The lights dimmed in the 3,000 seat Segerstrom Hall to reveal the American Ballet Theatre performing Whipped Cream. The pop-surrealist atmosphere of the show was enhanced by the enticing sugar theme sprinkled throughout. Princess Praline, Princess Tea Flower, Prince Cocoa, Prince Coffee, and Whipped Cream dance through the dreams of a boy who was bedridden for a sugar overdose. The costumes, elaborate sets, choreography, and playful music all worked simultaneously to bring this ballet its whimsy.
No expense was spared while creating the costumes for “Whipped Cream.” During the show ballet dancers wore specific costumes based on their characters. Princess Praline adorned a red and white candy cane inspired leotard with an elaborate pink tutu decorated with scattered white pompoms. Atop her head was a diamond encrusted crown with pink tulle in the center. Princess Tea Flower displayed a leotard covered in pink ombre petals and a green tutu with layered silk “leaves.” Prince Cocoa bore a dark brown
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Intricate petit allegros and infeasible partnering work dominated the Princess Tea Flower’s Attendants performance, where stunning grand allegros were reserved for the Whipped Cream. The refinement of the movements in this ballet were inevitable with Alexi Ratmansky as the choreographer. However the ballet's final state was unforeseen, each movement was polished, graceful and in time. The movements seemed conscious, each movement led perfectly into the next, like a story the movements were predictable, yet startling at the same time. The whimsy of the choreography was most apparent toward the beginning with faster sections of dance that is not normally in ballet. The choreographer also added whimsy through odd formations of dancers and the usage of flexed feet in certain dance movements that would normally be performed with pointed feet like kicks or leaps. Thus, the choreography in this ballet was
The theatre is full of young men and women. The gas lanterns dimly light the room and the silhouette of a figure can be seen in the shadows of the stage. As she emerges, she is like a dream: a tall, elegant body with a form fitting bodice and tutu. She is entrancing on her tiny pointe shoes as she floats across the stage. Love and passion fill the air as she moves in such a way that is almost magical. The Romantic Ballet Period introduced the aspects of theme, costume, and new technique to the dance world and its influences are still seen in contemporary works in ballet.
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.
I loved how Butterfly’s Uncle’s identifying step for me were how he would always seem to be doing jumps such as glissades and pas de chats in his choreography. I was pleased to see that I recognized the temps levés and enveloppés that Sharpless was implementing when he read Butterfly Pinkerton’s letter. I now understand how crucial it is for dancers to spot after I viewed how sharp, straight, and elegant Pinkerton’s pirouettes were in Act one. I also believe in the power of articulating through pliés are to a dancer because I saw how simply beautiful and high the cast’s grande jetés were throughout the performance. How important epaulment for ballet dancers is was very evident throughout, and how much thinking of performing to each individual’s corner of the room was critical in creating and maintain straight and crisp
Li’s passion for ballet shows on and off stage through his arabesques, flexibility, fouettés, grande jeté and pirouettes that were nothing less than perfection. I understood that becoming a dancer requires commitment, passion and having a great memory as there’s many moves, routines and ballet terms that you need to learn. When I was performing on stage, I felt free and that I could own the stage as it felt like it was my second home. I also felt complete within myself just as Li felt. To perform on stage, you need to be light and graceful along with connecting to the music using precise steps, poses and formal gestures. The film used dance, music, scenery, and costumes to portray a story characterised by Li’s dance. Classical ballet dancers require the utmost grace and I’ve found that you also need a tremendous level of concentration and memory. This portrays when his choreographer Ben Stevenson asked Li Cunxin to replace the main male role due to an injury on the day of the performance to memorise new dances and perform them in front of an enormous crowd. Many of my performances have been in a group where we all need to be in sync and work together. This film highlighted that in order to become a professional ballet dancer, you have to prepare to work extremely hard no matter how gruelling the schedule is in order to
At some points the dancers would move fast and quick with swift motions but in the
The stage that hosted the creation of illusion for those attending ballet after 1827 in its “golden age” (Guest, 1) introduced a new world, but one that could not be reached. These illusions were expressed through performance as “moods of Romanticism.” (5) The Romantic period of the early 19th century emphasized the alienation of an individual, the spectacle of that isolation, and the Romantic ideal that perfection remains mysterious and unattainable, as opposed to the late 18th century’s Enlightenment ideals that held rationality and tangible beings most profound. The spectacle of an estranged, supernatural being embodies these elements of Romanticism, as was represented in Romantic ballet. Coralli and Perrot’s 1841 ballet, Giselle, incorporated these Romantic elements into “each one of (the ballet’s) component parts - scenic design…choreography and dance style” (7), as well as with innovations in narrative. These narratives began to project women as powerful representations of the ethereal, supernatural being, as is specifically shown in the character of Giselle in Coralli and Perrot’s ballet. Through the novelties of Romantic visual presentation in scenery, movement, and narrative, the golden age of ballet was able to effectively “(reveal) the unattainable” (7) and supernatural.
Allison Bonetti, a dancer in the performance, is quoted, remarking, “I feel dizzy every time we complete the Waltz section, but I don’t feel dirty or scandalous, as I would after, say I maybe danced in a club. I think I speak for many of us when I say that the Waltz feels like a dance my grandmother would do.” In fact, the performance is misleading seeing as it is paired with very formal and controlled dances such as the Pavane and the minuet. In fact, modern historians such as Mark Knowles have compared the Waltz to social hip hop dances of today such as “krumping and grinding” since through the ages social dances have been “manifestations of society’s beliefs, values, attitudes, confusions, and concerns.” If the performance was to correctly convey this notion, it would have beneficial to place the nineteenth century Waltz in the second half of the performance, along with dances like the Quan and the Whip. However, in order to maintain chronological accuracy, the Waltz was placed in the beginning of the performance, overall failing to reveal the true nature of the nineteenth century
On the 18th of March, 2016, Miami City Ballet performed Shakespeare’s sublime play A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This casting took place at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, Miami Beach, Florida. A Midsummer Night’s Dream followed the romantic adventures and misadventures, quarrels and reconciliations, of two pairs of mortal lovers, as well as the King and Queen of all the fairies. Throughout the course of this paper, an analysis of the choreography, demonstrated principles of dance and the effectiveness of the message conveyed during A Midsummer Night’s Dream’s will be discussed in detail.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of Shakespeare’s most popular and frequently performed comical plays (Berardinelli). The play transformed into a cinematic production by Michael Hoffman has not changed in its basic plot and dialogue, but the setting and some character traits have. The play setting has been gracefully moved from 16th century Greece to 19th century Tuscany (Berardinelli). The addition of bicycles to the play affects the characters in that they no longer have to chase each other around the woods, but can take chase in a more efficient fashion. As far as characters are concerned, Demetrius is no longer the smug and somewhat rude character we find in act 1, scene 1 (Shakespeare pg. 6, line 91), but rather a seemingly indifferent gentleman placed in an unfortunate circumstance set to delay his wedding to Hermia. Perhaps the most noticeable change in the character set from stage to film occurs in the characters of Puck and Nick Bottom.
The set was so elaborate that it almost took focus away from the equally elaborate costumes. The wealthy were dressed in Elizabethan-style clothing. The women in particular seemed to all dress in shades of pink, which contrasted the earthy tones of the lower class. The most impressive costume, even more than Cinderella’s white satin off-the-shoulder ball gown, was the giant. If there was an actual human being on stilts under there, it was hidden well by twigs and leaves. The giant’s costume was ...
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
On May 29, 1913 when Diaghilev’s masterpiece debuted at the Theatre des Champs-Elysees, the response of the audience was overwhelming in their shock at the erotic and unconventional nature of the dance. What made this performance different then what anyone in Western Europe had ever seen before was its jarring and sexual nature. Rather than the music and choreography be one, flowing, coherent unit, it was instead rather choppy and dissonant which most likely caught the naive audience off guard. The nature of this ballet is described many times t...
Ballet in Louis XIV's court was characterized by extreme ornamentation and gaudiness. The ballet master, Jean Baptiste Lully, sought to show the dignified style of the Sun King. The themes of ballets at court range...
Ballet is beautiful, touching and tells an enchanting story or expresses deep emotion. There will always be people who love dancing and dedicate their lives to it, losing their problems in the magic of performing. There will always be people to continue choreographing ballets, those with expansive creative genius. There will always be people to compose music for ballets, whose fount of ideas never runs dry. Of course, there will always be people to attend a ballet performance; the seats will be filled with ballet lovers anticipating the spellbinding charm of the dancing. Ballet is always changing its costumes, portrayal, music, and dancing, but its purpose and goal still remain the same. Ballet’s rich history and background are always expanding and adding new dancers, choreographers, and composers to
A ballet dancer’s general intention when performing any piece is to convey a message to the audience. A message is relayed through the dancer’s strategic facial expressions and body movements. Each movement has a purpose in articulating the dancer’s energy, and confidence within themselves to express the emotions and inspire the audience (Lucas). A dancer’s energy and