French For Dancers: Pas de Cheval
French For Dancers
Demystifying dance terminology and steps for dancers and dance-lovers!
Issue 31: Pas de Cheval
Bonjour! Welcome to French For Dancers
Parlez-Vous Ballet?
(Do you speak Ballet?)
PAS DE CHEVAL
(pa-duh-shuh-val)
Pas de Cheval means “step of the horse.”
Pas = Step
De = Of
Cheval = Horse
In ballet, the pas de cheval is a movement that resembles a horse pawing its hoof on the ground. It is a pretty movement of the working foot, that can be done in conjunction with other steps or on its own.
To begin, start in 3rd, or 5th position. Lift the working foot up to a cou-de-pied (wrapped or not) or coupé position, either in front or behind the ankle. Make a small développé of the leg (at dégagé height) with a slight upward arc to extend the leg out, straightening and finishing in a tendu position. The accent is out, but it most often closes back into 5th position.
This movement can be done to the front, side, or back, with the side ones usually closing in the opposite 5th from where they started. And, unlike its equine inspiration, pas de cheval is done turned out.
Word origin note: the French word chevalier means a knight (implying one who rides horses), from which we also get the words cavalry, chivalry, and cavalier. The role of the male partner in ballet is sometimes referred to as the Cavalier (as in the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier) – in reference to his courtly status, not his being a horse!
Savoir-Faire
(Know-How)
Student Tip:
The pas de cheval movement is a bit like a triangle or an upside-down D, moving from 5th to coupé, up to the top of the arc in the développé, to the tendu, and then making a flat line as the foot slides back to 5th.
Make sure you don’t sickle your foot, especially when taking a pas de cheval to the back: keep the heel forward and the toes back in a “winged” cou-de-pied position (not wrapped), with the knee facing side, not forward, or you will look like you’re digging a hole behind you!
Once you’ve mastered the pas de cheval basics at the barre, take it for a walk in the center. This small step adds a little flourish to a ballet walk (when called for) and can be seen as a transitional movement to a piqué or other step.
Teacher Tip:
Pas de Cheval is a great exercise for increasing foot strength and articulation, as well as turn-out.
Have the dancers try to feel the full stretch in their arches as they extend their legs, and before they touch down in the tendu. The leg does not wait to fully extend at the point of touching the ground, but should be fully extended in the air before gently landing in the tendu.
On the return part of the movement, the foot takes the fully stretched tendu position before lowering the ball of the foot, and then the heel, on its way back into 5th position, much as a tendu or dégagé does. A good exercise to strengthen the feet is to have students take an extra “ball-point” before closing 5th: from the tendu, lower part way to the ball of the foot and then return to a fully pointed foot, before lowering again and sliding into 5th.
À La Carte
(From the Menu)
Recommendations, reflections, and/or useful links
In honor of Valentine’s Day, enjoy the lively and lovely Cupid Variation from Don Quixote, featuring Bolshoi Prima Ballerina Evgenia Obraztsova.
Watch for her incredible lightness in her turns and jumps and gorgeous balances!
Merci!
(Thank you!)
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- Peggy