A passé is one of the most fundamental yet elegant movements in dance. Its importance spans across styles, from ballet to contemporary, serving as a cornerstone for many advanced techniques, such as pirouettes. Whether you’re a beginner working on stability or an advanced dancer refining your lines, mastering a passé is essential for every dancer’s growth.

What is a Passé?

In dance, a passé is a movement where one leg moves through the retiré position. While simple in concept, a perfect passé requires strength, balance, and precision. It serves as a building block for many turns and transitions, making it a critical skill to master.

 

Exploring Passé Difficulties

Beginner Passé: Building the Basics

For beginners, the focus is on developing stability and correct positioning. Key points to practice include:

1. Body Alignment
   Finding a correct placement of the hips and ensuring proper rotation of the working leg.
   
   
2. Foot Placement
   Ensure your working foot is properly placed at the standing leg's knee with toes pointed and turned out. Exact placement depends on the methodology of ballet.
   
   
3. Relevé Stability
   Start on a flat supporting leg before progressing to relevé for better strength and balance.
   
   

Recommended Lesson: The Godfrey Method On Demand offers Beginner Passe Shaping, a foundational exercise that emphasizes placement and hip flexor strength, perfect for dancers just starting.

 

Intermediate Passé: Refining Technique

Intermediate dancers build on the basics by adding precision and incorporating passé into more complex movements, such as pirouettes or transitions. Areas to focus on include:

1. Turnout and Placement
   Work on increasing your turnout while maintaining clean lines while maintaining a high retiré position.
   
   
2. Balance Control
   Develop stability by focusing on building strength in the supporting leg, glutes, and core in preparation for pirouettes.
   
   

Recommended Lesson: Lessons like Lower Body for Pirouettes on The Godfrey Method On Demand provide targeted drills to improve balance and strength for intermediate dancers.

 

Advanced Passé: Mastering Artistry

For advanced dancers, passé becomes more about artistry and fluidity. You’ll focus on integrating this position seamlessly into complex choreography, combining technical excellence with personal expression. Key points to practice include:

1. Multiple Rotations
   Building on the fundamentals, advanced dancers can now focus on the cleanliness and precision of multiple pirouettes while maintaining a retiré position or moving through the passé.
2. Dynamic Transitions
   Incorporate passé into intricate transitions, such as moving from a pirouette into an arabesqué.

3. Line Perfection

   Refine every detail of your working leg and foot to ensure flawless presentation.

Recommended Lesson: Advanced dancers can benefit from Tips for Multiple Pirouettes and Advanced Hip Flexor Strength on The Godfrey Method On Demand.

 

Let's Clarify!

While passé is used often and has become “standard” terminology in many classes, it is not always correct! Passé is used many times when in fact the correct term is retiré.

1. Retiré
   Often confused with passé, retiré refers to the position of the working leg. Retiré is a position where passé is a movement. (E.g. Passé passes through the retiré position)

 

How The Godfrey Method Can Help

The Godfrey Method On Demand offers an extensive library of online dance classes that cater to all skill levels. Whether you’re just starting with passé or refining it to perfection, these videos provide step-by-step guidance to ensure progress.

Top Lessons for Passé Mastery:

• Beginner Passé Shaping: Build strength and perfect your placement.
• Lower Body for Pirouettes: Focus on the stability required for advanced movements.
• Core Strength & Engagement: Develop the core strength essential for all levels of dance.
• Advanced Hip Flexor Strength: Refine your alignment and strength a high quality passé.

The platform’s unique approach combines technical drills with artistic insights, ensuring dancers don’t just execute movements—they master them.

 

Final Thoughts

Mastering a passé is a journey of precision, strength, and artistry. By focusing on the basics, refining technique, and challenging yourself, you’ll unlock the full potential of this elegant movement. With expert guidance from The Godfrey Method On Demand, dancers of all levels can achieve their goals.