Moves well, has balance to start with and is at least somewhat athletic. (8)

I believe the answer is:

balletic

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'athletic' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are adjectives. Maybe there's a link between them I don't understand?

I cannot understand how the remainder of the clue works.

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(Other definitions for balletic that I've seen before include "Like Swan Lake" , "Artfully flexible" , "graceful" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Times.

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