Classical vs Contemporary Ballet

Contemporary ballet, although is a form of ballet but looks vastly different from classical and romantic ballet. Contemporary ballet consist of ballet and contemporary dance, and the dance often includes having a partner. Contemporary ballet is often done in a turned in position while classical ballet is done in a turned out position. A turned out position would be the first position in ballet where the dancer’s feet are usually pointing outwards. Like modern dances in the 20th century, contemporary ballet often hints a message to the audience. Alonzo King, a local San Francisco dance company owner inspired many choreographer with his choreography by having a perfect blend of traditional and modern dances in his piece. His choreography often contain a strong, controversial meaning. “The Moroccan Project”, choreographer Alonzo King suggests the message of love and inequality, using their trademark moves: spinning and elevating, in the contemporary modern dance style.

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

Dance is found in all cultures. It is considered a way to communicate without talking. During the Renaissance period, ballet was considered a Russian specialty. The highly qualified and sought after dance companies would tour the world performing in front of those who had never experienced ballet before. By exposing ballet to the United States of America, the Russians inspired and sparked a demand for legitimate ballet in America. It took place throughout the 20th century, currently known as the Russo-American Era.

For the history of Russian Classical ballet, it originated in a group of dance academies in Moscow and St Petersburg in the eighteenth century. At first the dancers were from poor backgrounds - usually from orphanages - but the Tsars were particular ballet enthusiasts and so the profile grew. However, in the nineteenth century some of the best French and Italian dancers and teachers went to Russia and ballet developed considerably more than in Western Europe where opera was preferred. It was under this climate that Russian ballet led the way in classical dance with such famous stars as Anna Pavlova, Mikhail Foskine and the legendary Nijinsky, who all trained with the Frenchman Marius Petipa at the St Petersburg Imperial Ballet.

Contemporary is one of the genre in dance. It first developed in the twentieth century, since many of its pioneers were born in the late nineteenth century and is continuously being changed. It originally evolved from many other styles of dancing such as ballet, modern and jazz. The technique used in contemporary is similar to ballet with controlled legwork but uses contracts and relax. Contemporary is considered as a breakaway from ballet by people who did not want to stick to the strictness of ballet. Contemporary uses floor work, fall and recovery as well as many other techniques.

However, just because the style of dance that was established was out of touch with the revolutionaries does not mean that dance did not thrive and adapt to the times. During the Revolution, ballet took on three distinct forms: ballet based in

“Balanchine abolished scenery and turned rehearsal clothes into costumes. But even ballets will less severe aesthetics--Western Symphony, with its dancers gussied up like cowboys and showgirls--usually skipped the over-the-top characterizations and fairy-tale plots of classic story ballets, like Swan Lake.” (Tonguette) While these are some significant differences, there are many other differences to be found in other aspects of a ballet.

Ballet has kept its classic and elegant movements the same but the way they see the female dancers has change the look of it. With ballet there are little dark secrets that are hidden and with it. No matter how nice the dance is there is going to be women that want look better than the next girl on the barre. The old look for dancers was to be short and have muscle because being on pointe is very hard. But now sense society wants girls to be all skinny so ballet with that took it to the extend. And with this many higher schools require their girls to not be on diets so that their fat they eat will be burned up by the end of practice. Having the thought many of the parents of young daughters are brought in to have a talk about how they can portion out their kid and also talk about the training they need to make a career out of this. But ballet is not all bad it has become to know with the more modern song, in which mean that ballet has became also fast beat and sassy when it came to the girls role. No matter what there is there is a fence with ballet that many love it or hate it just depends what side you’re on.

I get to express myself more. In ballet you have to use shoes and everything but in modern it’s bare feet, you get to feel the floor, you get to mess with everybody and have a lot more fun” she said.

Classical Ballet is the epitome of class and sophistication, it is known for its meticulous techniques

Over the past five centuries, dance has undergone tremendous change and evolved in to various different forms. Throughout the history of dance, styles including ballet or modern have changed in both technique and expression, and their popularity has constantly fluctuated. From the 16th century until present day, ballet specifically has fallen in and out of favor and gone through multiple periods of artistic scarcity to prosperity. One peak of its popularity was during the Romantic era when creativity and innovation were thriving among choreographers and dancers. Modern dance, which emerged from ballet as a way of rejecting classical aesthetics, also experienced times of dormancy and activeness since its origin at the turn of the 20th

Dance critic Théophile Gautier states, “Nothing resembles a dream more than a ballet...” (Anderson 77). The effortless technique of the ballerina paints most ballets as exactly this. Consequently, there is more to a ballet than technique and dancing. Different types of ballets and their structural components separate one ballet from the next. It is important to understand the difference between the two main types of ballets: Romantic Ballet and Classical Ballet. Romantic ballet in the 19th century differs from Classical ballet in the 20th century structurally, technically, and socially. The two dance forms also vary in costumes and narrative. However, with all of those differences, they both use ballet technique for a specific purpose.

The history of ballet is rich, complex and full of powerful meanings depending on the time period. Ballet in the 15th century was seen as something that only select individuals could do, whereas, the 20th century ballet can be preformed by anyone. By thinking about how ballet performers have changed, a question may be thought is, have the people attending these ballet performances changed as well as the performers themselves? Today, children from ages two and up start taking ballet and family members come and watch their final recitals. National ballet companies are also an event and often draw attention to the higher-class individuals who have a taste for ballet. The ballet world could be seen as to having a quite array of attendees, events and functions, but that might not have always been the

Hence, by looking back to the beginning of ballet, it is safe to say that ballet has come a long way from being a foreign art to a dance embraced and loved by Americans. It began with only a few companies in New York, but today there are more than “65 professional, million-dollar-budget ballet companies” in the United States (Legro). Many American girls as young as three years old are taking ballet lessons and dreaming of one day becoming a ballerina in the nation’s top ballet companies. As to why these little girls are deciding to learn this art, a 14 year from California replies, “ I just think it is fun and my mom and my sister also danced ballet when she was younger, so I guess it is just part our family ” (C. Chen, personal communication,

While watching the video “Ballet, Sweat, and Tears,” I noticed that the Ballet teachers in Russia are more strict and severe than the ones in America. The teachers at the Russia academy yelled a lot and physically touched the students, while here I America that is not allowed. In my opinion a difference that I saw was that the students over at the Vaganova Ballet were not lazy at all. The students from the Russian academy were more focused and traditional. Russian ballet also focuses on moving the body as a “whole,” their moves are more controlled and precise. They also tend to focus on flexibility and endurance as well as the positions of the arms. I also noticed that the students attending the Vaganova academy were more willing to make sacrifices. And example, would be the little girl that stated that she has not been able to watch television for over two months now. Now, the typical student here in the United States tends to be lazy and usually has a careless attitude. I know the students over here in America would not wake up at six in the morning just to keep practicing, especially in today’s generation. While, I also watched some ballet videos from the school of American Ballet I saw that the diet is not as firm as the one from the Vaganova Ballet Academy. Many people have also stated that compared to the Vaganova Ballet Academy the school of American ballet is a breeze. A major difference that I saw was the performance while the Russian ballet performance was precise