History of Ballet Essay

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.

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.

Ballet is a beautiful and romantic type of performance art. It originated in the Italian court systems in the 15th century (Jonas). Since its origination, ballet has undergone many changes and gained worldwide recognition. Filled with elaborate costumes, cheering audiences, lights, weightless movements and beauty; ballet is admired by many. On the magical stage ballerinas can become whoever they wan to be, and perform in a world of fantasy. For these reasons, children, especially little girls, all over the world dream of becoming ballerinas when they grow up. However, becoming a professional ballerina is an extremely difficult accomplishment, in which few will achieve (Kelso 1). The world of ballet may seem to be filled with glitz and

As world has changed over the last century or so, the ballet world has been changing with it. There are many people who have helped shape that change. The changes in style were mainly influenced by George Balanchine. George Balanchine, a Russian choreographer and ballet dancer, also known as the father of American ballet, was the man who was said to have changed the style of ballet forever. Along with these changes in style came changes in visual design elements, inspirational figures, and changes in what the ballets themselves tend to rely on. Many of the features given to ballet in Russia in the 15th and 16th century still remain to this day, but many features have been altered to fit . Let’s take a closer look at what features truly

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

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.

Ilyich Tchaikovsky and brought to life with the art of ballet by E.T.A. Hoffmann.Since then, the

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

After the Romantic-era ballet had died out in Paris and Russia became the new focus. In 1738, the opening of the Imperial Ballet School in St. Petersburg attracted many great dancers and choreographers such as Marie Taglioni. This school was controlled by an aristocrat named Czar. The most well known 19th century choreographer, Marius Petipa, became the ballet master of the entire school, shaping imperial and classical ballet. Ideas such as increased focus on technique, formulaic choreography, mime and gesture, and lengthy ballets can be seen in Petipa 's most famous ballets. These famous ballets include The Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, and Swan Lake. In the 20th century, Sergei Diaghilev introduced a traveling ballet company called Ballet Russes. Starting out in Paris, this company brings together Russian and Western ideas with a spark of modernism. This company brought together revolutionary collaborations between choreographers, dancers, composers, artists, and fashion designers. Through the development of Russian ballet, there has been rejection and embracement as well as changes in structure and choreography.

The origin of the dance figure was in the eighteenth century. A young dancer by the name of Marie Camargo became a prominent figure on the stage. She was light-footed sure of her steps and shorter than all of the male dancers on the stage. Her timing for her career was perfect. This was at the time that it became fashionable to go to the ballet. Camargo became famous and every young dancer in the world wanted to go to the same dance company so that they could share in her fame. The company would not let any new dancers in who were taller than their star performer. As girls reached five feet five their dreams would be smashed at the realization that they would never have Camargo's figure. This new dancer also redefined the shape of the classical ballet dancer. Before her debut on the stage the ballet dancers were not traditionally small, but due to her popularity, the new figure became mandatory to succeed in the world of ballet.

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.

Learning ballet is difficult. There are a lot of steps to memorise . The standards of each steps is very high, but I like to face challenges. Learning ballet could improve my memory and self-discipline, I can have some work out during class too. Dancing with a large group of friends motivates me to learn more. I am very happy and really enjoy myself in the class.

The Russian National Ballet was founded in 1989 by Sergei Radchenko, former star of the Bolshoi Ballet. Radchenko and his wife, who run the company together, decided to tour in smaller groups, to reach audiences in smaller cities around the globe and bring beautiful ballet to everyone. Founded when Russia was known as the USSR, the company was government owned, but allowed Sergei, an honored artist, to start and operate the company. Sergei and his wife, Elena found success with this company, and opened The Moscow Festival Ballet, allowing them to tour and perform all over the world. Some of their repertoire includes “Don Quixote,” “Cinderella,” “Coppelia,” and of course, “Sleeping Beauty,” performed March 4, 2017 at the State Theatre of New

The music was composed by Igor Stravinsky, who considered himself an inventor of music. He was also known for many controversial works reminiscent of Nijinsky. He created many works that blasted the whole realm of music into other possibilities, in which it would never return from. He started his career writing music for other ballets like Firebird and Petrouchka, which were grand and familiar like traditional ballet, but had a small hint of a more modern tone. It was not until The Rite of Spring that Stravinsky’s work was truly inspirational. This work tested the future of the 20th century classical music, and in many ways it paved the path to a modernized view. There are still many who do not understand how he

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.