The ballet music "The Lady Who Bites Diamonds" (Op. 18) is counted among Damase's representative early works. Conceived, directed, and choreographed by Roland Petit, it starred Renée Jeanmaire (who later adopted the name Zizi Jeanmaire and became Petit's wife). It premiered in 1950 at the Théâtre Marigny in Paris, a temple of dance and theater, conducted by the composer himself. Around 1945, the year after Petit resigned from his position at the Paris Opéra at the age of 20, he noticed the talent of Damase (then 17), who was still a student at the conservatory, and allowed him to frequent his ballet studio. Damase served as Petit's rehearsal pianist, acquiring a sense for dance music in a frontline practical setting. Seeing Damase, who had won the Prix de Rome at 19 and, after a two-year stay in Rome, began vigorous creative and performance activities at 22, Petit judged the time was ripe and selected him as the composer for his new ballet in 1950. This work, which brought together the finest contemporary staff for all aspects of stage design, sets, and costumes, was a great success, receiving critical acclaim in New York and leading to Damase's early American debut. In 1961, it was also incorporated into the film "Black Tights" directed by Terence Young, known for "007," and Damase's music became widely popular along with the film.

Befitting the ballet's plot, which blended action with romance involving a female gang leader, Damase's music was full of entertainment, popular, song-like, and easy to understand. The chanson sung by Jeanmaire during the play (lyrics by Raymond Queneau) was also a hit. Damase himself described this work as "something like an American musical comedy," suggesting his familiarity with the latest musicals in London and Broadway. Indeed, without this, commercial success in New York would have been impossible, and naturally, behind it, one can discern Roland Petit's keen intuition and outstanding talent development skills, which involved "scouting" Damase's talent early and encouraging the classical prodigy Damase to absorb the essence of American and British jazz and pop music. In 1953, Damase's provision of music ("Trap of Light") to the Marquis de Cuevas Ballet, a rival of Petit's Ballets de Paris, incurred Petit's displeasure, leading to an incident where Petit changed the commission for his new ballet "The Wolf" (Le loup) that same year from Damase to Dutilleux (they reconciled and resumed collaboration the following year). At least for Petit at the time, Damase, whom he had nurtured and considered a close younger brother figure, was his primary composer, more so than the older, more established composers like Sauguet (Paul et Virginie / Les Forains), Françaix (Les Demoiselles de la Nuit), or Dutilleux (Le loup). The relationship between the young Petit and Damase, who influenced each other, warrants further in-depth study in the future.

The composer himself extracted and arranged pieces from the ballet music into an orchestral suite, songs, instrumental pieces, and piano works. "Bicycle" is one such piece, subtitled "Etude for Piano." It is Presto, in 2/4 time, and G major (no key signature). It is a short piece full of speed, seamlessly connecting short chromatic motifs. In the middle section, exhilarating phrases that incite a sense of urgency emerge. Towards the end, the musical idea is dominated by a dashing upward current, ascending through the range before a sudden, precipitous conclusion. It possesses a unique musical character unparalleled in Damase's other piano works and offers an element of surprise, making it suitable for encores or light entertainment. In the published score of the chanson sung by Jeanmaire (Mondia edition), Petit and Damase are credited jointly as composers, and some dance-related sources treat them as co-composers of this ballet. On the other hand, published scores for instrumental and piano pieces are solely under Damase's name, not jointly. In any case, observing this piece, it is conceivable that Petit gave Damase quite specific and detailed orders for certain sections, making it endlessly fascinating.