...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...
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...movement and touch . 'Contemporary dance' has different meanings in different places. Different terms are used: modern dance, post-modern dance, 'new' dance, experimental dance, dance improvisation and contact improvisation as well as other terms in different languages. It is not contemporary artists and companies working in the fields of classical ballet, modern ballet, jazz dance, show dance or other forms of popular dance. Contempraroy is one of the most biggest dance company and it included lots of people that work for them some of them are : Desire Choreography Lisa Wilson Music by Matt Cornell and Paul Charlier Music edited by Matt Cornell Cast Emily Amisano, Juliette Barton, Lachlan Bell, Thomas Bradley, Richard Cilli, Janessa Dufty, Bernhard Knauer Fanatic Concept Sam Haren, Steve Mayhew, Larissa McGowan Choreography Larissa McGowan Dramaturg Sam Haren Sound Construction Steve Mayhew Cast Natalie Allen, Bernhard Knauer/Chris Aubrey, Thomas Bradley Yield Choreography by Emily Amisano Music by Fourtet, Seekae, Gold Panda Music mixed by Grayson James Cast Lachlan Bell, Juliette Barton, Richard Cilli, Janessa Dufty Dream Lucid Choreography Stephanie Lake Music by Robin Fox Cast Chen Wen, Andrew Crawford, Alana Sargent, Jesse Scales, Todd Sutherland, Jessica Thompson, Charmene Yap Choreographers Emily Amisano, Stephanie Lake, Larissa McGowan, Lisa Wilson Rafael Bonachela was a artist director in 2009 : and went to aand made contemporary dance company and...
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...As a child we always have these big dreams that we can save the world by becoming doctors or lawyers. Some of us even think that being a firefighter or police officer can save the society we live in today as well. But what would the world be without the entertainers we see and admire on television? In the present day the people in 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...
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...An 8-year-old girl sat on her bed, as her mom called up to tell her ballet would start soon. A sense of excitement overcame her, as she started to think about her friends and becoming a real ballerina. She quickly slipped on her tan tights and stepped into her black, cotton leotard. Her mom slicked her hair back tight, as she squirmed to get away from her hold. When she looked in the mirror, her brown hair laid perfectly in a bun on top of her head and in her brown eyes she saw the next prima ballerina. Before they left for class, the little girl ran upstairs to grab her pink ballet shoes and gracefully slipped them on. She swiftly ran down the stairs and then jumped to her mother’s car. As the little girl entered the dance studio, the smell...
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...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...
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...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...
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...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...
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...Career in Focus: Staying on Her Toes Illustration by: Shutterstock. Dr. Kathleen Bower combines a love of movement with a passion for PT. By Christine Van Dusen October 2015 It was the season of “The Nutcracker” and the teenaged ballerina was dancing in pointe shoes for almost as many hours as she was awake. Every day she’d squeeze her battered feet into a pair of pale pink slippers, tie their silky ribbons around her slim ankles, then rise up on her toes and spin through a graceful series of pirouettes. After the curtain came down on the final show, she couldn’t point her feet or raise up en pointe; her ankles wouldn’t allow it. Her foot felt like it was on backward. This is when Dr. Kathleen Bower ’11 was first introduced to the world of physical therapy— and was set on the path to become a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) graduate who would combine her love of movement with a passion for injury prevention. Dance injuries have been on the rise for more than a decade, with a 37% increase reported from 1991 to 2007 in a study by the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Feet are crunched, strained, sprained. Ankles are twisted, elbows are bumped and bruised, and arms are broken during falls. Dancers risk losing mobility with every jeté. When dancing en pointe, the average pressure on the shoe’s toe box is about 220 pounds per square inch. Some of the associated injuries can be career-ending. Bower was fortunate, though...
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...view on how parents should be more relaxed about raising their children and how not to be control freaks, which doesn’t do your child any good: “Quit fretting over how much TV your kids watch. Don’t force them to do a million activities they hate” (text 2 ll. 17-19). According to Dr. Caplan, allowing kids to do what they want is nature and only relieves the parents. He believes parents should cut some slack, which is for the better both for the parents but also the child. In text 3 A.S. Neill states that children should have no leash in terms of what the child finds interesting. Neill uses a famous Russian ballet dancer Nijinsky as an example. Even though Nijinsky was restricted getting further in the art by exams he could not pass, he kept on fighting for what he wanted, because that was his desire, and that lead to him being one of the best in the art of ballet. Neill simply thinks that the child’s own desire always should be available to pursue: “I am not decrying learning. But learning should come after play” (text 3 ll. 6-7)....
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...bringing up children. Dr Bryan Caplan claims that activities such as music lessons, organized sports and educational games are a waste of time as they do not make the slightest difference to children when they mature. Parents should relax and give the children more slack and take a backseat role in the children's lives. Although he does subtly state that parents should make an effort to interact with their children until the age of 12 where after "it has no effect" The third and last text is a general policy statement from the Summerhill School. The schools policy is that "Learning should come after play" They state that learning is less important than playing. They give the example of Nijinsky, a famous ballet dancer, who failed to get the grade he needed to attend the ballet school he wished. They say that other schools have too narrow out-look due to classroom walls and the National Curriculum. They believe that children...
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...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 court trying to display greater power and wealth than another. Idealisation of aristocratic power became the new impetus for dance. Court entertainments were prepared with great care. They were 4-5 hours elaborate programs consisting of unconnected...
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...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...
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...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 and viewed other people dancing and tried to mimic their dances with a partner. I was always very nervous to go on stage and dance in front of the whole group. I remember that there was a lot of ballet involved and the costumes were much like the ones we have learned in this class. We got to try on the ballet...
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...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...
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...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...
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