Pas de bourrée is a classical ballet term meaning “beating steps.” A Pas de bourrée has many forms that mostly relate to the direction the dancer is moving or if the legs are bending or staying straight. It gets its defintion because a dancer doing a pas de bourrée will have his or her legs coming together for a moment before opening again.
Pas de bourrée is a beginner step that is still done at every skill level of ballet technique and on the stage in ballets and variations. It is a very common preparatory step for pirouettes and jumps with a tombé added before it, making it tombé pas de bourrée. In ballet class, pas de bourrée is most commonly done in center for pirouette, petite allegro and grande allegro combinations.
