Dance in Film · 1976
Pas de Duke (1976)
The 15-minute silent 8mm film preserves Alvin Ailey's original bridge between Judith Jamison's modern-dance authority and Mikhail Baryshnikov's ballet virtuosity, making the work's first celebrated casting—not a later reconstruction—the screen record.
Pas de Duke is a 1976 dance film centred on ballroom and social dance. For dancers, it's a chance to see the style performed on screen — the phrasing, partnering, and musicality that the same dances carry onto a real floor.
Jump to the 1 indexed dance sequence ↓
Where to watch: Official AILEY Vimeo footage and Jacob's Pillow's free 2024 performance video were live on 2026-08-08; NYPL's 15-minute 1976 Baryshnikov/Jamison film is available for on-site viewing only.
Featured clip
An excerpt — one number from the full work.
The dance sequences in Pas de Duke
1 sequence — what is danced, by whom, and where to find it.
Original Jamison–Baryshnikov filmed pas de deux
Ailey modern dance / classical pas de deux fusionDanced by Judith Jamison; Mikhail Baryshnikov · Choreography Alvin Ailey
Jamison and Baryshnikov matching each other toe-to-toe and line-for-line as modern weight and balletic line become a witty contest.
Ailey turns classical pas-de-deux form into a modern-dance exchange built around the performers' contrasting physical and stylistic strengths. The duet's mirroring, flirtation, and playful one-upmanship let virtuosity function as character rather than as an isolated display.
Not currently available to stream; timestamp is for reference. The NYPL item is the exact 1976 original-cast 8 mm filmed-dance record. AILEY verifies the 1976 premiere, performers, choreographer, modern-dance/classical-pas-de-deux hybrid, and current 12-minute stage runtime; the Library of Congress independently confirms the original pairing and interpretation. The supplied taxonomy has no exact Ailey-modern/classical-pas-de-deux fusion key, so the style is explicitly flagged as absent. No public stream of the original archival film, edition-specific timestamp, or original-film clip/deep link was confirmed; authorized AILEY and Jacob's Pillow videos show later performances.
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