What does “Pas de basque” mean in ballet?
( ; 'step of the Basques .') Halfway between a step and a leap, taken on the floor ( glissé ) or with a jump ( sauté ); it can be done moving toward the front or toward the back. This step can also be found in Scottish highland dance . Starting in fifth position croisé , a dancer executes a plié while brushing the downstage leg out to tendu front. The downstage leg does a demi rond de jambe to the opposite corner while the body turns to face that corner. Weight is quickly transferred to that brushed leg, now upstage, allowing the dancer to pass the newly downstage leg through first position via a chassé passé to fourth devant, ending croisé the new corner, and finishing by bringing the upstage leg in to close fifth.
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Definition adapted from Glossary of ballet on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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