Biography
Christopher Bruce is a very well-known British choreographer and performer who is regarded as one of Britain’s leading choreographers. Fusing his unique dance talent and his insightful knowledge of audiences, allows him to excel as one of Britain’s greatest living choreographers.
Bruce was born in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom in October 1945. Bruce suffered from Poliomyelitis (Polio) and therefore his father decided that he should start dance in order to strengthen his legs and possibly pursue a career as a dancer.
Dance training
His early dance training, which included tap, ballet and acrobatic dancing, took place at the Benson Stage Academy. Many features of all three dance styles are clearly evident in the choreographic pieces created by Bruce in his later years. At the age of twelve, Bruce started his dance training at the Ballet Rambert School.
The Ballet Rambert School is where Bruce received a sound foundation of dance training. Since joining the Ballet Rambert School, Bruce was nurtured as a dancer by Marie Rambert, founder of the company. Bruce was the last salient choreographer to have been trained by Marie Rambert.
In 1963 Bruce became a member of Ballet Rambert and he soon became acknowledged as one of the most gifted performers of his time. Moreover, he acquired the position as the leading male dancer of the ballet company. His performances in Pierrot Lunaire and Coppelia are particularly remembered by the wider dance community to this day.
At the time that Bruce had joined Ballet Rambert, the company strictly performed classical repertoire only. However by 1966, the company had undergone a daring transformation, there forth it was regarded as a more creative organisation. Ballet Ram...
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...igence agency actively supported the military coup against the government of Allende.
On the 11th September 1973, Pinochet led a military coup against Allende's government. The Chilean military under Pinochet's command attacked the presidential palace. Allende died in the fighting in the presidential palace. Within a few hours, the military had seized control of the government. Pinochet, who had appointed himself as the president, immediately banned all political and trade union activity, implemented strict controls over the media and suspended the constitution.
Pinochet ordered a removal of all that was left in Chile. Over the next few years more than 3,000 supporters of the Allende regime were killed. Pinochet was also responsible for thousands of Spanish citizens being tortured. Pinochet’s period of power is described as a nightmare of killing and repression.
Wikipedia contributors. "Ballet technique." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 18 Jan. 2010. Web. 1 Apr. 2010.
At first, the working class heavily supported Allende's campaign. A new movement of younger worker influence occurred during this time period, allowing Allende to accomplish many of the things he did. For instance, in the Yarur factory there was the "strike of 1962" which was the workers rebellion to the new Taylor system of the new generation of workers. They also rebelled because of the "union question" which revolved around three things: job security, free unions, and the elimination of the Taylor system. These were all things that Allende promised to fix, so naturally after a 9 week strike the people of the Yarur factory supported Allende and the promises he gave. All the workers in the Yarur factory were also deeply affected by the characteristics of postwar Chile: "dependency and stagflation, economic inequality and social inequality, the concentration of wealth and the persistence of poverty, the hegemony of the rich and the powerlessness of the poor" (54). These characteristics were the reasons that the working class suffered in Chile, as well as the...
...r had embraced a counterrevolution of economic and political order. The greatest symbolism of the fall of the government under Salvador Allende was the return of repression on the workers at the mill.
Alvin was born during the Great Depression to two working class parents in Rogers, Texas. His father abandoned the family when Alvin was a mere six months old, leaving him and his mother with the struggle of fending for themselves. The inability for Alvin’s mother to find work led to their move to California in 1942, where Alvin was introduced by a classmate to the most influential person that would be the foundation for his future successful career in modern dance, Lester Horton (DeFrantz 1). Alvin was captivated by Lester’s work, which focuses on building a strong body, and made the executive decision to start his dance training in 1949 when he was eighteen years old. Because Lester Horton’s dance company embraced diversity, and accepted dancers of all ethnicities and backgrounds, Alvin was given the opportunity to do something great with his
Not great at sports, Alvin excelled in the less common athletics of gymnastics, especially the floor exercise (36). Being an African-American male, this was hard for Ailey and he struggled fitting in with his peers. Alvin Ailey had little experience with dance or the theater and it wasn’t until he moved to Los Angeles that his eyes were opened to the world of theatrics by the Ballet Russe de Monte Carolos and the performance of Katherine Dunham’s black dance company (DeFrantz 43). Ailey pursued 1940s dancing styles such as tap, but experimented and settled on modern dance when a school friend, Carmen de Lavallade, convinced him to join Lester Horton’s lively theatrical, Hollywood Studio in 1949 (43). As Ailey’s mentor, Horton proved to be a major role model and helped mold Alvin’s technique and
Throughout the years, America has pursued the performing arts in a large variety of ways. Theatre plays a dramatic and major role in the arts of our society today, and it takes great effort in all aspects. Musical Theatre, specifically, involves a concentration and strength in dance, acting, and singing. This is the base that Musical Theatre is built upon. For my Senior Project, I helped choreograph multiple scenes in a community musical “Thoroughly Modern Millie”. Choreography is a way of expressing oneself, but it has not always been thought of for that purpose. Agnes de Mille’s expressive talent has drastically affected how people see choreography today. Agnes de Mille’s influence in the world of dance has left a lasting impact in the Performing Arts Department, and her revolutionary works are still known today for their wit, lyricism, emotion, and charm.
Ballet is one of the world's oldest and newest forms of dance. One man that created new audiences for ballet and mastered the dance to its fullest was none other than George Balanchine. He brought the standard ballet to levels no one has ever seen before. In the world of dance, there have been many wonderful and talented choreographers but Balanchine's work affected the dance world so much that he was a legend long before his death. Not only was he legendary worldwide but also his influenced American Ballet. George Balanchine's unique style of dance created the "American style" of Ballet.
Throughout this analytical essay I will discuss, analyse and conclude the work of two contemporary modern dance pioneers, Alvin Ailey and Katherine Dunham. I will pay particular attention to the era 1935-1980 and focus on socio elements of this time period, using relevant literature to support my findings.
Li’s passion for ballet shows on and off stage through his arabesques, flexibility, fouettés, grande jeté and pirouettes that were nothing less than perfection. I understood that becoming a dancer requires commitment, passion and having a great memory as there’s many moves, routines and ballet terms that you need to learn. When I was performing on stage, I felt free and that I could own the stage as it felt like it was my second home. I also felt complete within myself just as Li felt. To perform on stage, you need to be light and graceful along with connecting to the music using precise steps, poses and formal gestures. The film used dance, music, scenery, and costumes to portray a story characterised by Li’s dance. Classical ballet dancers require the utmost grace and I’ve found that you also need a tremendous level of concentration and memory. This portrays when his choreographer Ben Stevenson asked Li Cunxin to replace the main male role due to an injury on the day of the performance to memorise new dances and perform them in front of an enormous crowd. Many of my performances have been in a group where we all need to be in sync and work together. This film highlighted that in order to become a professional ballet dancer, you have to prepare to work extremely hard no matter how gruelling the schedule is in order to
In Harrison Bergeron, many people strive for excellence. The ballerinas demonstrate this very thoroughly and always try their best. Even
Ballet dancers have always been expected to resemble a certain body type. They are known to be “very thin with small breasts and narrow hips; their legs are long and lean; their arms are long and slender; their torsos are short with a flat stomach and abdomen; their heads are small atop a long, slender neck.”(Ritenburg 75) George Balanchine, a famous artistic director and choreographer for the New York City Ballet, first desired this physique for the modern balle...
Many different ballet companies opened The Royal Danish Ballet and the Royal Ballet which are two of the most successful and talked about. During the expansion of ballet in Europe Margot Fonteyn became a well-known ballerina. Fonteyn started her dance career at the age of four. She studied under many great influencers like George Goncharov and Serfina Astafieve. While growing her ballet career by 20 she was Prima Ballerina and toured the United States becoming very well known. She is also known for her partnership with Rudolf Nureyev where they are known for their wonderful dancing and
Dance has been around for thousands of years, and to many people it is a form of passion. Many of those people including Mikhail Baryshnikov thought of dance as an obligation to life, instead of it being a casual hobby. There are also many different types of companies that are associated with dance. American Ballet Theatre is a company that is founded to be one of the greatest dance companies to exist, and also greatly recognized around the world. Mikhail Baryshnikov was incorporated with them in 1978. He had danced with them for about four years before moving on to New York City Ballet, not too long after, in 1980, he became the artistic director in American Ballet Theater .
The dancers that performed during these dances were amateurs that were taught by the masters. The masters created instructions for the dancers that focused on the positions and figures of the body (Greskovic 1-6). Since that time, many different styles of ballet have come about.
“A Brief History of Ballet - Illustrated by Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre.” Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, www.pbt.org/learn-and-engage/resources-audience-members/ballet-101/brief-history-ballet/.