For new dancers I have been thinking about Pas de Basque. Here is a link to some lovely old photos of this step from an old copy of Book 2 I got from Margaret Bailey, a friend who taught in Wellington for years, and now lives in Invercargill.

This was the copyright 1925 version! Notice that if done correctly the knee should be high enough that the foot can point vertically down. In recent years the higher knee seems to have gone out of fashion, making the step harder to time and leading to ‘toe-tapping’ with no weight transfer.

Here are some links to online sources for Pas de Basque. I like the one by Moira Stacey with the older guy (Keith) and the younger one (Patrick)

Notice how good Keith’s technique is, except it is in the modern style of keeping knees lower.

I like Moira’s ‘jump’ beat beat, since it stops you from running on the spot. Your head should move up and down a lot, if not ‘flex’ more at the ankles, and try the step to jig time. Note: Patrick moves too much.so ‘try to do it on the spot’.

If you stop the video at 3.52 you’ll notice how low Keith’s jeté is, whereas Patrick’s a bit out of control. It should be low.

Here is another video to look at but again her knee lift is lower than I would like, but some teachers disagree.

Kristin convinced me to show how to practice Pas de Basque with the support of the sink as part of washing up. Leaning slightly forward won’t work when you don’t have the sink (you’ll fall over!) but with the sink you can practice the weight transfer.

Rod Downey
2 April 2020