Pas de basque is a classical ballet term meaning “basque step.” It gets its name because the step was taken from the national dances of the Basques.
A dancer doing a pas de basque will start in fifth position with the right foot in front. Doing a plié on the left leg, the dancer extends their right leg into a tendu front croise, then slides their right foot around in a half ronde jambe to ecarte back while staying in plié. The dancer then transfers weight from the left leg completely on to the right leg so the left leg is now in tendu ecarte front before closing it to fifth position.
A pas de basque can be done en avant, en arriere and en tournant.
Pas de basque is usually done in ballet class in adagios and sometimes petite allegros where a small jump will be added as the leg ronde jambes around. A pas de basque is considered an intermediate step in ballet technique.
Other types and ways to say pas de basque include:
- pas de basque battu
- pas de basque en arriere
- pas de basque en avant
- pas de basque glissé
- pas de basue par terre