pas de deux. wikipedia.org

Our guide to ballet continues with this installment on what a pas is. It may sound like something slightly soapy and/or scandalous, but in fact it simply means "dance for two."

In classical ballet, it is usually danced by one man and one women and consists of the couple's entrance, an adagio(slow part) and a solo variation for each dancer, followed by a coda(finale).

Some of the most famous pas are the Black Swan pas from Swan Lake and the Bluebird pas from Sleeping Beauty.

You can find more links to my introductory ballet series here:

http://www.examiner.com/x-16499-Dayton-Ballet-Examiner~y2009m7d28-Ballet-101-Why-see-ballet

http://www.examiner.com/x-16499-Dayton-Ballet-Examiner~y2009m7d27-Ballet-in-Dayton-101-How-to-find-classes

http://www.examiner.com/x-16499-Dayton-Ballet-Examiner~y2009m7d9-Ballet-in-Dayton-101-Where-to-see-ballet