon (Fr., pigeon wings), also called pistolet. A particularly demanding ballet step which most famously occurs in the Blue Bird variation in Sleeping Beauty. The dancer throws the left leg up, springing off the right which rises to beat beneath the left calf. He changes legs and beats, then changes again in order to land on the right foot, with the left leg stretched out into the air. It is performed en avant and en arrière.