Here we go. How to teach chassé in ballet is another one of those details that people can get very prickly about.
Are you clear in your teaching about the difference between a gallop and a chassé? Not everyone is and not everyone needs to be, but all of the teachers in your studio need to be using the same definitions and terminology.
The key question is: do you glide your leading foot away from your midline every time, or is a step into an open position okay with you? If you insist on the glide, then there is a clear difference in your teaching between chassé and gallop.
Do you insist that the jump lands in a demi-plié, or is landing in tendu en fondu acceptable as well? If landing in a fondu still qualifies as a chassé, you are getting closer to chassé and gallop being the same. But you could still have students slide their pointed foot along the ground from the fondu shape---it just wouldn't be as large a glide as if they had landed in a demi-plié.
If you are firmly a believer in landing in demi--plié and having students slide their whole foot away from their midline as they begin the next chassé, how do you handle chassé en tournant? When they are done slowly, the demi-plié approach works, but once the chassés en tournant speed up your dancers won't be able to get both heels on the ground every time.
There are beautifully trained dancers in the world who have been taught all of these variations. It's fine to have a preference. (I start with the glissé into the jump with my Beginning and Elementary Division dancers and introduce the gliding from an open shape in the Intermediate Division because it lends itself to a really beautiful tombé pas de bourrée to fourth as part of a pirouette combination.) In fact, it's good to have a preference so that you have a reason for why you do what you do.
While it isn't accurate to say there is only one way to correctly chassé, you should be clear about how it is taught---and when---at your studio. Students thrive with consistent information from all their teachers.
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