Ballet dance with a woman and a man
Dancers performing
Paquita
grand pas de deux entree
In
ballet
, a
pas de deux
[p?
d(?)
dø]
(
French
, literally "step of two") is a dance
duet
in which two dancers, typically a male and a female, perform ballet steps together.
[1]
[2]
The
pas de deux
is characteristic of
classical ballet
and can be found in many well-known ballets, including
Sleeping Beauty
,
Swan Lake
, and
Giselle
.
[1]
It is most often performed by a male and a female (a
danseur
and a
ballerina
) though there are exceptions, such as in the film
White Nights
, in which a
pas de deux
is performed by
Mikhail Baryshnikov
and
Gregory Hines
.
[1]
Grand pas de deux
[
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]
The Nutcracker (2011)
grand pas de deux
A
grand pas de deux
is a structured
pas de deux
that typically has five parts, consisting of an
entree
(introduction), an
adagio
, two variations (a solo for each dancer), and a
coda
(conclusion).
[1]
It is effectively a suite of dances that share a common theme, often symbolic of a love story or the partnership inherent in love, with the dancers portraying expressions of affectionate feelings and thoughts between romantic partners.
[1]
[2]
[3]
It is often considered to be the
piece de resistance
and bravura highlight of a ballet and is usually performed by a leading pair of
principal dancers
.
[2]
Entree
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]
A
grand pas de deux
usually begins with an
entree
(literally "entrance"), which serves as a short prelude to and also unequivocally denotes the beginning of the dance suite. During the
entree
, the dancers first appear on the
stage
and, typically with great pageantry, acknowledge each other and position themselves near each other in preparation for the subsequent
adagio
. Depending on the
choreography
, the ballerina and danseur may enter the stage simultaneously or at different times.
Adagio
[
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]
The
adagio
or
adage
(meaning "slowly") part of a
grand pas de deux
features graceful and elaborate
partnering
by the dancing pair. In the
adagio
, the ballerina performs elegant, often slow and sustained movements while the danseur supports her. The danseur, in turn, strives to maintain a display of poise and seemingly effortless strength while providing support for the ballerina. The danseur may support the ballerina in a variety of common ways, including lifting her, holding and steadying her during
turns
, and offering a steady arm or hand for her to use as a "virtual
barre
" when she performs balancing feats that would be difficult or impossible without assistance.
[1]
[4]
Because of this support the adagio is sometimes called
supported adagio
.
Variations
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]
Upon completion of the
adagio
, the dancers separate and each dancer, in turn, takes center stage and performs a
variation
(a
solo dance
).
[2]
In general, the variations are intended to showcase spectacular,
acrobatic
leaps and turns, as well as the skills and athleticism of the individual dancers. The danseur's variation is usually performed first, followed by the ballerina's variation.
Coda
[
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]
The
coda
(literally "tail") is the concluding segment of a
grand pas de deux
. Typically, it is a recapitulation of earlier segments of the
grand pas de deux
, consisting of elements that are characteristic of the
adagio
, variations, or both, and ends during a grand musical climax.
[2]
History
[
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]
Elements of the
grand pas de deux
first appeared in the early 18th century as opening acts of operas and ballets in which a couple would perform identical dance steps, sometimes while holding hands. At that time and throughout the
Baroque
period, ballet partner dancing was evolving to show more dramatic content. For example, in
The Loves of Mars and Venus
ballet of 1717, Mars (the male dancer) strove to portray gallantry, respect, ardent love, and adoration, while Venus showed bashfulness, reciprocal love, and wishful looks.
[3]
In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, a romantic
pas de deux
emerged that involved closer physical contact, with ballerinas dancing on their toes in the hands of their partners. As the 19th century progressed, the form became a showcase for the skills of the increasingly sophisticated ballerina.
The ballets of the late 19th Century—particularly of those of
Marius Petipa
—introduced the concept of the
grand pas de deux
, which often served as the climax of a scene or an entire performance. This involved a consistent format of
entree
and
adagio
by a pair of leading male and female dancers, followed by virtuosic solos (first by the male and then the female) and a finale.
[3]
During the 20th century, the
grand pas de deux
became more integrated with the story of the ballet, with increasingly acrobatic content.
[3]
Notable
pas de deux
[
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]
Grand Pas de deux from
Don Quixote
See also
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]
References
[
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]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Bedinghaus, Treva.
"What is a pas de deux?"
. Retrieved
2014-03-11
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Greskovic, Robert.
Ballet 101: A Complete Guide to Learning and Loving the Ballet
. pp. 194?195.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Cohen, Selma Jean (2004).
International Encyclopedia of Dance
. Oxford University Press. pp. 105?108.
- ^
Kersley, Leo.
A Dictionary of Ballet Terms
.
External links
[
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]
Further reading
[
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]
- Richard Elis and Christine Du Boulay,
Partnering - The fundamentals of pas de deux
, Wyman and sons 1955
- Anton Dolin,
Pas de deux - The Art of Partnering
, Dover Publications 1969
- Charles R. Schroeder,
Adagio
, 1971 Regmar Publishing Co.
- Kenneth Laws and Cynthia Harvey,
Physics, Dance and the Pas de Deux
, Schirmer books 1994
- Nikolaij Serebrennikov, Marian Horosko,
Pas De Deux: A Textbook on Partnering
, University of Florida, 2000
- Suki Schorer,
On Balanchine Technique
,
Partnering
section, p. 383, Knopf 1999,
ISBN
0-679-45060-2
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