In ballet, a pas de deux (steps of two in French, 双人舞) is a duet in which two ballet dancers perform the dance together. Among the most famous pas de deux are the following:
The Black Swan (黑天鵝) Pas de deux from the third scene of Swan Lake
The Bluebird (青鳥) Pas de deux from the third act of Sleeping Beauty
Le Corsaire (海盗) pas de deux
Don Quixote (唐吉柯德) Grand Pas de deux
The Nutcracker (胡桃嵌) Pas de deux
The Flower Festival (花之慶典) at Genzano Pas de deux
Let's select the last one to demonstrate the form, grace & its rich content of ballet dancing, a unique art form that combines music & the power of body movement with grace & endurance. The Flower Festival in Genzano is a one-act ballet by Danish choreographer and ballet master August Bournonville (1805–1879). Bournonville created the work for Denmark's Royal Ballet in 1858 on the basis of the general enthusiasm among Danes for Italy. The libretto is taken from a tale found in Impressions de Voyage by Alexander Dumas and tells the story of two real-life lovers, Rosa and Paolo. It is considered one of Bournonville's most perfect compositions, a charming love duet between two young people where the steps express both their joy and their teasing playfulness. It is often performed at ballet galas to showcase the Bournonville style.
A typical Pas de deux usually consists of an entree (開場), adagio (慢舞), two variations (獨舞,one for each dancer) and a coda (結尾).
The entree is typically a short number which serves as an introduction for the Pas de deux. Adagio literally means 'at ease'. In song, Adagio means "slowly", and in ballet it means slow movement. This Adagio is typically the outward movement of the Grand Pas where the female dancer is partnered by the lead male dancer or one or more suitors. Variation in ballet is a solo dance. As with an Aria in opera, which allows the singer to demonstrate his or her interpretive skills, the variation in ballet has the same function. As in music, a Coda is a passage which brings a movement or a separate piece to a conclusion. In ballet, the coda is usually the "Finale", a set of dances and brings almost all the dancers onto the stage.
Rosa and Paolo in the Flower Festival in Genzano are in their twenties. They play and tantalize, but are throughout tempered by the sweetness of falling in love. The pas de deux opens with an episode for solo violin, succeeded by a polka-like section. More sensual tones are struck in the adagio, which is followed by a swinging waltz (first male solo). The series of relatively short, tuneful passages continues and the pas de deux concludes with a characteristic and riveting coda.
The names of most ballet positions & steps are in French. This usually causes some difficulty for non-French people. However, with the video clip with timeline, we can correlate the name with its actual step & movement that makes the whole process educational. In watching video clip, it is best to open two windows - one for video & one for the text of description. This video clip can be found in the following link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjWgab_PFBQ
0-0.18: Prelude, opens with an episode for solo violin.
0.19-0.45: A young couple enter from upstage. They are holding hands and they look around as if inspecting the landscape (0.21-0.27). They stop in the middle of the stage (0.30), the young man invites the girl to dance & the girl cheerfully agrees (0.33-0.37).
0.46-1.10: Unlike the traditional structure of a classical pas de deux, which begins directly with the adagio, we here have a short preamble (介绍) introducing the couple: a few cabriole-leaps diagonally (0.51-0.52 & 0.57-0.58) across the stage demonstrate her graceful lightness, as does a series of swift turns on pointe resolved in a soft landing in an attitude (1.00-1.10).
1.11-1.37: The young man, to the musical repetition of the theme, responds with some characteristic Bournonville-steps: forward spring with open arms, embracing the audience as it were grand jete en avant (1.12-1.27), small circles of the leg ronds de jambe (1.28-1.34) before concluding with a spirited series of pirouettes (1.34-1.36).
1.38-3.59: This is the adagio, in which the two dance together. He invites her again to dance (1.40-1.42) and they perform a promenade. He stands in attitude whilst she is leading him round, up on her nimble toes (1.45-2.00). She is a little shy (2.01), whereas he is chivalrous and holds her waist tenderly as she slowly stretches her body in an arabesque (2.01-2.09) inclining downwards towards the floor (2.10-2.15). She then reverse the arabesque to the up position (2.16-2.20). They walk forward, hand in hand & turn around (2.21-2.28). At 2.39, she finds he is running away. He kneels (2.45) & invites her but she turns away (2.45-2.47). She decides to come back (2.48-2.51) and she executes an elevated attitude, supporting herself on his hand. She turns this position a half figure and leans backwards, still supported by his hands. They run from one another, play and come together again (3.00-3.10). They spar mischievously with their eyes as they cross the stage (3.11-3.20). She goes on pointe, supporting herself on his shoulders as she stands in attitude (3.20-3.27). He looks at her and she teasingly averts her eyes (3.27-3.42). They repeat the game until the adagio concludes with a graceful position she in an arabesque while he holds her hands from behind (3.42-3.59).
4.00-4.41: This is the first male solo. The young man demonstrates his vigour and suppleness in a series of elegant step combinations. He soars in attitude-jumps, turning in the air, his feet shifting rapidly in nimble sauts de basque (4.17-4.29), before concluding with a series of pirouettes (4.37-4.42) with upright position.
4.46-5.50: The young woman begins the first female solo in hovering flight across the stage with a series of cabriole steps (4.48-5.00) repeated three times in varying directions. This step - the legs are thrown forward, beating together in the air was one of Bournonvilles favourite steps as it gave a sensation of weightless hovering, from which his sylphs also derived benefit. Downstage, the young woman now executes elegant ronds de jambe (4.57-5.10), one hand holding out her dress, and she then plays the flirt with steps pas de chat (貓步) in which her feet seem to disappear under her dress (5.11 & 5.17,). She stands on pointe in an arabesque and suddenly turns her body rapidly forward and back (5.15 & 5.21), a subtle elegance of balance. She concludes with a series of fast little steps pas de bourre (5.31-5.42) before circling the stage in expansive leaps (5.43-5.48).
5:50-6:34 The young man is now ready for the second male solo, in which he impresses with three double-spins in the air (two clockwise & one counter-clockwise), soaring cabriole-leaps (6.12-6.28) and searing pirouettes (6.28-6.34).
6.37-7.10: The young woman in the second female solo counters with big grand-jete leaps towards the audience (6.38-6.52). This solo is characterised by the lightness of nimble feet and the play with balance and shift of weight as she goes up on pointe on one foot and down again in a lively tempo (6.52-7.00). The solo ends with a series of hops in arabesque (looks like ostrich's turnaround step) , which are resolved in a spiral-pirouette (7.01-7.12).
7.14-8.12 The two come together in the coda. Their shyness has vanished. He takes her by the waist and whirls her round with typical arabesque pose (7.14-7.34). They take wing in parallel across the stage in grand-jet leaps (7.35-7.53). The epaulement of the forward movement (7.57-8.00) is elegant. He finally supports her in an attitude (8.09). The tempo, joy and celebration thus conclude in a graceful, harmonious unit.
