What Role Does Ballet Play In The Swan

The applauding audience, the lights, sequins and feathers, the colorful, elaborate tutus, and satin pointe shoes capture the hearts of young girls. Where else can a young girl dream of becoming a princess, a swan, a dancing snowflake or flower, or a sugarplum fairy? Where else can she be a fairy tale character like Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty? Where else can she be rescued by her handsome prince and collapse into his arms? Ballet is the magical world where these dreams can come true. Young girls and women can be all of these things, symbolizing femininity in a culture that teaches young girls to be and want everything pink and pretty.

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.

Unlike traditional ballet The Rite of Spring featured sharply bent arms and legs that focused on barbarian depictions of life rather than the elegant, graceful representations used in conventional ballet. The violent dance steps depicted fertility rites, which is what provoked the earliest interruptions during the ballet. While Nijinsky was creating the dance for the ballet, Roerich was creating the setting and costumes to accurately portray this sacrificial rite. The use of such primitive pagan images were something that the people were not accustomed to. It was a topic that the world was not yet ready to deal with. But the visuals of the ballet were not the only historic part; the music had an even greater impact.

‘Swan Lake' was re-choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov in1895, after initially being choreographed by Julius Reisinger in 1877. The musical score was composed by Pytor Tchaikovsky. ‘Swan Lake' was created towards the end of the romantic period, so the culture and style of romanticism was prominent, with glimpses of the beginning of the classical era. Because of this, it contains elements of both eras. Some of the romantic characteristics include the pursuit of the unattainable, romance, fantasy, focus on the female role, gas lighting and simple sets, pointe work, soft and feminine technique for females and the bell tutu. Some of the classical features include the length of the ballet, the classical tutu and more

Another interesting thing I found was how many types of dance there are. Through the reading I learned that there multiple types of ballet. It was easy to see the differences in the ballets in the video clips. For example, the Joffrey Ballet dancers had a much more contemporary style than the dancers from Swan Lake. The Swan Lake dancers were classic ballet and they told a story with their movements. Joffrey Ballet did not tell a story but made Prince’s music even more interesting. Their dance did not tell a story, but instead aided the music and made it more interesting.

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.

Technical Virtuosity. Choreography has form and structure, harmony and order, repetition and symmetry. Similar to court dance. For example: The Swan Lake has 32 Fouetes, Shortened toutus support virtuosity movement, pointe shoes got harder and wider, pas d'action becomes only a small part. Narrative tells about Good vs Evil, Hierarchical form.

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.

Watching Silja Schandorff’s fully realized performance in Swan Lake teaches much about what it takes to make a swan, and what it takes to dance Peter Martins’ choreography.

Petipa’s production of Swan Lake is a beautiful example of the structure movements that dancers must perform; in the clip titled Odile entrance & Black Swan pas de deux, you see “The Black Swan” perfect posture and balance, dancing on en Pointe all the while managing to gracefully seduce the prince through her seductive movements and entrancing expressions. In contrast Modern dance focus is on the dancer expressing their inner most emotions and feelings through free flowing movements. The modern dancer uses their whole body more naturally and fluidly to convey what their current emotional state is, unlike classical ballet where the ballerina at all times keeps an upright posture, and performs with structured, angular lines. Martha Graham’s “Frontier” is a great example of the free movements of Modern dance; In this performance Martha Graham uses her whole body to move to the rhythmic sounds of the drums and music, you can clearly see that there is no confined structure in this performance, she is completely moving organically to how she is feeling and what she is trying to convey through her movements.

The longest running ballet in London's West End and on Broadway, it has been performed in the UK, Los Angeles, Europe, Australia, South Korea, Japan, Israel and Singapore. The story is based on the Russian romantic ballet Swan Lake, from which it takes the music by Tchajkovsky and the broad outline of the plot Bourne’s rendering is best known for having the traditionally female parts of the swans danced by men. “

The original Swan Lake was composed by Tchaikovsky. It is based off Russian folk tales, it is the story of Odette. She is once a princess but is turned into a swan. It begins with four dancers who are synchronized. Their moves are choreographed and goes along with the music in the background. The dancers are holding hands which makes it look like they are one. A lot of their moves are passé´ and they do a lot of petite jete’. The dancers are dressed exactly alike. They soon break out of their lock and still do the same choreography. There are also two lines of about twelve dancers on the side that join the four dancers. The dancers on the side are in fourth position. The four dancers are very elegant, they glide effortlessly across the stage. Most of the time they go back and forth downstage. It is very easy to watch because their moves are very smooth and together. They do

The Swam Lake and The Rite of Spring are two different types of ballet that expressed a form of art. The Swam Lake is a typical ballet that is very classy and elegant. The dance moves are smooth and delicate. In addition, the music is sensual and calm. The whole performance is beautiful to watch and graceful. However, The Rite of Spring is the total opposite. In this ballet there is a lot of expression shown throughout the performance. All the female dancers play a big role and illustrate an atmosphere of fear. This ballet shows a play with many symbolism. For example, the red cloth that gets passed by every female to dancer to show what female will get pick for the ritual. They also in their dance show nervousness, fear, and being vulnerable.

Ballet is an art form born out of the expressionism and creativity of the Renaissance period (Kraus 63). From the first ballet performed in 1580 to the present, women have been portrayed as fragile and dependent on men. One such ballet is The Nutcracker in which the girl-heroine Clara relies on the Nutcracker to save her from the evil Mouse King.