Ballet Journals Essay

The first experience of watching a ballet, for me or any little girl, can be fascinating and exhilarating. Wondering how a dancer can be so steady on her toes as she spins in circles and leaps through the air. Watching a ballet, there is a feeling of wanting to be graceful, as well as the warm sensation felt by a little girl as she slips into dream land. My mom had taken me to my first ballet when I was 11 years old. When we returned home home, she signed me up for classes at the local dance center. The expectations to become a prima ballerina would involve much hard work and concentration. I knew when I started it would take years of steady practice and commitment. Learning the history of ballet and the famous

This exercise is done with a barbell and a incline bench (“Exercises”). The way to do this exercise is to lie down faced up on an incline bench. The exerciser grips the bar with a medium-width grip and lifts the bar off of the rack (“Exercises”). the exerciser then holds the bar straight over his or her head, and keeps the arms locked. This is the starting position of the exercise. Next the exerciser inhales slowly while moving the bar slowly down toward the upper chest (“Exercises”). After a slight pause, the exerciser pushes the bar back to the starting position while exhaling and the arms should be locked. Before the exerciser brings the bar back down again the exerciser squeeze the chest for a second. The exerciser repeats the process for the desired number of repetitions. When the exerciser is finished with the exercise the bar should be placed back on the rack (“Exercises”).

I danced at Tina’s Dance Studio in Eldridge, Iowa for 12 consecutive years before I graduated high school. There I studied in ballet, pointe, contemporary, modern, lyrical, tap, jazz, hip-hop, musical theater, gymnastics and clogging. I was also a part of the competition team for eight years. We not only did local competitions and conventions, but we traveled and went to nationals in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City. I also danced in shows in Disney World and on a Carnival Cruise Ship. In high school, I was on the varsity Dance Team winning three state titles in pom and lyrical eventually traveling to Nationals. A few summers ago, I trained with Hubbard Street Dance in Chicago with their summer intensive focusing on modern, contemporary and ballet. During my senior year of high school and this past summer I taught classes in jazz, tap and contemporary for students 8-16 years old. I also self-choreographed three competition solos. Here, at Ohio University, I am a member of the dance team doing dances at football and basketball games.

In this phase the athlete is standing in a neutral position holding the ball. The metatarsophalangeal and interphalangeal (great and lesser toes) are held at slight flexion pressed against the ground by an isometric contraction of the flexor halluces longus, flexor digitorum longus, flexor digitorum longus. The ankle is plantar flexed using an isometric contraction of the gastrocnemius and the soleus. The tibiofermoral (knee) joints are slightly flexed by a isomectric contraction of the quadriceps muscles (rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, vastus intermedius). The acetabularfemoral (hip) joint is held at a postion of slight flexion through an isometric contraction of the biceps femoris, pectineus, iliacus, and the psoas. The intervertebral (lumbar) joint is extended by an isometric contraction using the erector spinae. The atlantooccipital (cervical spine) joint is flexed by an isometric contraction erector spinae. Both scapulothroracic (shoulder girdle) joint is protracted by an isometric contraction of the serratus anterior and pectoralis minor. The glenohumeral (shoulder) joint is at internal rotation by an isometric contraction using the pectoralis major, latissimus dorsi, teres major, and the subscapularius. The humeroulnar (elbow) joint is at 90 degrees of flexion by an isometric contraction using the biceps brachii, brachioradialis, and brachialis. The radiocarpal (wrist left and right)

Ballet is one of the most beautiful, graceful dances known to the dancing world. From the tutu to the pointe shoes the need to see the expression of the steps given. Being able to see how the illusion of a flying princess is one of the most mysteries that come with a ballet show. The history of Ballet has evolved into one of the most well-known type of dances in the world this is from only the men having roles in the ballet to women being able to express emotion.

At a very young age my mother asked me “do you want to do dance or gymnastics?” and I remember my reply was instantly “dance!”. From that moment forward I completely fell in love with ballet, and a couple of years ago I decided I would like to see myself grow up to become a professional ballerina.

powers animated the human body, the body could serve as a kind of lever to bring about

Shoulder flexion/extension; Elbow flexion and extension; Use of the lower and upper back. Muscles involved include the latissimus dorsi, rhomboids, trapezius, deltoids and the pectorals.

To prove everyone wrong, an interest was sparked in supporting ballet to show the world that American artists are just as competence as its foreign competitors. Unlike the Russians who have already established their mark in the ballet world, Americans were not commonly associated as talented ballet dancers. Thus, in 1954, President Dwight Eisenhower set aside $2,250,00 to fund dance, theatre, music, and sports tours to showcase American talents around the world. One of the funded dance tours was a ballet tour by New York City Ballet’s in Western Europe and the Soviet Union in 1962 (Croft, p. 425). New York City Ballet was a company founded by Balanchine and Kristen so their ballet performances reflected the innovation style of American ballet while maintaining its classical grace. Before their tour in the Soviet Union, the dancers were prepared for criticism and even booing during the performance due to the tensions between the two countries. However, all political differences were pushed aside, as “three thousand Soviet ballet fans rose to their feet to celebrate

Lie on your back with your left / right leg extended and your opposite knee bent.

This exercise will strengthen your legs and abdominal muscles, helping to assist your body when pushing. To begin, lay on the ground on one side, with your head supported by your hand. Lift your leg slowly off of the ground as high as is comfortable and slowly bring it down. Repeat for a total of 10 times and then switch sides to lift the other leg.

First announced as a two-act performance on June 28th, 1841, Giselle is a famous ballet about a young peasant girl who falls in love with a noble man, but dies upon hearing that he is betrothed to another woman. During this early period of history, women were looked down on by men and viewed as being extremely emotional. Despite this background, some people still conclude that the depiction of women is not precise enough in this ballet. To me, however, it is very clear; I believe that Giselle characterized women as being weak.

A series of set of movements to music, either alone or with a partner. That is the definition of dancing. Dancing is a way to express one's feeling and to get active.

I started ballet when I was 5 years old. At first I did not want to join ballet. But my mom forced me to join. When I tried out, I was really enjoying the class. But I did not want to show that I did enjoy it.

I attended DancePlus show On Friday December 2, 2011 at 7:30pm at night. It was performed in the Victoria K. Mastrobounno Theater in New Brunswick, New Jersey. There were four different parts that I saw that day. All of the dances were very interesting and very different from each other. All of the dances had its own unique key factor that separated it from each other. I enjoyed the entire show very well. Out of all the dances I had strong reaction to “Lapa’s Lament”. I believe this specific dance stood out to me compared to the other dances from the show. This show had many different factors that stood out from other shows in the entire performance.