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Essay on ballet movements
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“The ballet is the supreme theatrical form of poetry”. The ballet Giselle successfully embodies common features of romantic poetry without the use of words, but appealing to the senses which ran high among the romantics during romanticism. As a matter of fact, romantics had a blind faith in their intuition, instincts, feelings, emotions and senses; they considered them to be a guide for wisdom and conduct as well as the route to salvation for civilization. Even though literature and ballet use different storytelling devices, imagery portrayed in Romantic literature is successfully and accurately made tangible in the ballet Giselle, the epitome of the Romantic ballet, through music, choreography, mime, staging and costumes. Indeed, the fusion of these elements echoes the romantic literary and artistic movement. Just like painters use different kinds of strokes or poets different rhythms, choreographers use various types of movements to embody different emotions, feelings, ideas or images. “The ballet’s function is ‘symbolic’; each step is ‘a metaphor’, (...) Only our poetic instinct can decipher [a ballerina’s] ‘writing of the body’. Her dance is a ‘poem freed of all the apparatus of writing’.” Due to the fact that the Wilis were spirits, the ballerinas wanted to give the impression of floating. Thus, the romantic fragile, ethereal, supernatural, ghost-like figure was exceptionally achieved through pointe work which introduced a whole new arena of movement that enhanced the qualities of grace and lightness so desired by the choreographers. Now one of the basic elements of ballet, dancing on pointe embodied the romantic ballerina’s pursuit for the ethereal as a romantic ideal of feminine perfection. One of the choreographers, Perro... ... middle of paper ... ...s deep into the human being even having the ability to show its effect through the skin. Dancing echoes the strong lead set by the music and as Agnes de Mille said: “the truest expression of a people is in its dances. Bodies never lie.” Works Cited Cohen, Marshall, and Roger Copeland. What is Dance?: Readings in Theory and Criticism. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983. Cass, Joan. The Dance: A Handbook for the Appreciation of the Choreographic Experience. North Carolina: McFarlan, 1999. Murray, John Christopher. Encyclopedia of the Romantic Era, 1760-1850. New York: Fitzroy Dearborn, 2004. Crisp, Clement, and Edward Thorpe. El fascinante mundo del ballet. Barcelona: Parramón, 1982. McCormick, Malcolm. Costume in Western Traditions: An Overview, in International Encyclopedia of Dance, Vol. 2, Selma Jean Cohen, ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.
Ballet has been an art form since the late fifteenth century, but society did not truly see the impact of ballet until the nineteenth century. Modern day thinkers possess the idea that ballet began with tutus and pointe shoes, but it wasn’t until the nineteenth century that this opinion was observed. Ballet has come a long way. It has survived the turmoil of many wars and has changed itself by accepting new ideas and impressing the audience with its unique stylistic views.
Haskins, James. "Geoffrey Holder and Carmen De Lavallade." Black Dance in America. N.p.: n.p., 1990. 130-37. Print.
Tobias, T. (2008, July 7). Mark Morris Rethinks Prokofiev's `Romeo' as Lusty, Gender Bending, Not Tragic. Retrieved February 27, 2010, from Seeing Things: Tobi Tobias on Dance et al.: http://www.artsjournal.com/tobias/2008/07/mark_morris_rethinks_prokofiev.html
Jensen, Jill Nunes. "Transcending Gender in Ballet’s LINES." When Men Dance: Choreographing Masculinities Across Borders (2009): 118.
Throughout the years, America has pursued the performing arts in a large variety of ways. Theatre plays a dramatic and major role in the arts of our society today, and it takes great effort in all aspects. Musical Theatre, specifically, involves a concentration and strength in dance, acting, and singing. This is the base that Musical Theatre is built upon. For my Senior Project, I helped choreograph multiple scenes in a community musical “Thoroughly Modern Millie”. Choreography is a way of expressing oneself, but it has not always been thought of for that purpose. Agnes de Mille’s expressive talent has drastically affected how people see choreography today. Agnes de Mille’s influence in the world of dance has left a lasting impact in the Performing Arts Department, and her revolutionary works are still known today for their wit, lyricism, emotion, and charm.
Ramsay, B. (2000). Dance theory, sociology, and aesthetics. Dance Research Journal, 32(1), 125-131. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1478286
The Classical Period which happened in the late 1700’s became one the most evolutionary times in ballets history. The Classical Period is where performance and expression became extremely important. With ballet this period is where the use of storytelling became one of the main focuses for the dancer’s performances. The use of their emotions and the character they portrayed were more important than the use of the costumes. The “father of classical ballet” was known as Marius Petipa. Petipa was born in French but he came to Russia to create in the ballet. In the early 1800’s came the Pre-Romantic Period which was short but needed because of Marie Taglioni. Marie Taglioni was the first ballerina to ever dance en pointe. This time was the time pointe surfaced, em pointe which means “on
Cofer, Judith Ortiz. “Silent Dancing.” Encounters: Essays for Exploration and Inquiry. 2nd ed. Ed. Pat C. Hoy II and Robert DiYanni. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2000. 145-51.
I had the pleasure of being in Western Kentucky University Dance Department’s concert, An Evening of Dance. The performance took place on April 29th through May 2nd in Russel Miller Theatre. It consisted of many works from faculty and guest artists. I felt like the concert was a success and that the choreography was all unique in its own way. I enjoyed the pieces that I performed, and the ones that my fellow company members were in. Through the analysis of “Petrichor”, I found that each production and chorographic element plays a large part in the successful outcome of a dance and emotional responses can be evoked by the simplest ideas.
Learning about Dance: Dance as an Art Form and Entertainment provides visions into the many features of dance and inspires scholars to keep an open mind and think critically about the stimulating, bold, ever-changing and active world of dance. Learning about Dance is particularly useful for those who do not have a wide and diverse dance contextual, such as students in a preliminary level or survey dance course. This book consists of twelve chapters. Chapter one dance as an art form focuses on the basic structures of dance. Dance is displayed through the human body, it has the control to communicate and induce reactions. Dance can be found in many different places, it enables the participants and seekers to touch and knowledge the joy of movement. Dance is discovered as being one of the oldest art forms worldwide. Dance existed in early cultures was recognized in a sequence of rock paintings portrayed dance. Since this discovery of rock paintings, several other forms of art have been found that depict dance. People used rituals in order to worship the gods and believed that the rituals held magical and spiritual powers. During the ancient period civilizations sentient decisions began to be made with regard to dance. Other periods that had an impact on dance were the medieval period, the renaissance period, and the contemporary period. Chapter two the choreographer, the choreographer is a person who comes up with the movements created into a dance routine. The choreographer expresses themselves through choreography because this is their way of communicating with the audience. In order to be a choreographer you must have a passion for dance. Each choreographer has their own approaches and ways of making up a routine. Choreographers ...
Every dance that is created by a choreographer has a meaning and or purpose behind it. The dance choreographed could be used to send a political, emotional, or a social message. Regardless of the message being sent, each dance created possesses a unique cultural and human significance. This essay will examine and analyze two dance works from history and give an insight into what each dance work provided to the society of its time.
She narrates her stories and tells them through a sequence of scenes, insofar the audience can separate themselves from the scene. In Bausch’s work, her dancers and actors usually use their real names and recount their own anecdotes, giving insight into their own lives in the real world. This dissolves the line between illusion and reality and forces the audience to observe an authentic reality instead of a “story,” as many dances tend to do. She also tends to use almost empty stages, instead relying on the dancers and their props and costumes to convey the narrative. Bausch’s works stem from “observations of the human condition where she is the observer and the storyteller, bringing to stage, themes and stories she discovers in the quotidian life” (Ebrahimian 61). Whereas most ballets focus on the storytelling of fables, Bausch focused on themes that her and her performers “wished to explore, or have discovered, in observing their society: Themes often include and tell of childhood memories, falling in and out of love, the coming together and separation between people, and stories of hope and despair between two people or groups of people” (Ebrahimian
[6] Cohen, Selma Jeanne. International Encyclopedia of Dance: A Project of Dance Perspectives Foundation, Inc. New York: Oxford UP, 1998. Print.
Individuals can experience release, whether from worldly cares or from physical tension, through the marvelous art form of ballet. Hence ballet, in its many aspects, has much to offer individuals and can be seen reflecting to many Western ideals through this art. Most people often find ballet just appealing to the eye and are just seen watching it be performed. Have you ever wondered what influenced ballet and where it came from? Ballet is reflective of Western ideals in many ways whether it is culturally, politically and aesthetically. Not only is ballet used to appeal to the eye and experience release from worldly cares, but also to demonstrate some sort of history and reflect Western ideology.
“Dance, the art of precise, expressive, and graceful human movement, traditionally, but not necessarily, performed in accord with musical accompaniment. Dancing developed as a natural expression of united feeling and action.”