The Boston Waltz Worksheet

Is your definition of dance beginning to change? Which example has contrasted most with your definition of dance? Rather than the change of my own definition of dance, I was surprised to know how complicated history each dance posseses.

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

"We romped until the pans / Slid from the kitchen shelf" (5-6). In numerous poems different readers vista a variety of ways to interpret what poems actually mean. This is very much true in Theodore Roethke's poem "My Papa's Waltz." The quote mentioned has caused many misconceptions about what the poem; "My Papa's Waltz" actually refers to. The two superior interpretations of critics are that Roethke's poem describes abuse or a dance. The abuse seems much more apparent in "My Papa's Waltz" because of the language that Roethke uses. The dance is interpreted because the boy is innocent and knows nothing else therefore the abuse seems normal. The drunkenness of his Papa, the mother's

In both “Those Winter Sundays” and “My Papas Waltz,” the speakers reminisce about their fathers. Although the speakers’ father in each poem is a man who loves and works hard for his son, each father displays his love for his son through different acts. In “Those Winter Sundays,” by Robert Hayden, the speakers father indirectly expresses his undying love to his son through rigorous work around the house. The father is always striving to improve the house and make sure his son is comfortable, while in “My Papa’s Waltz,” by Theodore Roethke, the father leaves his work at the front door and enjoys romping about with his son, the whole time bumbling about, carelessly destroying everything in his path. Each respective poem has evidence of how the fathers of their sons love their sons as displayed through the tone, imagery and personality

Due to Theodore Roethke’s use of imagery, syntax, and diction, “My Papa’s Waltz” continues to spur passionate academic debate from professors, scholars, and students alike. Roethke uses these elements to allow the reader to recognize that he is reminiscing the intricate relationship he and his father shared. Although it is not essential, one could put the historical context into consideration. Evidently, there will always be individuals that see only abuse or a fond memory; however, we will never clearly know what his intention was in regards to the purpose of the poem. As a result, one must come to a realization based on the author’s use of diction, syntax, and imagery throughout the poem broken-down line by line; in order to fully

Although children grow up in households, they fast start emulate the father or the mother, and as a result, they acquire habits depending on their gender. Children learns from a young age to distinguish the differences between genders, and give much attention on how somebody looks, so they can tell the nature of people. They need to categorize themselves on a side, and they try to do so. And as we move back to the story of dance, Quindlen comes to say that “it’s the dance that’s important, not the difference”. I totally agree with this statement, because all that matters is to make a move and communicate with the other

At first glance, “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke is very intriguing as the poem is very ambiguous at first. Many people that read the poem at first believe it to be about child abuse, which is very easy for readers of the 21st generation to confuse as we see everything with a dark meaning behind it. The poem is about a boy who dances with his father, hence the name of the poem “My Papa’s Waltz”. Once the poem has been reread several times, we can take a closer look at what Roethke is really implying in the poem. Therefore, it becomes clear to the audience that the poem has a lighter meaning and has a more positive outlook than a negative outlook to the situation occurring in the poem.

If one were to observe the waltz dancers of the nineteenth century, one would be able to tell what class they belonged to just by how the dancer straightened their back and how high or low their arms were when dancing with their partner. Also, when dancing the waltz, there are gender roles each partner must follow. The males may usually take the role of leading and position their hand on the female’s back, compared to the female who usually follows and places her hand around the male’s shoulder area. Lastly, since American’s and European’s were not big fans of the waltz when they were first introduced, they might have changed a few details to get the dance to a point where they did like it. So their way of dancing the waltz may not match completely to the original waltz

Whether we look at a romantic ballet like La Sylphide or a classical ballet such as Sleeping Beauty, audiences are constantly mesmerized by the gracefulness and weightlessness of the ballet dancers. They seem to defy the laws of physics, which is greatly possible due to the use of the pointe shoe. However, many masterworks that were created in the Romantic era did not solely rely on the pointe shoe to help convey messages. Instead, the choreography, dancers, scenic elements, subject matter, and music all helped shaped masterworks such as La Sylphide, Napoli, and Giselle. Similarly, in the Classical era, these elements all played a role in shaping famous ballets like La Bayadere, Sleeping Beauty, and Swan Lake. But once we take a closer look at these ballets from the Classical era, we can see how much ballet evolved. Nevertheless, it is important to note that the Romantic era was the stepping stone for this pure art form that we have been able to preserve for more than 160 years.

But in keeping in theme with the waltz, it is also a dance that has strategically placed steps and movements that every good dancer knows, and cherishes. It sets up the mood immediately for the audience subconsciously that everything is in strict moral uniformity and cleanliness, what a small town should be: precise, well groomed, and normal, keeping in trend with the such prevalent Hitchcockian irony.

Romantic ballet in the 19th century differs from Classical ballet in the 20th century structurally, technically, and socially. The two dance forms also use different types of costumes and different narrative strategies. Romanticism greatly impacted the world of art in the 19th century. Romantic ballet emerged and allowed an escape for the dancers and audience from the distress due to the falling of the French Revolution. The following century brought a deeper understanding of Classical ballet via the Ballet Russes. The Ballet Russes allowed a freer expression and an overall appreciation of dance alongside other art forms. However, with all of those differences, they both use ballet technique for expression and

The reason that the traditional dance has remained apart of the world is because of the teachers and students. But in order to dance the students required movements, steps, and music to put them to. The dance masters—teachers of the 18th and 19th centuries—all had the same original dance steps, while they invented their own steps on top the original ones. There are two different roots, which

French Ballet began in the 17th century. It was a flamboyant entertainment presented in front of the aristocracy and royalty in the courts. French Ballet was also performed when they were celebrating marriages and showing off the wealth and power of the ruler. Besides, Ballet was called “la belle danse”, and it means “the beautiful dance.” In order to help the audience to recognize the characters in the story, dancers usually wore extravagant costumes. Moreover, the idea of different ballet movements was based on the social dance of royal courts, like beautiful arm and upper body movements and floor patterns were included. Also, in the beginning, only men were allowed to dance ballet, and women played the first ballet with parts until 1681.

This process involves acting out what we believe to be society’s perception of what it means to be masculine or feminine (West and Zimmerman, 1987). The initiation before a man and woman begin dancing together is perhaps the clearest example of individuals ‘doing gender’. In this space, men are almost exclusively responsible for initiating conversation or some sort of physical interaction. The idea that men must be aggressive and women must be passive only reaffirms our gender stereotypes. This relationship is even more evident in fraternities, as there seems to bee an even wider range in terms of what is deemed to be appropriate behavior (Boswell and Spade, 1996).

The man and woman face each other, with the man holding the woman's right hand in his left, and with his right arm around her. The Tango is the third dance to use this hold for couple dancing. The Viennese Waltz is the first dance done in this couple hold. It was very popular in Europe in the 1830's. Couple dancing before the Viennese Waltz was very formal and did not involve a lot of physical contact just mainly holding hands. About 10 years after the Viennese Waltz came the Polka. Also taking Europe by storm, the Polka became the newest craze to use this scandalous new hold. Tango was extremely different from anything that came before it, and was the biggest influence on all couple dancing in the Twentieth Century. The story of