...Ballet and Modern Dance Dancing is considered to be a form of expression and is known to be one of the most exquisite and expressive forms of art. Dancers use body movements to create stories and send emotions to their audience. Some dancers perform ballet, while others perform modern dance. Ballet and modern dance are two forms of dance that have strongly influenced the development of other various styles of dance, and can express emotions such as love, joy, anger and sorrow. Conoley-Paladino (2012), “In the very beginning, modern dance was considered to be an expressional dance and ballet was considered to be a technical dance. However, the two forms have since merged.” (para. 2). Ballet began in Italy in the 14th century and was introduced to France by Catherin de’ Medici. The first ballet with music, props, and movement took place in France, in front of Catherin and the courts. (apollolibrary.com, 2013) The term “ballet” comes from France and traces back to Italy, which means “to dance”. Ballet continued to develop throughout the 15th and 16th centuries, and well into the 20th century, where different styles of ballet soon developed. (balletdancersguide.com, 2014) Ballet can tell a story, express feelings, or reflect music, and is usually performed in front of an audience. Ballet is a very graceful dance, in which dancers perform unnatural body movements, such as leg extensions above their head. However, these movements look natural when done correctly. ...
Words: 638 - Pages: 3
...Ballet Script Introduction Ballet is a form of dance that uses emotions, Physical movement, and gestures. Ballets tell a story, like a play except the dancers don’t speak. Some examples of different ballets are Swan Lake, Cinderella, and the Nutcracker. Ballet is an art, just like a painting or a piece of music. Technique Ballet is based off 5 positions of the feet. Dancers turn their feet outwards which helps with leaps, turns, and balance. In ballet, not only are there positions for the feet, but there are positions for the arms and head, that help with their posture. Because, in ballet you need to have the perfect posture. Ballet dancers dance on the point of their toes which is called dancing on pointe. Usually only female dancers dance...
Words: 302 - Pages: 2
...Classical ballet is a traditional, formal style of ballet formed in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th to 16th century. It is known for its accurate and scrupulous technique including of pointe work, turnout of the legs, and high extensions. It requires graceful and precise movements as well as having elegant qualities. Classical ballet has since become a highly technical form of dance with its own vocabulary. It is an extremely influential form of dance which has spread all around the world. After its formation in the 15th century, classical ballet quickly travelled to France where it soon developed into an art form. However, during the beginning, court ballets were performed by amateur dancers rather than professionals. Most of ballet's early movements had evolved from the social court dances and featured stage patterns rather than formal ballet technique that we have today. The current ballet technique includes of the 5 arm and feet positions produced by Pierre Beauchamp in. These positions are a fundamental part of classical ballet and are very important because every basic move in ballet begins and ends in one of the five positions. In first position, the balls of the feet are turned out completely. The heels touch each other and the feet face outward. In second position, the balls of both feet are turned out completely. The heels are separated, standing around shoulder width apart. Second position is very similar to first position, but the feet are spread apart...
Words: 796 - Pages: 4
...main character, Nina, is an obsessed ballerina who at the end destroyed her own life. I began the essay trying to prove that her obsession with being perfect is what leaded her to her destruction and death, but after analyzing the movie it all turned around. I based my investigation in reviews of the film, different type of articles; such as from doctors who give their opinion about Nina’s behavior. These ones in particular where the most important for the answer of my research question, because these doctors have analyzed the mental condition of Nina and together with my own opinion it helped me to come to a conclusion. I also focused on the opinion of various dancers about the film, because they are the ones that understand the world of ballet more than anyone else. At last there were also interviews with the director to explain why he decided to make this movie and what he was trying to prove through it. The movie was, of course my principal source, I applied the whole investigation in the analysis of the movie. Then after having read all that information and having analyzed the movie to the end, I came to the conclusion that the need of being perfect of a human being is not what guides to its destruction, there have to be other factors that influence in the problem, such as pressure or intimacy. Index Introduction 4 Chapter 1 7 Perfectionism reflected in the movie 7 Chapter 2 11 Psychological problems brought by being a...
Words: 4880 - Pages: 20
...kneel here before the gods and the thought of what I am about to do stings my eyes like incense. I can already hear the protest from Pearl’s ballet teachers – “you can’t do this, she is an extraordinary talent.” The gods give with one hand and take with the other, I 5 think, and then, ashamed, immediately touch my forehead to the ground before the triple Buddhas. The gods must forgive my lack of insight. But how could those teachers understand that we had originally allowed Pearl to dance only because we had no place else to put her? Her father and I spent our waking hours at the factory in Chinatown. Pearl was too young, or so I argued, to breathe in that clogged air, thick with fabric dust 10 that clung to our skin like a veil, turning even our sweat the colour of the garments we worked on. And somehow the consequences of that initial instinct to protect her have branched out through the years, sprouting and twisting, to arrive at this moment. I suppose I spoiled her but she is my only girl. And she seemed so tiny when we first came to America, bundled into her red sweater and sent off to second grade alone. [...] 15 In the beginning, we tried to leave her alone at home after school. I had no one in this country, relative or neighbour, to look after her and we could not spare a moment from the work at the factory. It’s only for a few hours, I told myself, and she knows not to play with the stove and such, but I could not stand coming home to see her little face in the window...
Words: 1115 - Pages: 5
...media are influencing us more than the teachers and elders in our neighborhoods. One entertainer that I look up to is Zoe Saldana. Although, her career in entertainment has just recently begun she has impacted film and society in a positive manner through her ability to play strong female lead roles that challenge how we view female sexuality and which helps transcend Hollywood’s perspective of race and ethnicity. Her career started quite spontaneously. She was born in New Jersey but moved to the Dominican Republic at the age of nine after the death of her father. There she took interest in dance and was enrolled in a prestigious dance academy. She came back to the United States at the age of seventeen, where she was discovered by a talent agency after performing around town with Faces Theater Troupe, a theater troupe which focused on keeping teens out of the streets and trouble. Her dance ability and acting experience expedited her to land her first role in the movie Center Stage. Since Center Stage her career has taken off. In a 2003 interview Saldana was asked why she passed over the topic of race in her past interviews. She replied, “Because ethnic is a word that doesn’t exists in my vocabulary. In Hollywood you hear thing like, Oh, they loved you but they want to go more traditional.” She also went on to say that traditional was the new “N” word so when someone calls her dark she just says my skin is my skin. Hollywood uses the term traditional referring to going white rather...
Words: 1510 - Pages: 7
...For Beethoven, the sonata form is not a scheme that can be used in caprice one day and abandoned the next. This form dominates everything he imagines and composes; it is the very mark of his creation and the form of his thought – an inherent form, a natural one. (Edwin Fischer, Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas). Beethoven’s thirty-two piano sonatas constitute a great treasure that embodies a part of the human eternity. Numerous pianists and musicologists have researched or studied them, trying to impart to their students or readers the prodigality of these true musical riches. Beethoven holds a key role in the transformation and evolution of the sonata form. Even if he maintains the characteristics initially set by his predecessors, Haydn and Mozart, Beethoven imposes on the sonata his strong personality creating a new, impressive, form of art, in which his own life, with its joys and sorrows, is projected. With Beethoven the musical theme acquires remarkable proportions, of such strength, that it imposes itself over the listener’s attention and memory. As the French composer, Vincent d’ Indy once said, with Beethoven, the musical theme turns into an concept that spreads throughout the hole work making it easily recognizable even if harmonic, modal or tonal aspects change. The fundamental principle of organization of the Beethoven piano sonata is the tonality. We can say that Beethoven perceived tonality as the key to any composition, since it leads to the true...
Words: 2698 - Pages: 11
...Introduction In my essay I am going to be discussing ‘Tragic Ballets ‘and ‘Heroines’. As a child I spent a brief period studying ballet and on a visit to Prague, in February 2013, I enjoyed watching the Russian Ballet perform 'Giselle' at the Prague State Opera House. I have often wondered why so many ballets and the female heroines in them end in tragedy. My essay will discuss the issues that female heroines face and the events that eventually bring them to their fate. I will also discuss the origins and definitions of ‘heroine’ and ‘tragedy’. In order to examine my chosen themes I started my investigation by watching, analysing and comparing the films ‘Black Swan’, ‘The Red Shoes’ and the ballet ‘Giselle’. I read the feminist writings of Marina Warner on the portrayal of women, the Catholic Church and also her book on ‘Joan of Arc. In my essay I will be discussing the themes of love, conquest, devotion, deception, spirituality and how they play a role in altering the lives of the female protagonists in various different situations and offer my own opinions on how the tragedies are formed. I will begin my comparison of the female heroines that I will be discussing, with Giselle. Figure 1'Giselle and Count Albrecht' The Russian Ballet Giselle is a poor peasant’s daughter who falls in love with Count Albrecht. Count Albrecht’s character plays the main part in the protagonist Giselle’s downfall during the ballet, as he breaks her heart when she learns that he is betrothed...
Words: 3377 - Pages: 14
...police car is going to take him to a Psychiatric institution. Harrison Bergeron: In Harrison Bergeron we are introduced to a world where everybody is equal. If it’s necessary, you get applied what’s called handicaps. It means that if you’re fit or strong you get heavy blocks attached to your body and it’s very illegal to remove them. Smart people wear earplugs that make a noise at frequent intervals, which prevent them to do any smart thinking. The story is about George and Hazel Bergeron who is watching television. George is very handicapped with both blocks and earplugs. But Hazel is very average and don’t need any handicaps. They are watching a bunch of handicapped ballet dancers dance, when suddenly the transmission is interrupted by a newscast. A dangerous person named Harrison Bergeron has escaped. The ballet show is resumed, but is quickly interrupted by no other than Harrison Bergeron entering the stage. He has massive handicaps and full headphones. He is protesting against the way the world works with the...
Words: 1021 - Pages: 5
...publications and channels. However, on June 16, 1961, the Art of Ballet was on the front page of newspapers all around the world because that was the day that Rudolf Nureyev defected from the Soviet Union . His dramatic departure to the West, in essence, created its own Cold War crisis and turned him into a celebrity overnight. This, however, was just the beginning. Nureyev, a Russian dancer known for his ground breaking contributions to the world of ballet, spent the remainder of his life tearing down barriers and reinventing male ballet technique. What he brought to dance was a new role for men. No longer would men be just the frame holding or accentuating the picture of the female as the centerpiece. Nureyev continually worked to challenge the techniques of modern ballet dance by updating the most sacred of classics. He even made history by partnering with a woman twice his age, prima ballerina abssoluta, Margot Fonteyn. Due to his outspoken nature and willingness to taunt the rules of Soviet Communism, Rudolf Nureyev was convicted, in absentia, of treason (assigned traitor number 50,888) against the state under Soviet article N43 in April of 1962 . The intent of this paper is to take a deeper look into the complex and colorful life of Rudolf Nureyev: a man who pushed the limits during a time in the Soviet Union when the limits were not supposed to be pushed and a man who forever changed the world of ballet. In order to gain a better understanding of the man who challenged...
Words: 4886 - Pages: 20
...Committee contestants. This is determined on a first-come, first-serve basis. The first contestant to register her talent with the State Office is the one who will have preference. Example – two vocalists cannot sing the same song; but a vocalist can sing the same song that a dancer chooses to dance to. All talent presentations must follow the Miss America ruling of no longer than 1:30 minutes in length. DATE SUBMITTED: ___March 24, 2010__________________________ CONTESTANT’S NAME: ______Christine Kent_________________________________________ TITLE: _____Arkansas District Miss Black and Gold_______________________________________ Telephone: Home (870 ) 243-2078___________ School: ( )_________________ Fax: ( )________ E-Mail Address: Christine.kent@smail.astate.edu ________________________________________ TYPE OF TALENT: ____Drama__________________________________________________ (vocal – pop, jazz, aria, etc; dance – tap, ballet, jazz, lyrical, ballet en pointe, drama; instrumental, etc. Be specific) Full title of music you plan to use in your talent presentation: _____________N/A___________________________________________________________ ________________ Composer: ___________________________________________ Publisher: __________________________________ Name, address and phone number of the record company:...
Words: 281 - Pages: 2
... We are already able to tell that after the first line in the story, which says: ‘’I kneel before the gods and the thought of what I am about to do stings my eyes like incense’’. The first thing I thought when I had read the first couple of lines, was that it sounded like the mother is going to tell the ballet teachers that Pearl couldn’t dance there anymore. She tells how hard it had been for her family at the start, so the author probably wants the reader to put her/himself in the mother’s place. Right after she tells that she probably spoiled her, but she only did it because she thinks that it would be the best for Pearl. On line 20 and 21 Pearl says that when her mother is running late, she starts beating her stuffed dog ‘Fat Boy’. This could symbolize Pearl’s frustration with her mother. On line 35-39 things begin to turn around for Pearl. She starts making friends, and they sometimes ask Pearl if she wants to join them at their house, but the mother doesn’t allow her to go. That gives the reader a picture, well at least me, of the mother being quite paranoid. Later it sounds like one of the mothers’ prayers had been heard, because on line 44 and 45 we read that a ballet school gives...
Words: 715 - Pages: 3
... CHOREOGRAPHY (ETYMOLOGY) khoreia: “dance” graphein: “to write” STYLE in Dance derives from 3 related sets of conventions 1. The quality with which the movement is performed (texture or quality found in movement as it is performed) Rudolph von Laban’s systematization of “quality in movement”: Space: indirect, direct Time: sustained, quick Weight: strong, light Flow: free, bound Acc. to Laban, all human movement exhibits constellations of these factors that form identifiable textures or qualities of movement. 1 2. The characteristic use of the parts of the body with their symbolic associations. Solar plexus (Duncan), lower abdomen and pelvis as an isolable area (Graham), fixed/vertical torso (ballet). Pelvis: sexual, primitive instincts and desires Chest: emotions and feelings Head: intellect, rationality, process of thinking 3. Characteristic use of “performance space”. (a three dimensional spatial grid symbolically defines the space) i.e. movements that occur in the air (jumps & lifts) or gestures towards upper space – mostly associated with the pure, heavenly, etc. movements on the flor –associations with more earthly existence. 2 THEATRE DANCE From Aristocratic Entertainments (1300-1600) to Court Spectacles (1530s-1640s) to French Court Ballet – “The Sun King” Dancing (1650-1700s) French nobility “dancing” in the entertainments and spectacles to show off their power and dignity. Spectacles organized by courts, dukedoms, etc. quickly became competitive, one...
Words: 2507 - Pages: 11
...here to tell you about the reasons behind my interest in dance appreciation. At first when it was time to pick all of my classes I was looking for a class that fit my schedule and was flexible. One of my good friends told me there was this class that was interesting and a good class for what I was looking for. She said that Dance Appreciation was a class that was flexible enough and interesting enough for me to take along with my heavy course load. Therefore I decided that this class was going to be very important for my studies this year. Some of my friends decided to take the class as well this semester so it makes this class interesting because I have a lot of people to talk about the information about. My mother and my sister are avid dancers and they have been dancing for their whole lives. When I was younger I always had gone to all of their dancing comeptitions and performances and I loved the way everyone competed, looked, and acted out on the dancing floor. My sister was very good at ballet which got me very curious when learning about ballet in this class. In middle school I had a dance unit in physical education which broadened my horizon of the dance world. We learned all these types of dancing such as the two step, ballet, hip-hop, and some barn dances. All of these dances were really great to learn about and interesting to actually do with other people. I also participated in a group called “Social Dance” in which every Saturday we went into this large auditorium...
Words: 697 - Pages: 3
...Dance historians and theorists have often examined the question of “why dance?” in musical theatre. The purely danced constructs of dream ballets can be used to examine this question very specifically. Dream ballets came along with the creation of the book musical, which helped create musical theatre form we know today. Thus, dream ballets played a significant role in shaping the function of dance on the musical stage. In their original iteration, dream ballets served to expose the internal lives of the characters that could not be expressed by words alone. Even though over time dream ballets have fallen out of popularity in favor of new forms and technologies, the purpose of externalizing the internal when words are not enough persists in...
Words: 1223 - Pages: 5
