Pas de Bourree Basics

Pas de bourrée means “beating steps.” It is called this because, when you're doing the step, your legs appear to "beat" together for a moment before opening again.

Pas de bourrée is used heavily in choreography as a transitional step between other combination elements, and in ballet class center combinations (often as a means to "switch sides").

Here's another great tutorial from Julie, at Ballet for Grownups, on pas de bourrée basics.  (I just love Julie's videos!)

A good way to get comfortable performing pas de bourrée, is to practice them holding onto the barre (or any other handy support, like a kitchen counter, the back of your sofa, or a room banister).  This enables you to concentrate on getting the steps down, without also having to balance.

If it feels confusing at first, stick with it and don't get discouraged: after a while, this step will flow out of you quite naturally, and you won't even need to think about the individual components.