Quick Summary of Ballet Dance
The following is a great summary of ballet, including a short list of some major ballet styles. The excerpt also includes a bit of info on the differences between ballet and modern dance. Ballet is one of the biggest foundations in all of dance and you're unlikely as a dance student to go through your training without encountering a fair amount of ballet.
Title: The Dance Bible: The Complete Resource for Aspiring Dancers Author: Camille LeFevre Excerpt: |
Ballet
Ballet is an excellent foundation for all forms of dance, because of the strength, grace, precision, and poise it brings to the body.
The foundational principles of ballet were created to, over time and through rigorous training, develop a dancer's grace, poise, posture, and strength. These principles include the following:
Turnout: outward rotation of the leg from the hips, for greater leg extension
Pull up: lengthening the spine from the top of the neck to the lumbar region
Alignment: weight distributed evenly between both feet, ankles straight; knees directly over toes; hips turned out and knees straight; shoulders down; torso slightly forward; chest lifted (so ribs do not stick out); neck relaxed and chin up
Pointing the foot: high flexible arch (curve under the foot) accentuates the pointed toes for long leg lines
Flexibility: increases range and suppleness of movements
Port de bras (carriage of the arms): five basic positions, a graceful and expressive accompaniment to the movements of the legs
The foundational principles of ballet were created to, over time and through rigorous training, develop a dancer's grace, poise, posture, and strength. These principles include the following:
Turnout: outward rotation of the leg from the hips, for greater leg extension
Pull up: lengthening the spine from the top of the neck to the lumbar region
Alignment: weight distributed evenly between both feet, ankles straight; knees directly over toes; hips turned out and knees straight; shoulders down; torso slightly forward; chest lifted (so ribs do not stick out); neck relaxed and chin up
Pointing the foot: high flexible arch (curve under the foot) accentuates the pointed toes for long leg lines
Flexibility: increases range and suppleness of movements
Port de bras (carriage of the arms): five basic positions, a graceful and expressive accompaniment to the movements of the legs
Styles of Ballet
Since classical ballet began developing in the French courts of Louis XIV, the basic ballet steps have been taught around the world and have formed the basis of a variety of distinctive styles with variations in technique. The result is slight differences in the physical profile of the dancer and the ballet aesthetic from region to region, company to company. Although all styles are technically rigorous, here are some variations:
Paris Opera Ballet School (French) - dramatic and alluring presentation
Bournonville (Danish) - low, quick footwork, melodic arms
Vaganova (Russian) - soft and pliant beneath clear lines
Cecchetti (Italian) - features eight port de bras and forty adages
Royal Ballet School and Royal Academy of Dance (English) - influenced by Cecchetti, pure line free of mannerisms
Alicia Alonso (Cuban) - drama embedded in pure technique
George Balanchine (American or neoclassical) - extreme speed, height, length, and plié : effect of compressed time and space; syncopated musicality
William Forsythe (deconstructionist) - pulls, pushes, twists the line and geometries of ballet
Paris Opera Ballet School (French) - dramatic and alluring presentation
Bournonville (Danish) - low, quick footwork, melodic arms
Vaganova (Russian) - soft and pliant beneath clear lines
Cecchetti (Italian) - features eight port de bras and forty adages
Royal Ballet School and Royal Academy of Dance (English) - influenced by Cecchetti, pure line free of mannerisms
Alicia Alonso (Cuban) - drama embedded in pure technique
George Balanchine (American or neoclassical) - extreme speed, height, length, and plié : effect of compressed time and space; syncopated musicality
William Forsythe (deconstructionist) - pulls, pushes, twists the line and geometries of ballet
Modern Dance: Traditional
Modern dance originated, largely in the United States, to challenge the conformity and techniques, philosophy, aesthetics, narratives, and production values of classical ballet. It's a dance form of individualization, which arose out of the individual artist's need to express new ideas about life in the twentieth century.
In contrast to ballet, modern dancers are barefoot. Modern dance often works with feet and legs in parallel, with a flexible torso, and uses weight and gravity to create movements and shapes. The choreography uses all levels in space, including the floor, and dancers may be positioned sideways or even with backs turned to the audience. The staging for modern dance is often minimal, and costuming ranges from leotards to street clothes. Choreographers continually innovate new steps, shapes, and phrases, and they may also dance in their own work. A modern-dance piece may be a solo, a small-group work, or a piece for a full company.
- from "The Dance Bible: The Complete Resource for Aspiring Dancers," by Camille LeFevre
In contrast to ballet, modern dancers are barefoot. Modern dance often works with feet and legs in parallel, with a flexible torso, and uses weight and gravity to create movements and shapes. The choreography uses all levels in space, including the floor, and dancers may be positioned sideways or even with backs turned to the audience. The staging for modern dance is often minimal, and costuming ranges from leotards to street clothes. Choreographers continually innovate new steps, shapes, and phrases, and they may also dance in their own work. A modern-dance piece may be a solo, a small-group work, or a piece for a full company.
- from "The Dance Bible: The Complete Resource for Aspiring Dancers," by Camille LeFevre