George Balanchine: The Young Ballet

Harrison Bergeron was quite talented. Harrison knew the real meaning of dance and wanted to show it to the public. He and his Empress danced in joy and grace, abandoning laws. On page 10, Vonnegut says “they reeled, whirled, swiveled, flounced, capered, gamboled, and spun. They leaped like deer on the moon.” Harrison showed that he was creative in his dance and was good with his feet that made him

Here comes the Sun! He was the King who danced. Louis XIV ruled France from 1638-1715. He brought opulence to the monarchy with his extravagant court dances, memorable performances, and the institution of the modern ballet.

With beautiful dancing, costumes, and music by Tchaikovsky, America fell in love with Serenade and it is still admired today as classic American ballet. Balanchine turned his focus back to the European aesthetic classic values and really embodied these in his choreography. He believed that simplicity created beauty and thought that movement was the most important element in any ballet. You can see this simplicity in the staging, costume and scenery in Serenade. He created live geometry with his incredible use of space, and created long lines and beautiful movement that was very light, free and quick. Balanchine’s ballet is exactly what we think of when we think ballet, and all the girls where long blue tutus, point shoes and dance with extreme poise and

George Balanchine, perhaps the most famous choreographer of all time is mainly credited for the rise of ballet in America. Not only did he build the New York City Ballet, he refurbished the ballet technique of Beauchamp and Ebreo, and infused it with all the came afterwards to create his own unique style of dance (Buckle, p.53). Balanchine was known for having a very imaginative process where he would coach the dancers in the style of movement he visualized (usually based off of something he’s seen) and the steps would come later. This is different than Beauchamp’s supposed process that relied greatly on the musical composition that anything else. When ballet spread to Russia, we also began to see an influence of the Imperial Russian Classicism and Communist ideals in the ballet

Erick Hawkins is a prime example of true success in the world of art. He poetically changed the world of modern dance and continues to change the world by the means of his company, Erick Hawkins Dance Company (EHDC), that still lives on today. Having been able to partake in an intensive provided by the EHDC, I have a deep appreciation for Erick Hawkins and the creations he has contributed to dance. What Hawkins has produced and the accomplishments he has made in the world of modern dance will not be forgotten by me and fellow dance artists. For these reasons, his works should be presented at the Jacob’s Pillow Festival to showcase his pivotal movements and new perspective to the stage.

Mikhail Baryshnikov is one of the most famous ballet dancers for over the past 50 years. His explosive style redefined the role of the male dancer in ballet and helped dancers to be correctly seen as athletes as much as artists. When he was young, his father didn 't like him spending his time dancing. His mother encouraged him to dance. Sadly, his mother commit suicide. Mikhail had lived a tragic childhood. Even with this misfortune, he continued dancing. Baryshnikov was born in Russia. At first, he moved to Canada, hoping to have more freedom in his dancing. He moved to Canada in 1974, when he was twenty-six. After he moved to Canada, he decided to move to America. There, he danced for George Balanchine. In 1979, after a year of dancing for Balanchine and the New York City Ballet, Baryshnikov became the director of the American Ballet Theater. Maria Tallcheif was another famous dancer. Maria Tallcheif 's father was a full-blooded Indian from a tribe in Oklahoma. She married George Balanchine when she was twenty-one. She danced in many of his ballets. She was a prima ballerina. Jennifer Ringer also was a famous ballerina. As a child, she had a wild imagination. She didn 't like dance until she was in a hard, challenging class. The Nutcracker and Swan Lake are some of the most popular Russian ballet stories. Ballet is a production that uses dance, music, and scenery to tell a story or create a mood.

Though ballet wasn’t originally intended for women, it was inevitable that the female race would rise above and eventually dominate this powerful yet delicate art. Femininity in ballet developed considerably after the reign of men in this art form during the 15th and 16th centuries, when men in mask and costume portrayed women in productions, and King Louis XIV’s elaborate productions starring himself in the 17th century. The Romantic Era ushered in a real exploration into the roles of gender, and ballets became a woman’s forte, full of love, sexuality, and femininity.

Stravinsky’s compositions can be divided into three periods during his life; Russian Period, Neo-classicism and Post-war/Serialism. The Rite was composed during the Russian Period and it is here that we start so see a change in compositions throughout Europe as it set in motion towards Serialism. Rhythm, folk melodies, harmonies and form are all central points, it was through his innovative use of rhythms that Stravinsky came to be recognised by Sergi Diaghilev. The founder of Ballet Russes, Diaghilev discovered Stravinsky in Russia and invited him to compose for his ballets. It was here that Stravinsky developed his own style, which we see looming by his irregular rhythms in Firebird and Petrushka.

In 1914 he was accepted by the Imperial Ballet School in St. Petersburg at the age of 9.

The word “ballet” brings to mind words such as “grace” or “beauty” when heard by many people. The definition itself states that it is a form of dance that uses precise steps and light, graceful motions. This definition was in the minds of those who attended the Théâtre des Champs-Élysèes in May 1913, but rather they were greeted with the complete opposite. When Igor Stravinsky’s ballet Rite of Spring opened, the audience was greeted with swift, chaotic music that quickly became a whirlwind of sound. The music softened and the curtains opened to a primitive dance, causing mass hysteria throughout the theatre. The audience felt they were being attacked, for they had paid and dressed in ornate gowns to see the beauty and grace they feel reflected who they were, but instead they were shown a primal, barbaric scene. This piece had disrupted the order and harmony that one could associate ballet with.

“For Jerry, every achievement was torturous.” says Mikhail Baryshnikov. He worked painstakingly to push the envelope of what was artistically possible in his creative medium. At the time of his death, the Jerome Robbins Foundation inherited his estate, which has helped numerous artists, organizations, and AIDS charities; also facilitating the New York Public Library to develop the world’s largest dance archive. Without a shadow of doubt that he created major impacts in the art of dance, Robbins’ most important legacy was the humanity of his art and what it created for the world, “Give me something to dance about and I’ll dance

Tanja Liedtke passed away in 2007, after being hit by a truck. In May, a mere 3 months before her death she was appointed Artistic Director of the Sydney Dance Company. Liedtke is said to have created a ‘fresh innovative language for dance in Australia and beyond’, her constant intent to keep modern dance modern was one of the factors that led to her being appointed one of the youngest Artistic Directors. She managed to provide Australian contemporary dance with a fresh outlook on dance, and choreographed ‘rich, powerful and compelling art’. Her death has impacted the contemporary dance industry as they have lost a powerful voice, but her work and innovative ideas will be remembered and will remain as an influence for many generations of dancers

Over the years, all girl sports have become more and more popular. With this is new found popularity comes a lot of pressure to be the best one in the business. The girls will do absolutely anything to prove this. Some girls that are already thin will go on diets, exercise even more or try and get themselves in the spotlight so the instructor can see them. Sophie Flack elaborates on these issues through each chapter in her book, Bunheads by using her choice of rhetorical devices and style to show readers just how difficult it is to be a ballerina.

Taglioni was born in Stockhom to a well -known dance family in 1804 before moving to Vienna at a young age. She began her training with a Parisian teacher who famously called her an ugly duckling and complained, “will that little hunchback ever learn to dance?” By the age of 6, her father Filippo who was a well -known dancer and choreographer had decided to train her himself. For years he put her through six hours of rigorous training a day and in 1822, at the age of 18, she made her debut in Vienna in his ballet La Reception d’une Jeune Nymphe à la Cour de Terpsichore.

“The Rite of Spring” was certainly the most controversial piece of orchestral music of its time. The piece, composed by the Russian Composer Igor Stravinsky, included a great deal of uncommon musical elements. But was it really that uncommon? The world-changing ballet, “The Rite of Spring” was so controversial when it debuted in 1913, because it completely contradicted the common rhythmic and harmonic languages of the music at the time. The choreography and costumes were a main part of the reason why the audience reacted with negativity and riots. But the fact that Stravinsky’s music used similar melodic, orchestrational, and harmonic techniques of pieces written before, brings up the question: Why did the audience react the way that they did? Stravinsky’s music reflected his early life experiences. Consequently, Stravinsky was not, in fact, the first composer who was “committed” with composing such controversy, so again: were riots necessary? The result of the audience’s reaction caused by the ballet has not happened before.