Top Fifteen Ballet Pas de Deux

Here is my ranking of the top fifteen ballet pas de deux. The decision is made solely on the choreography, not on these particular dancers. What do you think? Let me know in the comments. As always, we likely won't agree entirely! None of these videos are mine.

[@Benni777]

That last pas de dux had me almost in tears! I have never seen the show, more what the plot is, but that’s when u can tell that that is a good show to watch; when you’ve only watched one clip of the performance and you keep wanting to watch more! 😍😍

[@minissa2009]

Finally sat down and watched the whole thing, and it's a wonderful compilation. Regarding Sarafanov and Osipova, I spent a wonderful few hours once watching two full Don Qs in tandem, one with Osipova/Vasiliev and one Sarafanov/Novikova---both great, but they do feel the music very differently. If you watch closely, at about 2:08, Sarafanov actually starts to step out to support Osipova's turn before catching himself because he would have gotten there too early. I realize it's about the choreography but would not have minded seeing Guillem/Cope in the bedroom pdd from Manon. And I was thinking that, since this spans so many decades and styles of choreography, it would be fun to see further development of the "best of" idea as best romantic/classical/modern/revisionist/etc pdds. I guess Petipa, Balanchine, Ashton, and McMillan would almost get their own videos, and I can't imagine the hours those would take to compile! Anyway, loved it, and thanks for all the work you put into these compilation vids!

[@eugenia870]

Nice compilation! SuperBalletgirl101, since the selection is made by choreography, I think it would be important to note the choreographer name behind each PPD, I see choreos by Petipa, Grigorivich, Ashton, McMillan, Balanchine... There is not somehing such as a "standard choreography" but a "most famous" or "most widely performed" choreography.... I personally miss Romeo&Juliet balcony PPD by McMillan...but of course this is a question of taste.... Another interesting initiative would be to see different coreographies of ta given PPD by different notable choreographers In any case, thanks for your initiative and for sharing very nice videos, I really appreciate it!

[@minissa2009]

Maybe she figured that, if you're watching something like this, you're likely to know who choreographed what lols!

[@dianasantamaria4002]

Marianela Nuñez and Vadim Muntagirov in The Corsaire. It's a wonderful couple in a wonderful coreography.

[@TheBunduBallerina]

A great selection! I simply love all these PDDs, but Tchaikovsky PDD ranks as one of my top favs. Thanks for a wonderful video!

[@pedinurse1]

The first piece with Nina and Carlos is the most amazing neoclassical number in history, , it is mind blowing artistry

[@user-gp5pj6sz2r]

Много очень сложных разнообразных, красивых движений! Фантазии....на высоте!!

[@kruschkesia6909]

For me - missing the great pas de deux from Swan lake and Geselle !

[@pininfarinarossa8112]

Nina Kaptzova in Spartacus- 1st Adagio- is fantastic!❤

[@suzanneosterburg613]

The Manon finale with Cope and Guillem is LEGENDARY💖🩰💖🩰💖

[@minissa2009]

Really nice selection, and thank you for including something with Maia Makhatelli! She deserves to be a little better known (although I'd love to see Genia in all of the Diamonds section---she looked surprisingly Balanchine-like in the snippets I've seen). The one pdd I missed is Balanchine's Sylvia, esp as danced (and there's a good recording of it) by Martine van Hamel and Patrick Bissell, who died tragically when he had a lot of good years still before him. But that dates back to the 1980s and I realize everything there has been recorded since then. The clip from Marco Spada was especially beautifully performed. The Bolshoi kindly posted this ballet that we never get in the West during the CoVid lockdown, and it had the State Occasion Cast that included Genia and Hallberg (also Chudin). Anyway, ran through them quickly when this came in and look forward to enjoying the whole video when I'm not pressed for time.

[@ambar7439]

Martine and Patrick were absolutely gorgeous together. Both had such strength and power to their movements. He was a tragic loss - would have been a star, had he not fallen into addiction.

[@minissa2009]

@@ambar7439 Always nice to meet another Martine fan! She was a true dancer's dancer and although I quite enjoyed dancers like Makarov a and Gregory {who got more press}, I've really never seen a dancer who was her equal when it came to musicality, dramatic strength, and joy in the movement.

[@ronniedamnitz9295]

I too was a van hamel fan!

[@micheledivirgilio9163]

14:14 it sounds like tchaicovsky's pas de deux in nuktraker

[@menteaperta2195]

Wow very good selection! It's kind of hard to choose, 'cause Pas de Deuxs are the most beautiful part in a ballet and they're honesty all amazing to me... I appreciate a lot Onegin as first, when I saw the ballet for the first time that Pas de Deux literally made me cry and paralize for a solid 2 minutes, and Manon as second (it's my favourite ballet ever, and Aurelie Dupont in perfect in that role)... However, I would have inserted the Nutcracker Pas de Deux (I know there's no standard choreography, but they're all beautiful, + you didn't really put exclusively the original choreographies) and the White Swan Pas de Deux... Anyway thanks for putting together some of the most beautiful Pas de Deux 😘😘

[@elizzy8754]

I think the Dupont/Bolle-Manon shown here was Dupont's farewell performance at the Paris Opera. Great chemistry between the two dancers.

[@ENFPerspectives]

@4:51 This couple is PERFECTION!!!!! Bravo!

[@liborhlavacek5260]

All the artists are excellent with absolutely excellent technique, behind which is a lot of sweat and hard work! Hat down in front of you!

[@janetwhite4565]

Wow. Many of these I had never seen before. I hope many of these are available on DVD because I’m going to have to find them now!

[@moushka2692]

Osipova and Sarafanov are gorgeous together although nothing will surpass her partnership with Vasiliev. Much as I love Osipova, no one will ever surpass Sylvia Guillem.

[@philzmusic8098]

All are wonderful. (I do have reservations about the Onegin, even though it's heart-wrenching, because it's so over the top when compared to the original Pushkin's irony and even the Tchaikovsky opera's passion.) I would love to see there PDD from Symphony in C added.

[@nicolereding7234]

The most amazing music of Kathchaturian with a stunning Kapshova and Acosta breathtaking

[@megumisato431]

Breathtakingly beautiful！

[@oliverdownunder9397]

Agree...I don’t particularly like Manon but the pas de deux’s are beautiful.

[@rosiegreen813]

Cojocaru & Kobborg #1 for me, and probably my #s 2, 3, 4 & 5 as well. They are a true partnership, not one cobbled together for a particular ballet

[@firstlast6109]

They are married, so the know eachother rater well

[@Zakou_74.]

C'est magique, ça me transporte hors du temps....

[@williamdeng1870]

Wonderful!

[@ENFPerspectives]

@4:51 This couple is PERFECTION!!!!! Bravo!

[@pavlaki1]

missed out balcony scene from Macmillan's Romeo and Juliet. Aother favourite of mine is the ballroom pdd from Ashton's cinderella.

[@eg5660]

When is the DQ Osipova + Sarafanov performance from? Thanks 😊

[@hk6970]

I really like Shurale pas de deux too because of Plisetskaya's artistry.

[@sallygardiner7150]

Nina and Carlos, Spartacus; the best ever, so graceful, but also strong. His lifts are phenomenal. i am surprised at the inclusion of the Osipova Don Q; they are out of sync and seem to have no rapport. The rest are all wonderful.

[@SuperBalletgirl101]

As I stated, it's not about the dancing but the choreography. I like to include as high quality videos as possible.

[@annettegilbert5938]

Sally Gardner I agree with you about Osipova and her partner on the Don Q pas de deux... They look wrong together physically and their timing is so different!

[@elizzy8754]

Yes, the Osipova/Sarafanov Don Q at La Scala was not 100%. Under-rehearsed perhaps. The pair are gorgeous in Romeo and Juliet, however.

[@elizzy8754]

@@SuperBalletgirl101 Not sure I understand the distinction.

[@sallygardiner7150]

@@elizzy8754 Nor do I!

[@TheMrsBOH]

Miss the Final pas de deux of Dame aux camelias!!!! 😭😭😭😭

[@zyxwl2015]

I love the Pas de Deux in The Lady of the Camellias too!

[@aethermato]

the sugar plum pas de deux erasure 😭

[@SuperBalletgirl101]

There is no standard choreography for this PDD

[@aethermato]

@@SuperBalletgirl101 omg wasn't aware of that! i really like the choreography of the royal ballet with nuñez and muntagirov. love your videos btw

[@minissa2009]

@@SuperBalletgirl101 Well, Ivanov's choreography still exists but it's not stamdardly adhered to like something like the White Swan pdd

[@micahchermak6386]

I can’t find the Marco Spada Grand Pas music anywhere!?! Anyone know where I could find it?

[@liabarros9515]

Bravissimo

[@SadieAllred-wz6wh]

moves to try: 2:58 tor 8:52 pose

[@raymonda5476]

I would have added the Vision Scene from Grigorovich's Raymonda to this list. Kaptsova & Skvortsov in Onegin & Kaptsova and Acosta in Spartacus are sublime.

[@11111111andrey]

какие красивые Осипова и Сарафанов

[@11111111andrey]

Кожокару и Бонелли тоже

[@user-bx5il6ho7m]

Спасибо за интересные отрывки из балетов.Люблю Н.Осипову. Но последняя пара-Н.Карпачева и Р. Скворцов просто потрясающие!

[@oliverdownunder9397]

Onegin is a masterpiece

[@selini52]

Natalia Osipova’s Partner was not good enough for her!

[@nicolereding7234]

Sylvie Guihlem etait une immense star andbi like S Lam with V. Muntagirov both stunning

[@BeatricerIVA-lm3vp]

Compilation molto bella! Secondo me però manca il pas de deux tra Albrecth e Giselle del secondo atto made Natalia Osipova e Carlos Acosta ( primo posto)

[@user-lk2ok5ew7e]

Супербалет

[@asclepius3117]

Interesting! Hmmm!

[@multifandomuniverseee]

If I don't get to do the Coppelia pas de deux during my future wedding...I ain't getting married.

[@UYTRELLO]

I don't like the order of this list.

[@laurafreedman8770]

Teasers

[@antoniocudospedrol6696]

MAGNÍFIC I SPECTACULAR . Tonq2pedrol