pas de deux

Fr. /pahdeu due"/, pl. pas de deux. Ballet.

1. a dance by two persons.

2. (in classical ballet) a set dance for a ballerina and a danseur noble, consisting typically of an entrée, an adagio, a variation for each dancer, and a coda.

[1755-65; < F: lit., step for two]

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(French; "step for two")

Dance for two performers.

A characteristic part of classical ballet, it includes an adagio, or slow dance, by the ballerina and her partner; solo variations by the male dancer and then the ballerina; and a coda, or conclusion, with both partners dancing together to display their virtuosity. Celebrated pas de deux occur in Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, and Giselle.

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▪ dance

      (French: “step for two”), dance for two performers. The strictly classical balletic pas de deux followed a fixed pattern: a supported adagio, a solo variation for the male dancer, a solo variation for the female dancer, and a coda in which both participants displayed their virtuosity.

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