This is Ballet

I read an article that I found on PlaybillArts.com that talked about some aspects of ballet that are a bit different now than they were 20 or so years ago. I thought it was fascinating how ballet has changed since that time, and the approach the dancers and their choreographers are taking to it now.

Ballet: A History

Ballet is a classic form of dance that originated during the Renaissance. In the 1800's, ballerinas adopted the basic things that are characteristic of dancers today: they started to dance on pointe--on the toes--and romantic tutus were worn (skirts of tulle fabric that went down to the calves). As ballet grew more and more prominent in Russia as a dance form, they developed a variation of ballet that kept the traditional ways of the dance, but with a few slight tweaks:

"Marius Petipa’s The Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake, by Petipa and Lev Ivanov, represent classical ballet in its grandest form. The main purpose was to display classical technique — pointe work, high extensions, precision of movement and turn-out (the outward rotation of the legs from the hip)—to the fullest. Complicated sequences that show off demanding steps, leaps and turns were choreographed into the story. The classical tutu, much shorter and stiffer than the romantic tutu, was introduced at this time to reveal a ballerina’s legs and the difficulty of her movements and footwork." (Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre).

Today, Russian ballet is the standard form of classical ballet that is taught in most dance institutions. The other variations of ballet are Neo-classical and contemporary. (There's some good information about ballet at the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre website).

Ask a Dancer

 Marina Harss of Playbillarts.com recently interviewed ex-ballerina and now teacher at Ballet Academy East, Cheryl Yeager, and also two young soloists, Isabella Boylston and Yuriko Kajiya.

On being asked about the "dance boom" of the 80's, Yeager said that that was the time to dance, and people would know the dancers. Nowadays, people pretty much only know big dancers if they utilize the social network.When asked about ballet in Japan, Yuriko said that it is growing in popularity, even making it on everyday television. She says that there is actually more of it there, since their government supports it more. Concerning dance technique, Cheryl Yeager says that now too much attention is paid to it, and not enough on personal style. And the Internet now has a huge role in dancers' lives in that they can research different styles instead of necessarily having to be taught all of them. Also, she said that dancers nowadays pay way more attention to diet and health than they did back then. One dancer constantly ate McDonald's while on tour.

All three of these dancers have been trained by the accomplished Irina Kolpakova. As you can see, there are some big differences between dancing now and dancing a generation ago. The world of dance is exciting, and constantly evolving. But ballet is the one staple that will continue to move the hearts of dancers and audiences alike.

Sources:

"ABT: Then and Now". Features: Dance. Playbillarts.com. Web. 7 Aug. 2013.
http://www.playbillarts.com/features/article/8789.html

"A Brief History of Ballet". pbt.org. Web.
http://www.pbt.org/community-engagement/brief-history-ballet

"Types and Styles of Ballet". pbt.org. Web.
http://www.pbt.org/community-engagement/types-and-styles-ballet