How to Dance Pas de Deux in Ballet

The pas de deux, French for "Step of Two," is a beautiful and passionate ballet technique. Pas de deux involves a couple, in which the male dancer generally performs as a support for the female dancer. Four main areas include the promenade, lifts, turns and jumps. To dance the pas de deux as the female dancer, follow these steps.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Pointe ballet shoes
• Padded mats

1. Stand on pointe and have your male partner hold onto your hips, waist or hands, while you promenade. There are a number of ways to promenade in pas de deux, such as walking and gliding, but you must stay on pointe the entire time.
2. Allow your partner to lift you off the ground in one of several ways. In a fish lift, the man lifts you up from an arabesque folding your lower leg up and swinging your back leg out to make a curve close to the ground. A presage involves the man picking you up in a similar position over his head.
3. Perform standing turns, such as a basic pirouette, with your partner's support. He stands behind you with his hands on your waist or hips as you pirouette. His support allows you to execute many more turns than you could do alone.
4. Execute different jumps with your partner. A basic pas de deux jump involves you leaping into your partner's arms as he lifts you high into the air. A more complicated jump involves you leaping into the air, doing a midair turn, after which your partner catches you.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't attempt a complicated jump unless you and your partner have experience doing so. Use padded mats beneath you to avoid serious injury.