Posts Tagged ‘dancing’
The Importance of the Ballet Barre
July 9th, 2009
Walking into a ballet class where the students are poised with straight backs, one arm poised gracefully to the side, and one foot resting lightly in line with the barre may seem like something out of a dance movie, but it’s a common sight in all ballet classes. Barre work is the important foundation on which ballet technique is built. By learning not just the basic movements, but understanding how to perform them slowly and with correct posture and balance will help you become a better dancer. Barre exercises are especially developed to train and strengthen the muscles in both your back and legs so that the more complex ballet movements appear effortless. The grace, balance and poise of a ballerina doesn’t come from her clothing, or length of time she has danced, but rather the amount of focus she has put into her barre work.
Fundamental Barre Work
The first barre work exercise that most ballet dancers will learn is a plie. Performed in either first or second position, this is either a demi-plie where your feet hold position with your heels flat into the floor, while the knees bend outwards, or a grand-plie where you should raise your heels off the floor. The most important thing to remember here is to keep your back straight as your knees bend. Don’t be tempted to bend forward.
Tendu Front -Put your feet in 3rd position and slide the foot of the non-supporting leg forward. Your toes should never leave the floor. Once you have extended the leg as far forward as you can, slowly slide it back to the starting position. A variation of this is known as the Tendu side where you begin in 3rd position and slowly slide the non-supporting leg out to the side until the toes are fully pointed and just touching the floor. When returning the foot to 3rd position, the foot should be placed behind the foot of the supporting leg.
Degage: Almost identical to tendus, degage exercises can also be done to the front or to the side. Once you extend the pointed foot at the end of the tendu, lift the foot slightly (remember to keep your toes pointed) from the floor. Return it to the floor and then slide it back into third position.
The next step is to take the extended foot in a tendu, and instead of lifting it a few inches into a degage, you raise the leg (still extended and toes pointed) in line with your hips. This is known as a grand battement and it can be done to the front, the side and also behind. Keep a check that your back is always completely straight, especially with back grand battements where there’s a greater tendency to bend the body forwards as the non-supporting leg goes back and up.
Barre work at first may seem boring and not what you want to do, but put your focus into perfecting the exercises. You’ll find your body not only becomes more graceful and poised, but it will also build strength that will make the more advanced exercises you will learn easier.
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Ballet, it’s more than a Dance, it’s an Art
July 6th, 2009
Pronounced ball-ay without sounding the “t”, ballet isn’t just about movement although the word itself means “dance”. It’s about moving in a way that highlights elegance, grace and beauty. It’s about long extended lines and precise arm and leg placement. Taught across the world in formal ballet schools, and informal school gyms, ballet is a highly technical art form that even has its own vocabulary.
In one respect ballet does conform to other dance styles, and that is that all ballets need choreography. However, in order to be a ballet, the choreography doesn’t just include dance, but also drama acting and mime. Classical music also plays a role in most ballets but vocal music can also be used.
Renaissance Italy was where ballet dancing first began but it would be France who would take the original dance style and create an entire culture from it. King Louis XIV was instrumental in this, and the world’s first ballet school opened in France in 1661. It’s the French roots that are the reason for most of the ballet vocabulary that’s still used today being. Originally only men were ballet dancers but in 1681 women were also allowed to join in.
Ballet dancers were multi-performers. They didn’t just dance, but they would also recite poetry and sing songs that they may have wrote themselves. Modern ballet contains the dance steps that were created in those early years, and most of these steps still have their French names.
Modern ballet centralizes around 5 basic positions, and this too dates back to Seventeenth century France when a choreographer called Pierre Beauchamp created them. Mastering these basic positions is pivotal to developing the balance and posture required to become a good ballet dancer.
Today ballet is more mainstream. Each continent around the world has its own professional ballet schools, and some such as New York, London and Moscow have schools that are the ambition of every would-be ballerina to attend.
Ballerinas are female ballet dancers who dance ‘En Pointe’. They do this with the help of specially made ballet slippers, but before they even begin to use the Pointe shoes, they must first learn to balance their weight correctly so as not to cause themselves injury.
At one time a ballet costume was a dress that went down to the ankle. Today’s female ballet dancers wear tutus which give the illusion that the ballerina is floating across the stage.
Danseurs are male ballet dancers and they never dance ‘En Pointe’. As they are usually required to lift a ballerina during the ballets, danseurs have to have a great level of physical fitness.
Ballet is still as popular today as it once was in Europe. Watching a ballet is something everyone should witness.
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Historical Facts About Waltz
July 4th, 2009
Characterized by elegance, fluid and floating movements, waltz is the oldest of all the partnered dances. Today, it’s spread throughout the world and very commonly danced at weddings. In this article we’ll take a look at some historical facts about waltz.
Waltz is a turning dance. That’s where its name came from. The word waltz, which comes from the old German word “walzen”, means to turn, to revolve.
Before making its way into the Hapsburg courts, waltz was a folk dance of Austria and Bavaria. In the 17th century it became very popular among young aristocracy. It was something new and exciting. But because it was a couple dance that allowed close contact, it was quickly deemed immoral and banned in some areas.
This, of course, didn’t stop it. We all know that forbidden fruits are the sweetest. By the end of the 18th century, waltz conquered all of Europe and soon after, the rest of the world. Mozart was a huge fan of it.
Beautiful waltz music composed by Johann Strauss and Franz Lanner gave waltz in the middle of the 19th century an enormous support. Who doesn’t know The Blue Danube by Johann Strauss Jr.
In the 19th century, when waltz was introduced to the United States, a different style emerged. Boston Waltz, also known as American Waltz, was a slower version of the traditional Viennese Waltz. Later on, the slow waltz, as we know it today, evolved from the Boston waltz. Viennese waltz is three times faster than the slow or English waltz.
Today, waltz is one of the most popular partner dances in the world. It’s romantic, elegant and very easy to learn. It clearly stood the test of time.
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Should your Son do Ballet?
June 27th, 2009
Ballet has always been associated with females. When little girls are asked what they want to be, they always want to be a ballerina. It may seem a little odd if a little boy tells you that he wants to be a ballet dancer. There is a basis for this, it is true that most ballet dancers are females and you will seldom find male ballet dancer.
The strange thing is that although men are not common in the ballet world today, when ballet first began back in the Renaissance period, men were the only ballet dancers. It would be some years before women were allowed to take part in the ballets. Men of that period would dress in tonnelets, a hoop-skirt that came to the knee, and would dance female roles.
When to Start your Son in Ballet
Enrolling your son may be a good idea for you, but your son may not be as optmistic. While you may see all the advantages that your son can get from ballet, he may see otherwise. All he can see are the disadvantages that he can get from ballet classes. Boys usually are the most gender-sensitive people. They always want to look tough and manly. This is why when you want your son to enroll in ballet classes, you need to remember that this is not as simple are enrolling your daughter in the same class.
The main thing your child needs is to have shown an interest in dancing. Usually this surfaces at a very young age, and if you have a son you hope to enrol in a ballet school, then the younger the better! The earlier they start, the more chance you have of him establishing a routine and enjoying his dance before he gets amongst his peers and finds that this isn’t something that many boys do. The older he becomes, the more involved he will become in the traditional male activities and the less likely he will be to willing join a ballet class.
How to Convince the Reluctant Male Ballet Dancer
A great way to get your son interested is through movies - Center Stage and Billy Elliot are a wonderful way of introducing male ballet dancers. You can use the movies as a stepping board to talk about other male ballet dancers. TV’s “So You Think You Can Dance” is another good platform for showing the diversity of dance and that men do dance!
If you can find a ballet school, or even a class, that’s all boys then you’ll have an easier time convincing your child that he’s not the only boy in the world taking ballet class! He will be part of a group of boys who are all interested in learning how to ballet dance and will give him a network of friends who share his dance interest. Make sure you point out how strong ballet dancers are, and how the flexibility he learns at ballet can help him in other sports.
Ballet is fun, and you need to let your son see that fun. Keep an eye on what’s happening at school to ensure he’s not getting teased or bullied for taking part in ballet. One way of doing this is to let him take part in football or soccer at school so that he is doing something that’s more traditionally a male activity. He’ll find that his ballet training helps him play better and that’s going to make him want to stay with his ballet despite what others may say!
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Tags: arts, ballet, classes, dance, dancing, entertainment, exercise, family, Hobbies, lessons, performing, recital, washington dc
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