How Has Ballet Changed

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 began as a form of communication and storytelling. Thousands of years ago dancing served as a way for people to tell a story and helped distract themselves of the hardships they faced. Furthermore, dance was a form of storytelling through communication, which then turned into using storytelling through dance as entertainment. According to the History World, many dancers during the BC time danced in front of only a few people to get a story across. That later turned into hundreds of thousands of people as dance was used by many. Today, dance is also a form of entertainment and storytelling, but in a modern sense. However, today perfection and technique are stressed more than they were in the past. Yet, the passion for dance has not changed. Many dancers who share this passion also have many of the same qualities. Among a discourse community of trained dancers, one expects to find individuals who are healthy and active athletes, expect perfection from themselves through competition, and religiously attend dance performances.

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

According to our book it is assumed that dancing had its earliest appearances since the Stone Age times with tribal dancing (Cass, 1993). Fast-forward to the 1300's, Renaissance, where “Ballet was born” and we see the immense progression of dance. Technique was finessed and its beauty is adored by audiences everywhere (Cass, p.50). Through the years dance has always took steps towards progression and in turn creating different styles and techniques throughout the world. Taking another jump into the twentieth century where Modern Dance is born, we see progressive views wanting to have “…freedom to be different from one another” (p.225). Across the years new expressions of dance

Ballet started in the late 1400s during the Renaissance. When Catherine de Medici who married King Henry the second of France know for throwing large parties. These parties would last for 8 hours straight of music, food, dancing and other entrainment. These

Listening to Music class has taught me a new way to listen and enjoy music. I have learned how to differentiate the melodies, rhythms, and instruments in a song. It has also introduced me to different genres in the music world, aside from what is usually played on the radio. I can now attend any concert, listen to any genre, or watch any ballet and easily recognize the many specific aspects the music being played has. Ballets are very interesting to me. The audience is able to enjoy the music being played as it is telling a story, and being acted out through the performer’s body language. In the two ballets, The Rite of Spring and The Nutcracker, a great story is told in both referencing the many great dynamics music has. These two specific ballets are written by different composers, and each one of them have certain conditions they were written under. As well as different receptions, popularity, and development. The Rite of Spring and The Nutcracker’s differences has made some sort of an impact in the performing world back then as well as now.

The traditional funding structure of dance companies as non-profits require organizations like the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre to cater toward several audiences with varying interests. Their core audience of older patrons, usually in the 50 to 70 age range, expect classical ballets to be performed during the season that are

Ballet is a formalized and elegant form of dance with a fitting origin that traces back to Italian Renaissance courts during the 15th and 16th centuries. This style of dance quickly spread from Italy to France with the assistance of the aristocratic influence that came from Catherine de' Medici, who succeeded in helping ballet develop even further. For example, Catherine helped develop ballet further by having her own piece of work, 'Le Paradis d' Amour', be presented at her daughters wedding, where Marguerite de Valois was wedded to Henry of Navarre. Naturally, with ballet having an aristocratic background, aristocratic money was responsible for the dance styles initial stages of development in court ballet. Royalty was what dictated the literature, music, and ideas that was incorporated into ballet at the time.

A ballet class, especially one at the professional level requires a large amount of dedication and self-discipline. As an art form, ballet is beautiful. It is elegant, it is poised, graceful and seems effortless… from afar. While on stage, you see elegance

By organizing before a ballet class, obtaining required materials, and paying attention to combinations and safety, potential ballet students can attend a ballet class. This task incorporates a wide range of requirements and preparations that are essential to performing in a traditional ballet class at ones highest

Much like changes in costume, stage, and style are evidenced when reviewing the history of European ballet, thematic content changed too with the influence of the French revolution and the Romantic Era. During the Renaissance, ballet themes typically revoved around mythological creatures, kings and queens, gods and goddesses. Often, the monarchs of the time would cast themselves as these imposing and awe-inspiring characters. In the wake of the French revolution, however, the emphasis on monarchs evaporated as the political nad social climate of dissent towards aristocracy bled over to the arts, and ballet themes changed to gothic, surreal and eerie tales, reenactments of popular myths, and fantastical storylines involving wilis, fairies, ghosts

In the dance world ballet and modern/contemporary style are two different things that in fact have some characteristics in common. Ballet was the beginning of dance. Derived form the court dance style, ballet has been around since the 15th century. On the other hand, contemporary evolved around the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Just like the difference in the time periods, these two dance styles also differentiate in the music style. For ballet the music is almost always instrumental, with repeating beats that mark the different accents in the barre or center exercise. The songs that are used for both class and performances usually have a tempo of ¾ time signature, or sometimes a 12/8. For contemporary

For many young girls, the allure of ballet is all in the tutus lined with lace or Swarovski crystals and the sleek satin shoes laced with ribbons. For me, I did not choose dance as much as it chose me. Shy in public, although a natural extrovert, I was 3 years old and in need of a form of expression much more than a verbal lexicon.  Twirling around in my living room in a fluffy pink skirt and cheap ballet slippers from Wal-Mart with Angelina Ballerina in the background was a strong indication to my parents to enroll their tiny dancer in a ballet class.  It was then when my life truly began.

Last Tuesday, we talked about the changes of dance positions and partner relationships. The classical ballet dancers had to follow strict rules: heels touching with toes turned out, arms shaping an oval, and necks staying upright. More interestingly, a couple of ballet dancers did not face each other because it could bring something out between the man and woman partner. However, contemporary choreographers have broken the taboos and opened the new prospects in dance field. Unlike Isadora Duncan who subverted the traditional dance style, some choreographers maintained beautiful customs while they made small cracks in the classical dance forms. For instance, George Balanchine introduced incurved legs, and designed face-to-face ballet choreography.

Ballet is a beautiful form of dance that can be incorporated in everyday modern dances such as hip hop, contemporary, tap, or jazz. This essential unique form of dance originated in the 15th century in the time of the Italian Renaissance it was then later influenced by the French and the Russians. Notable performances performed in Ballet are The Sleeping Beauty and Giselle. It is known to all as a dance that can tell a story.