Why Is Ballet Still Relevant In Modern Culture

When I was four years old I was introduced to a tall, petite, beautiful ballerina who spun around the room with elegance, and effortlessly captured the crowd with her stunning abilities. As a little girl, I sparkled with admiration and was inspired to be all she was, it was from that point on, that I ventured into an unknown world of art, strength and expression. Now being eighteen years old with about fourteen years of experience in the dance world, I have learned and developed the norms, values and practices of the culture, and the conflicting theory within it.

In “Showing What Is Possible,” Jacques D’Amboise reflects on an experience when a teacher helped him discover ballet. Madame Seda helped D’Amboise fulfill his talent. With ballet, he overcame the pressure to join a gang like his friends. D’Amboise was able to become a well-known ballet dancer with help from his teachers. When it was time to retire from dancing, he started the National Dance Institute. This project enabled D’Amboise to influence his own students around the world. An influential teacher can affect one’s future by challenging pupils to move past their comfort zones, teaching them to actively control their future, and setting up an environment where they can improve together.

It seems like I have been waiting years for my letter to come in the mail. Just last month I sent out my application to see if I can get into Juilliard School of Dance, in New York. I live in Springfield, Massachusetts. Juilliard is where only pro dancers, the best of the best, the real shining stars can get into. Ballet has been my passion since I could walk. If I don’t get in, my life is over! All I want to do in life is perform, not sitting down having to fill out paperwork the whole day in a crowded office, or stuck behind a fryer, serving greasy, crusty food to ungrateful customers. Ballet is my escape from that.

To begin, being a member of the Sauk Rapids Dance Team has taught me numerous life skills which also includes working as a team to reach a common goal. I will take this skill with me to the University of Wisconsin-River Falls to accomplish whatever tasks needed with a group. I also will influence others with this particular skill and hopefully reach out to fellow classmates, working together towards whatever goal is set. Dance has let me show my artistic and creative side for the past 16 years. I now see life through a new light and look at the simpler sides of what life has to offer. I believe I am optimistic and have the ability to find the good in any situation.

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.

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

Somewhere were I would had to audition and really work hard to get into the department, not just academically but a dance school that would judge me based on my talent. There was something about California that could not compare to Texas. Therefore, I decided to move back to Texas and audition at Sam Houston State University. My new challenge was, me auditioning for one of the 30 spots offered annually, and making sure they saw something in me that the other 860 dancers did not have. After a long day of dancing, and waiting 3 weeks for the response I got a phone call, it was Sam Houston State University announcing my acceptance to the department of dance. My family and I were incredibly happy, and I knew a new adventure was on my way. Not only did it increase my passion for dance, but by me being accepted into the department I felt secure that I was heading in the right direction. That no matter what challenge I was introduce to I was going to conquer it and achieve it if

important foundation in understanding the broader scope of how dance can be seen as a

Imagine a place where everyone is accepted for who they are. A place where kids can discover their true calling and begin to pursue it. A place where the whole community is united in a bond of friendship and trust. No, this place is not heaven, it is South Pointe. I can’t believe that three years have gone by so fast. Three years of learning how to deal with so many classes. Three years of meeting so many great teachers that changed my way of thinking. Three years of making new friends and discoveries that have made my time here at South Pointe so memorable. Here, at South Pointe, I evolved not only academically, but also socially and emotionally. It helped me learn that it’s never too early to find out what your true passion or career goal

I have danced every year of my life since. I am humbled to say, that through long days and nights in the studio, sacrificing time with my friends and family, all of the blood, sweat, and tears, I have accomplished what I have been working for since I was a little girl waddling around swallowed in a big pink tutu. I was chosen for the lead role of Cinderella in the Danscompany of Gainesville’s “Cinderella Ballet.” This accomplishment is a reflection of my consistent and sustained work ethic. This tenacity is reflected in other areas of my life and will be a defining characteristic that I carry to

Dance is one of the most beautiful, expressive forms of art known to mankind. It expresses joy, love, sorrow, anger, and the list truly goes on for all the possible emotions that it can convey. Dance not only can express how one feels, but it can tell a story or even be used to praise a higher power. Dance has intricately played an important role to every culture over the course of time. Two forms of dance that have not only stood against the test of time but have influenced the development of other various styles of dance is none other than Classical Ballet and Modern Dance.

When I entered my first ballet class, at the age of three, I doubt my mother had thought that I would become as passionate about it, as I did. Now, fourteen years later, that passion has not dwindled. I have spent countless hours in and outside of the dance studio training with some of the most acclaimed professional ballet dancers, in an attempt to further develop a skill that can never be perfected. I have performed and competed, on International stages, in countries like Italy, Panama and the United States and have earned multiple scholarships to attend world renowned dance schools such as Alvin Ailey, the Ecole Supérieure de Danse de Cannes and the Berlin State Ballet. At the age of eleven, I started competing at the Youth America

Everyday, I go into the studio and hear a generous hello from a staff member. If the vibrant dance bags, and leather jet black couches do not make you feel at home, then the dancers will. Mallory Flores is an intern and dancer of 15 years at Encore Studio, and thinks Encore’s sense of community is what makes everyone feel at home whenever they step onto the dance floor. Not only does the sense of community keep the dancers going, but it keeps the business running, as Karen Flores stated she loves how “the people she sees come in and out of the studio have a constant positive energy radiating off of them”. Yet, being at the studio for up to fourteen hours a week for some dancers does not keep them from coming in and enjoying the curriculum taught in class. Not only does it drive the dancers to come to class, but it keeps the teachers motivated to continue to put out their best work too. Angelina Gallo thinks that “The dancers at Encore are so passionate, they are kind, they are genuinely good people… I think a lot of this stems from the dance training and the people that they are surrounded by on a daily basis. The students are my family.” which shows why everyone feels the constant state of security within the

For these past two years in high school, I have been taking Cleo Mack’s dance program that is provided for us at MCVTS. Starting the program freshman year I did not know what to expect at all but I am glad my mom pushed me to come to this school. I have been dancing since I was three at a competition studio who is very strict about almost everything especially performance quality, but as I have learned from Ms. Mack it’s good to tone down the face and make your dancing more authentic and real.