A pas de deux is a 'step of two',
it's two people dancing together
The classic structure of a pas de deux
will typically have the adagio, the main pas de deux
which happens before the two solos.
The beginning of Act II is opened by the Prince and the Sugar Plum
among the flowers in their kingdom of sweets.
You have no background story between us two
so we have to really use that beautiful music as a driving force
for the tender aspects of the Pas de deux,
the building moments, because there are a lot of moments
where the music becomes so grand.
For the man, his responsibility is partnering the woman.
He is there to make sure that the woman is on her leg,
that she's in the right place to do her steps
and to complement the movement that she's doing
and making the technical elements of the pas de deux work.
It shows everything, really. It's very exposing.
All of the little touches between one another
have to be very personal.
It always ends up being a language between the two people.
And it's not just about, 'Oh, did the big lift work?'
or 'Oh, did that turn work?'
It's actually about a lot of the movements in between
that you really have to pay attention to.
We have a period of time before our performance
where we work very intensely with our coaches
fine-tuning all of the little movements that we do.
Every year, we're going in closer on those fine details
of the pas de deux and the technicalities of it
and really bettering ourselves both as individuals and as a couple.
Our job is to go out there and make it look easy,
but I guess where that's really happened is our hard work in the studio beforehand.
That's how it happens. That's how you bring things to the stage.
Then, the woman leaves the stage and typically the man goes first.
So the man will finish the pas de deux,
stay on stage, go straight into his solo.
The guy's job, basically, is to get up there and do big jumps.
In The Nutcracker, for example, we have quite a short solo
but we're jumping from start to finish.
You've got to go out there and be the most elegant,
princely, majestic figure on the stage.
We've got a short amount of time to win the audience over
as a dancer, not just a partner.
For the women, it's a showcase of beautiful femininity
combined with utter strength and physical presence.
Something that showcases the woman at her absolute supreme.
The prime example, I would say, is The Nutcracker.
You have that quintessential ballet Christmas music
with the celeste and the steely footwork of the Sugar Plum Fairy
has to be so precise, that matches that music
whereas the upper body has to be very fluid.
Under the tutu, her legs are going to the max
and it's a big showcase of stamina, because
the pas de deux is very long,
our rest time, the woman's rest time
is very short between the pas de deux and our solo.
We have to stay up and light, and you know – the Sugar Plum Fairy
It's a showcase of technique
and female stamina.
You have to work your way up to it,
and that's what the studio time is for.
The coda is traditionally the showing off moment, basically,
so it's your time to go out there and just do your bit.
You've done the hard work,
you just want to perform and you want to do your best.
Like the ending fireworks, in a way.
It's the final push.
That's really what it is. It's the final push for you, and it's fun.
You have to know that you're going to finish it
leaving it all on the stage, I think.
Obviously you're pretty exhausted
but the music gives you such a rush that it carries you
and you can see it in your partner's face, as well
that you're nearing the moment that you've been working for.
And that carries you enormously
so that eye contact when you are in sync,
and when you're moving as one
and everything is coming together at the end.
Those are the most fun.
I think there are moments when you think,
'Oh my gosh, my leg,' you have no legs
You flip between the fatigue and the joy
Yeah and all of a sudden you get on stage
and you have way more in you than you knew you did.
The coda is our coda.
The Sugar Plum Fairy and the Prince.
So it's rounding up the pas de deux as a whole.
Exactly.
All of the diverts and all of the sweets in the Kingdom,
they all come together for the final exposé
of 'this is what we're about, this is what we've done.'
And then, at the very end of that,
is our super coda.
So we lasso everyone together,
we round it all up. Last push. Last bit of energy.
And literally everyone who's danced in the show is on stage at one time.
And that's how that ends.