Pas de deux (released as Duo in the United States) is a 1968 short dance film by Norman McLaren, produced by the National Film Board of Canada.

Production

Pas de deux is choreographed to Romanian pan pipe music by Ludmilla Chiriaeff. Ballerina Margaret Mercier dances by herself (or rather, with images of herself), before being joined by Vincent Warren to perform the pas de deux of the title. It was filmed in a studio where the walls and floor were painted black. Lighting was from the sides, so only the dancers' silhouettes appear, and their images are repeatedly multiplied. The film was photographed on high contrast stock, with optical, step-and-repeat printing, for a sensuous and almost stroboscopic appearance.

Awards