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Ballet and Modern Dance

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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. Ballet requires control of the body, flexibility, and a lot of training. Learning to perform difficult ballet moves can take years of training. (thecharlestonballet.com, 2014)
Choreographers can get ideas from stories and have the dancers play the part of characters in the story. Choreographers can also get ideas from music or a painting and have the dancers create a mood or image like that

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