Abstract This paper examines the history of ballet from 15th century Italy until present day. It then looks at the history of BalletNY, formerly DanceGalaxy and founded in 1997 by former New York City Ballet Principal Ballerina Judith Fugate and international guest artist, Medhi Bahiri.
Paper Outline:
Introduction
Humble Beginnings
The Emergence of Ballet Opera Ballet Liberation Ballerina
Social Change
A Decline In Interest
The New York City Ballet and BalletNY: Full Circle
Bibliography
From the Paper "Judith Fugate is a former principal ballerina with the New York City Ballet. She has danced roles in virtually every ballet in the NYCB repertoire counting Peter Martins and Mikhail Baryshnikov among her many famous partners. In 1997, she left the New York City Ballet Company to purse a career as a freelance Guest Artist and Co-Artistic Director of what is now known as BalletNY. In addition to touring extensively, Fugate has appeared on "Live from Lincoln Center" with Ray Charles in Peter Martin's "A Fool for You", and in the Metropolitan Opera's production of "La Traviata", conducted by Placido Domingo."
Abstract The paper explains the origin of ballet in relation to semiotics and aesthetics. The paper then discusses its appeal to diverse audiences, using the example of Chinese and Chinese overseas culture. The paper includes notes on the theory of aesthetics and how some may appeal across cultures, as opposed to others. The paper presents ideas of ballet as an institution and not just a form of classical dance, explaining that this depends on location.
From the Paper "Marcel Danesi explains that dancing is found in all cultures, sometimes as a 'body art' that can be a form of aesthetic communication. (2004, 61) This form of dance can express emotions, moods, ideas, or it can tell a story. Danesi refers directly to Western classical ballet as his example. This paper tells more of ballet and how it can appeal to people, too, who live beyond Western countries, and those who belong to non-Western cultures. As aesthetic communication, ballet has become part of Chinese culture in particular."
Abstract The paper gives a history of Russian-born Serge Diaghilev and explains how his unconventional ideas of ballet led to the creation of the Ballets Russes in France. The paper lists the people associated with the company and explains the factors that contributed to the success of the Ballets Russes. The author describes the incredible impact that the Ballets Russes had on the world of ballet.
From the Paper "Serge Diaghilev was born of Russian nobility in Perm, Russia, on March 19, 1872. In 1890 his family moved to Saint Petersburg, and at the university there, Diaghilev was supposed to study law, but he soon became enamored with the arts and realized that was where his future lay."
Abstract The writer looks at the National Ballet of China and its history. This article also studies the form and history of dance in China. The writer describes how the objective of the National Ballet of China is to introduce to the Chinese audiences Western classical ballets and contemporary ballet works. The National Ballet also aims to explore the unique and possible fusion of classical ballet and the Chinese culture. The author explains that in 1957, the classic "Swan Lake," was performed on stage and signaled the formal entry of the ballet form into the country. The paper glances at recently produced successes and at how the company experiments with different modern styles.
From the Paper "One of the world's top 10 ballet companies, the National Ballet of China was founded on December 31,1959 (CCTV 2005, Orange County 2005) and has, in the past four decades, consisted of generations of striving and gifted artists. The dance company has turned out outstanding artistic achievements in Western and Chinese classical and contemporary ballet. It had rough and tough times too as when it was under-funded and its members became over-aged. Its only reward was art itself and its artists continued to devote themselves to their career to become the pioneer in China's unique ballet style."
Abstract This paper takes a look at the history of the art of ballet, as well as reviews the different types of the ballet dance and the strenuous demands that ballet makes on the dancer. This paper also covers various dance choreographers and their particular styles of dance.
From the Paper "Classical ballet celebrates the potential harmony of the human body, the utopian ideal of collective endeavor, the possibility of the interchange between masculinity and femininity. Something of this is what has recommended ballet to the communisms of the USSR, Cuba and China. Beneath the aristocratic tat of the settings and the charming but dispensable never-never of the stories, there is an implicitly socialist vision.
Yet classical ballet must of course always come wrapped in the specifics of where and for whom it is performed, what other values and meanings it is attached to, and these are riven with contradictions. In practice, in Britain, classical ballet is, at one and the same time, elitist and popular, and woman-centered, heterosexist and part of gay male culture, universal and distinctly white. It is all of this at once.
It is selective in part because it is expensive. Not only are sets on a grand scale and not only do most of the classics require large casts, but behind all that there are the years of investment in training. "
Abstract Describing ballet as a classical dance form characterized by grace and precision of movement and elaborate formal technique, the writer of this articles presents a history of ballet. The writer looks at the BalletNY company and notes that BalletNY has become a well known and respected dance Company. The writer discusses BalletNY's principal dancers. The writer concludes that the New York City Ballet has done what BalletNY hopes to do, acquire one of the largest, most faithful, intelligent, and enthusiastic audiences in the American theater world.
Outline:
Humble Beginnings
The Emergence of Ballet Opra Ballet Liberation Ballerina
Social Change
A Decline In Interest
The New York City Ballet and BalletNY: Full Circle
Bibliography
From the Paper "Formerly DanceGalaxy, BalletNY was founded in 1997 by former New York City Ballet Principal Ballerina Judith Fugate and International Guest Artist Medhi Bahiri. BalletNY is comprised of accomplished principals and soloists who have danced with leading American and international ballet companies such as New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Dance Theater of Harlem, and the Joffrey Ballet, among others."
"Judith Fugate is a former principal ballerina with the New York City Ballet. She has danced roles in virtually every ballet in the NYCB repertoire counting Peter Martins and Mikhail Baryshnikov among her many famous partners. In 1997, she left the New York City Ballet Company to purse a career as a freelance Guest Artist and Co-Artistic Director of what is now known as BalletNY."
Abstract This paper explains that the connection between dance and the military, as defined by Louis XIV in 1662, has had a long-term effect on the way ballet is taught and on the aesthetic that ballet perpetuates. The paper also describes the work of legendary dance master George Balanchine and the training of ballerinas. The paper relates that a ballet, based on Hans Christian Andersen's tale of "The Princess and the Pea, provides an excellent illustration of the glorification of the physical challenges of ballet and its role in constructing the myth of supremacy.
From the Paper "When the mono-myth of heroic ascension is mapped onto Ashley Merrill's story of her first class with Balanchine, the reader of the "Ballet Myth" can locate a synthesis of light and dark forces in the figure of the ballet teacher, who is both Helper and Shadow Presence. This phenomenon reflects certain peculiarities of the ballet teacher/learner identification process, whereby the master absorbs the identity of the student, which then polarizes into the aspects of the Self that are idealized and those which are disowned."
Abstract This paper gives an overview of the physical, social, emotional, and financial hardships that a professional ballet dancer must endure throughout his or her career.
From the Paper "One of the hallmarks of good ballet dancing is the seemingly effortless grace of the performers. Particularly, the high-level dancers of a ballet company elevate movement to an art in motion, almost in defiance of the laws of gravity, and in direct distain to the limitations of the average human body. For these "prima ballerinas," balance, range of motion, and control of muscle, borders on the miraculous "for to see them execute a grand jete (a running, jumping split), or a flawless grand battement (a kind of controlled kick), can conjure nothing short of slack-jawed awe."
Abstract This paper gives an overview of the life and achievements of the Russian dancer Michel Fokine, who is credited with reviving the art of modern dance in the 20th century. The writer explains that Fokine brought back classical principles to ballet in areas that he felt they were eroding or receding, and sought to recover the true authenticity and expression of ballet thereof. When Fokine joined the Maryinski Imperial Ballet in 1898, ballet was focused mainly on leg . Fokine, an all-round artist who painted and played music as well, worked on full-bodied choreography and developed five principles of ballet which emphasized the harmonization of music scenery and dance. The paper concludes that Fokine recognized, embraced and revived the needs of cultural expression inherent to any art form, and successfully readapted them to the art of dance that is ballet.
From the Paper "What we see here is that Michel sensed the commercialization of dance, leading him to seek to represent the character of the nation through expression in dance as opposed to just costuming and ornamentation. He asserted his philosophy of movement in ballet this in a letter to the London Times in 1914 that according to what he called "Five Principles," attempts should be made to harmonize music scenery and dance (Michel Fokine, 2008). He applied this philosophy to the choreography of the body of his works at Maryinski and then the Ballets Russe Russian ballet."
Tags: classical, Anna Pavlova, artistic tradition innovation interpretation gymnasticism
Abstract This paper analyzes William Shakespeare's play "Romeo and Juliet" and Prokofiev's ballet version and shows how, because Prokofiev's ballet is quite lengthy and leaves out few elements of Shakespeare's version, the two works provide an unusual opportunity to compare verbal and non-verbal approaches to telling the same story. It examines how Shakespeare's language requires actors to render some very beautiful, intensely lyrical passages in a manner that approximates, without really becoming, natural speech. In comparison, it looks at how in the ballet the heightened emotions between the two protagonists can only be expressed in the music and the movements of their bodies. It shows how they must, in essence, communicate non-verbally what Shakespeare conveyed in some of the most famous speeches he ever wrote.
From the Paper "One of the best scenes for comparison is the most famous in the play, the balcony scene in Act II, scene 2. Here the lovers speak almost freely for the first time. They declare their love and commitment and are reluctant to part even though they must. This is one scene where Prokofiev's score had to accommodate the differences between a ballet and a play -- the challenges of presenting a story non-verbally. In Shakespeare's play Romeo returns to the Capulet house after the party and sees Juliet as she comes out to stand on her balcony. The conversation between the lovers is dangerous and fraught with suspense and it is frustrating, as they express their intense longing to be together and wonder whether they will ever find a way to accomplish this."
