pirouette

noun

1. A whirling or turning on the toes in dancing, primarily in ballet.

   “[…]like what?—like the most beautiful pirouette by [Marie] Taglioni, let us say.”

   “But the Emperor’s friend covered himself with glory, for he danced everything, whether he knew it or not, and introduced impromptu pirouettes when the figures bewildered him..”

   “"Serious as cognitohazard." Lillihammer danced down the corridor towards them, doing little pirouettes and leaping from toe to toe. "Reuben Wirth no longer exists. Gonna have to get Forsythe to do that brain scan to make sure I'm clean, but otherwise yeah. Poof."”

   “There is no west, the sun doesn't rise / No, the sun never rests / As the Earth leans into its forever pirouette”

2. The whirling about of a horse.
3. A wooden mouthpiece assembly or lip rest used in some European double-reed instruments.

verb

1. (intransitive)To perform a pirouette; to whirl on the toes, like a dancer.

   “The way in which they dance; the height to which they spring; the impossible and inhuman extent to which they pirouette; […].”

   “At last they paused, and a beautiful young woman sprang out of the ranks and began to pirouette in front of us with a grace and vigour which would have put most ballet girls to shame.”

   “I came down like a sack of coals. The pulse was rapid, the blood pressure high, and for awhile the Blue Room pirouetted about me like an adagio dancer.”