Classical ballet

Struggle in Billy Elliot Imagine a boy who has a passion. He loves to do ballet. In fact, he’s amazing at it. His ballet teacher and peers praise him and thinks he’s amazing. Every time he dances it’s like he’s floating through the clouds. He’s practicing his ballet one day and his dad comes in and screams at him for following his dream. Inferring that he’s gay for doing ballet. Having power over him telling him he can’t follow his dream. The movie Billy Elliot explores these ideas of…

If you are wondering who one of the most influential dancers of the 20th century was, as well as the person who is considered to be the “mother of modern dance”, then you need to take a look at Martha Graham. Graham was born in Pennsylvania on May 11, 1894, but it wasn’t until she was 17 that she really got into studying dance fully. After watching Ruth St. Denis perform, Graham was inspired to learn to do the same, and begged her parents to allow her the luxury of taking classes.…

In “A Dance through the Ages,” a practicum performance focusing on various social and courtly dances throughout many generations, two distinct sections of the dance are evident: a montage of more formal, courtly dances and a montage of more fun, racy social dances. These two distinct categories are meant to represent a chronologically accurate record while also providing the audience with a glimpse at the evolution of formality in dance. Beginning with the Pavane, the dance progresses to the…

Today Mario Lopez also known as Mario Michael Lopez Jr. is a host of TV show Extra and MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew. He started his acting career in 1984 as Pablo on Kids Incorporated. He also was in Dancing with the stars from September 12 and was able to make it to the final round on November 15. Outside of all of this acting and hosting career he published a fitness book, two cookbooks and a children’s book. Mario Lopez was born on October 10, 1973 in San Diego, California. He is known as…

Though initially attracted due to its elaborate costumes, I have grown to admire ballet as an art form. When I see dancers onstage, I don’t see fragile dolls or frilly princesses. I see impressive athletes, even warriors who are battling to attain unattainable perfection. Furthermore, I believe they are the epitome of resilient spirits. I am not a ballerina myself, but I know the truth about their world. And it is nothing like the effortless, ethereal image painted onstage. I first started…

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of visiting the exhibit Diaghilev and the Ballet Russes, 1909-1929: When Art Danced with Music at the National Gallery of Art. But this was not my first experience with this exhibit, no for I had the opportunity to perform in honor of this exhibit this past summer where I performed right outside the entrance the to the showcase. I performed the roles of the Faun in Vaslav Nijinsky’s Afternoon of a Faun, and Prince Ivan in The Firebird. The two performances…

Dancing in the Spotlight Standing in the spotlight is a very frightening, gut-wrenching accomplishment. Dancing alone in the spotlight can be even more so. I experienced dancing in the spotlight two years ago, when I played the part of Clara in the Nutcracker. Of course, it all started with dance, or rather, without dance. My mom was driving me to the studio, but I was not feeling well, so she strode inside to inform my teacher I was unable to dance that day. When she walked back out, Mother…

awakenings, from mission trips to news articles. For me, these influences come in the form of dance, God, and opportunity. Unexpectedly, dance has made a major impact on who I am. Though I started at age three, I've been dancing at a Vaganova-style ballet academy for seven years. Apart from the physical technique, dance has developed my identity and given me some useful skills. It has given me independence and self discipline. Dance teachers can give corrections to one student and the entire…

When Martha had finally graduated University in 1916 she moved to a dance school run by the famous dancer herself Ruth Saint-Denis as well as Ted Shawn called Denishawn School. It was here she learnt for the first time the world’s dances folk, classical, experimental, oriental and American Indian. (Walter, 2016) A significant contribution Martha Graham has made to modern dance is her introduction of a new technique for dance. Graham based her technique on the use…

choreographers and producers. He created some of the most recognized ballets seen today. George Balanchine became an inspiration to the modern ballet culture by being an influential dancer, a world renowned choreographer, and a contributor to the ballet world. George Balanchine will always be remembered as a stunning dancer and teacher. According to the Biography.com Editors, at the age of 10, Balanchine decided to dance at the Mariinsky Theatre’s ballet school in St. Petersburg, Russia; he was…