American Ballet Theatre

In their book “Scenic Art for the Theatre: History, Tools and Techniques”, Susan Crabtree and Peter Beudert emphasized, “Don’t draw things; draw relationships. It’s so simple: just put every brush stroke in the right place.” The quotation basically summarizes the job of a scenic designer, who is responsible for bringing the world of the production onto the stage. The scenic designer (or set designer) is expected to fulfill five basic goals in order to design an overall concept for the play.…

party, a magical gift, toy soldiers to fight the King of Mice, swirling snowflakes and a fantastic voyage to the Kingdom of Sweets to meet the beautiful Sugar Plum Fairy. On December 19th, 2015, the Greensboro Ballet performed their rendition of this story, the Nutcracker, at the Carolina Theatre of Greensboro. Every year, they always have the showing of the Nutcracker with new people dancing the multitudes of different characters. Every year, giving a new perspective to the story. During the…

What were some of the theatrical innovations of this era? Throughout the romantic ballet era (1830-1850) new theatrical innovations were introduced which revolutionised the theatre going experience for both dancer and the audience.Before the Romantic Era the theatres were lit by houselights which remained on throughout whole performances. When gas lighting was invented and brought into the theatres it became a major feature. During a performance, gas lighting took a more predominant role,…

For this assignment I chose to watch the musical movie Rock of Ages. This movie is high energy and has fun and frisky choreography. With professional dancer Julianne Hough as our leading lady in the film it is tough not to get caught up in how the movement tells the story. After watching it I did realize there were several moments where they stopped dancing and that seemed to work for the story as well. From the start we get the urge to move with the opening song Paradise City. This number…

Lake Dillon Theatre Company. I’m Ariel Kurtz and I am a junior at SUNY Empire State College studying Musical Theatre and Theatre Education in Manhattan. My mission in life is to change the world through art and make art accessible to everyone. I am available for the full availability for the duration of the Performance Apprenticeship. I’m interested in the Performance Apprenticeship so I can learn about what a professional Musical Theatre environment is like and to learn jobs in the theatre so I…

Painting and relevance: Jacques-Louis David’s “Oath of the Horatii” was painted in 1784 and it was commissioned by the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture on behalf of the Kind Louis XVI. The inspiration of the painting had to come by Corneille’s Play “Horace” which was being performed in Paris during that time. In 1785 the painting was exhibited at the Paris Salon. The painting shows a decisive moment of will as well as a great family tragedy resulting from political consequences. The…

constantly changing world and society and chose dance as a way to express motion, evanescence, and tell a story. Both focused in on the use of color and negative space to communicate something more. Alexey Brodovitch was a Russian Aristocrat turned American. Born in Russia he served in World War I and fought the Bolsheviks afterwards. He was forced to flee when injured and the hospital he was in was invaded. This led him to settle in Paris and eventually in America…

The two clips I chose to compare and contrast were an NYC jazz and contemporary company’s performance of “Steam Heat” choreographed by Lisa Donmall-Reeve and Lindsey’s Stirling’s performance of a Les Miserables medley. Both clips exhibited a high degree of musicality and grabbed my attention almost immediately. They incorporated lighting and costuming with an incredible mastery to enrich the performance. I highly enjoyed the music that accompanied both dances and thought that the choreography…

She no longer had to wear the normal pink ballet shoes with the pretty pink bow at the toe, the girl had upgraded to something much more rewarding. All of the girl’s hard work and long years of ballet finally paid off when her teacher told her to go out and buy this Bloch light pink satin pointe shoes. They signified that she was not only moving up in dance but growing…

turns, the shoes themselves had tiny heels. As ballet evolved, many different new looks stayed around and others forgotten. For example, the classy white, round skirts that reached only at the calf for women. Dance variations in ballet also came and went, famous one was dancing on toe (pointe) that was meant only for women as well. Ballet gained popularities mostly because the Ballet Russes, they toured Europe and America, exposing the different ballet variations and finally, one of them (George…