Technical Tuesday Pas de Chat
Most young dancers know that pas de chat is a jump and the
term means “step of the cat”. The reason for the name is pretty obvious to
anyone who has owned or observed a cat. I have blogged about pas de chat before with
this hint: Ballet Secret #15m: A pas de chat is two passés.”
All jumps require dancers to spend most of their time in the air, and pas de chat is no
exception. The problems happen when students only lift their knees, and don’t
really jump. Instead, they must push from the feet, rolling beautifully through the feet which provides part of the
impetus and allows the dancer to achieve a good elevation – not to mention a
lovely position (two passés) in the air. In other words, the feet move the knees, not the other way
around.
Finally, the body weight is placed over the supporting leg,
which is the second foot that moves.
It is the essential “push” foot, which makes the movement really jump. Not
exactly intuitive, but it works.
From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:
Secret #15pp:
“Pas de chat is “step of the cat”.”
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