Royal Ballet School

The performance “Vagabond” stood out to me because it was not just a typical dance performance. It was unique in the way that it translated music and dance into life stories. It was heart provoking and evoked emotion to the audience through unconventional movement. The dancers that performed were not afraid to get out of their comfort zone or surrender themselves to the ground. They developed a connection with the audience and pulled them in to see the real world around them. In introducing…

In Compañía Sharon Fridman’s Hasta Dónde and All Ways, the pieces are based on the technique of contact improvisation, resulting in an intimate drive of human connection. The movement is carefully crafted so the dancers weave in-between and circle one another, get hoisted in the air, and crash down all in a harmonious tableau. Though the precariously teetering pairs or groups of bodies, the dancers move and balance in seemingly impossible manners allowing the audience to feel the connection…

comparing their defining features and discussing ways they reflected the changing social climate of their time and place (18th & 19th century France). The French revolution was not only a defining point in history but also an influential factor for ballets of the time. During the Romantic era La Fille Mal Gardée by French choreographer Jean Dauberval, and La Sylphide by Danish choreographer August Bournonville were born. Dauberval…

Misty Copeland and Her Extraordinary Story “Finding ballet was like finding a missing piece of myself.” This quote explains how ballet helped Misty Copeland find who she really is and what her passion in life is. Misty Copeland is an important and influential figure in history that had a positive impact on the world because she inspires other dancers to believe in themselves and not to let your race or your figure effect that. Misty Copeland was born on September 10, 1982 in Kansas, Missouri…

The first documented performance en pointe happened in France between the years of 1815 and 1830, 240 years after the first ballet. Before King Louis VIV founded the Royal Academy of Dance in 1661, dancers performed on ballroom floors. After…

French painter and sculptor Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, more commonly known as Edgar Degas (1834-1917) is considered to be one of the main founders of Impressionism and is widely known for his paintings of females and the overall life of Parisians. Degas is especially associated with the subject of dance, actually Degas has produced approximately 1,500 works on the subject (Schenkel 2004). The ballerinas Degas created remain as some of the most famous works of 19th-century art. Degas' talent…

Pina Bausch’s Vollmond is very unique. This piece has choreographers dancing in water and is a must see piece. The dance is made up of many movements physically and abstractly, these movements express certain meaning and have a purpose. After watching “Vollmond”, you will realize the true meaning behind the complex movements and motions of their hands and bodies. This meaning being the complexity of life and all the struggles but also the happiness of life and all its excitement that comes with…

Jose Limon was born on January 12, 1908 in Culiacan, Mexico. His family immigrated to America during the Mexican Revolution. After graduating from Lincoln High school, Limon attended UCLA as an art major. He moved to New York City in 1928 to study at the New York school of design. There he was inspired to begin training as a dancer after he attended a dance production by Yvonne Georgi and Harald Kreutzberg. He trained with Charles Weidman and Doris Humphrey at the Humphrey-Weidman Studio and…

The collections of works shown in the Evening of Dance performance were very engaging. The three Booker T. Washington ensembles: World Repertory Ensemble, Repertory Dance Company 1, and Repertory Dance Company 2 were all able to convey the ideal emotions and create a visceral reaction. World Repertory Ensemble’s piece “Sofa” a traditional African performance choreographed by Moussa Diabate started the concert, the end of the first act was Repertory Dance Company 2’s “9/Tenths of the Law” a very…

Taking from the origins of modern music, it is a fact that Pina’s dance pieces are mode inclusive of modern techniques but also incorporate ballet characteristics in their choreography. The rebellious culture in the modern German dance also characterizes invention of new steps foreign to the routine rather than following a certain structure in the dance. It can be said that the approach to culture…