Partnering: Questions and Answers

So, as you know, Rebecca King and I engaged in a virtual pas de deux earlier this week. In that occasion, we opened for questions from our readers, and you sure did ask. So much, that we will do two separate Questions and Answers-post, this being the first, and the other one coming up later this week on Tendus Under A Palm Tree. Can’t find your question answered? Don’t worry, it will be in the next post! So here goes:

Pas de Deux is best learned from the masters in the ballet-studio. This is me from school, learning some grip from my master, Ménich Gábor

Janet asked: I want to know how you balance your partner with one hand above your head, and why the ballerina doesn’t look sick when thrust face down suddenly

HL: To the more “extreme” lifts, most of the secret are lie in lots of practice. These things you see on stage, they don’t come instantly, they are a result of practice, practice and more practice. About the balance – My pas de deux teacher always told the girls to pretend they are a chunk of wood up there. The wood is hard, not going to move in any direction. Then, it’s easier to balance them. Maybe Rebecca knows something about this?

RK: That is great advice, holding your core (abdominal) are the most important for the woman. Your abdominals are at the center of your body and where the man generally has his grasp on you. This will help him greatly in those challenging overhead lifts. As far as not looking sick, the woman is usually so focused on what she is doing (how she can help her partner and so on) that she hardly even has a moment to think about how she is feeling. These sorts of things usually happen so fast that it seems like a blink of an eye to the dancers.  Never underestimate how many thoughts are going through dancers’ heads when you see them on stage!

HL: True. Also, this is a game. Not all movements feel as comfortable, but it’s our job to smile, and make them look like the easiest thing in the world!

“How do you hold on to a slick person in a leotard when you are both warm and sweaty? I would think that there might be a few slips, but I don’t remember seeing any. “

HL: I have never had problems “holding on” to my partner (why does this always sounds so inappropriate?), even if we get all sweaty. If her dress is really slippery, I have known some guys to crush a little rosin in their hands, like we usually do for our shoes, to increase the friction. It’s also important that the boy presses his hands together as much as gripping with his fingers – after all, it’s not potato-bags we are lifting, and if you squeeze to hard, it’s going to hurt the girl.RK: Yes, I would say for the most part boys like to use rosin on their hands.  Not too great for the costumes or the leotards!

Lorry wanted to know: “For both you and Rebecca, what is your favorite pas de deux?”

HL: However cliche, I like bedroom pas de deux’s! Both ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and ‘Manon’ has their bedroom scenes, and while quite different, they are both beautiful, and two of my absolute favorites. For more dramatic stuff (are there more dramatic pieces than R&J out there?!) I like the adagio from Spartacus, and the Black Swan pas (no, not the movie) from Swan Lake is fierce…

RK: I would say my favorite would be the Diamond’s Pas De Deux from George Balanchine’s “Jewels.”  The choreography goes perfectly with the music and looks as if it must feel so good to dance!  Of roles that I have performed, I really enjoyed dancing the role of an attendant in Balanchine’s “Bugaku.”  The corps of four couples have two short Pas De Deuxs danced in unison.  My partner was wonderful and willing, which made this an overall great experience.

Miami City Ballet-dancer Rebecca King and Peter Doll in Balanchine’s Divertimento No. 15 © Joe Gato

David asked: “Is it quite a bit of fun to kiss your partner in a pas de deux, if the choreography requires it?  Lots of practicing on the kissing?  The guy says, “We MUST get the kiss right even if we have to practice it all night.”  The girl says, “Yes.  For the sake of the performance.”  He he..

RK: I have not yet have to perform a kiss in choreography.  I imagine it would be a bit awkward.  I think the biggest thing is that a kiss is hardly rehearsed; it is usually avoided, replaced with a kiss on the cheek for the time-being.  So once onstage it may be the first time you did it!  (Which consequently probably creates exactly the mood the choreographer intended.)HL: I neither, have not been in a situation where I had to do a fiery kiss on-stage. But yes, a bit awkward, although, if you are in your role, it would be a perfectly normal thing. And no, I don’t think they practice the kiss in particular – most people know how to do it, and honestly, how you felt kissing is not the important thing, here..

“What do you do if you don’t like the person you are partnered with and how much influence do you have with partnering choices?”

HL: If there is an issue between me and any girl I’ll be partnering, I would try to solve it straight away – ‘bad vibes’ between the dancers is the worst! As we mentioned earlier, corps dancers don’t really get a say in who to partner, at least not where I’m from. The partnerships are based on height before anything else. You kind of take what you get, and get on with it RK: Exactly, corps dancers don’t usually get to choose their partners, so if there is friction, the company expects that you will both act professional and make it work. If that doesn’t seem to happen, it is important to try to confront the issue and talk it out. Fortunately I have not had this happen to me. Working together should be a pleasant experience no matter what!

The only way to do the more extreme lifts are by lots and lots of practice. This is me with Hungarian National Ballet-dancer Anna Krupp practicing a tilted overhead lift

“This one is for Henrik, from the guy perspective, since the boy has to do the lifting, what are your thoughts on ballerina weight issues? would you mention to a ballerina that you are partnering if she had one too many sugar plums? “

HL: Haha, Alastair Macaulay is going to burn for that line for a while! (In December, when reviewing a Nutcracker performance, dance critic Alastair Macaulay criticized one of the dancers for being overweight, saying that she had “one too many sugar plums”) It is a difficult topic. Like I mentioned earlier, one fact is, ballet has strict “rules” as to how a dancer should look. Like it or not, thats the way it is – it is expected by a professional ballerina. That said, who am I to draw the line? Also, technique matters a lot. Sometimes, you can make lifts way easier by improving the technique and dynamics of it.

But to finally answer your question, no, I probably wouldn’t comment on the girls weight. If she indeed had “a sugarplum too many”, I’m sure she would be perfectly aware of it, without me showing that I noticed. Also, it’s just straight out rude to call a girl fat RK: That’s right! Boys better be careful with those sorts of comments!  After all it is very easy to “accidentally” get an elbow in the nose during some partnered pirouettes!

courtesy of http://www.ananiashvili.com/

Several people has been interested in the one handed promenade, and how it’s done. And who are we to disappoint anyone?

RK: By popular demand, we have decided to give you insight into one more technical element of the pas de deux, the One-Handed Promenade.  A Promenade is when the woman is on pointe with one leg lifted, while the man walks, or “promenades”, around her in a circle.  Sometimes this can be done with the couple holding both of each other’s hands, or clasping just their right hands.  There are a couple tips to making this the promenade a success.  First, each dancer should place their first two fingers on the inside of the other person’s wrist, while pressing the palms of their hands together.  This enables their grasp on each other to extend to the weakest part of the arm, the wrist.  Also, it is important to maintain the “s” shape that the two right arms make when linked at the hand.  Other than that, all the woman can really do is hold her arm as strong as possible and try to keep her body all in one solid unit.

HL: Yes, that’s really all there is to it. Try to keep facing your partner, so that the girl doesn’t spin “away” from you, or the boy don’t walks past the balance of the girl. But really, this is all about keeping your body solid, for boys and girls alike.
It’s proven a difficult task to find a picture of a one-handed promenade. If anyone has a picture we could use to illustrate this “trick”, it would be really helpful!

Lorry asked: “I’ve noticed that in tour de promenade there is often an amount of hand “shaking” between partners, is that just a balance issue or what’s up with that?”

HL: When balancing the girl while moving her, called a promenade, it’s supposed to be just a little amount of tension in the arms, to make sure she “spins” easily. I say suppose because, well, this is not science. She might get off-balance or there may be other issues that makes the partners “squeeze” the hands together stronger, and then, shaking may occur. But in a perfect world, there shouldn’t be much shaking..RK: This kind of promenade is much harder than it looks!  The couple really has to be able to feel each other and use both of their arm strength to keep the woman on her balance.  The “shaking” sometimes occurs as a result of the pair trying to stay in sync and keep the woman balanced.

Don’t miss the second round of Questions and Answers coming up on Tendus Under A Palm Tree later this week. You have any more questions? There is still time, but hurry up! Ask us before the second round, and we’ll include your question in Rebecca’s post! How to ask? Email me or leave a comment below!