George Balanchine 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. Georgi Melitonovich Balnchivadze, George Balanchine, was born on January 22, 1904 in St. Petersburg. He was born into a highly musical family. His father, Meliton, was a singer and composer and his mother Marie, was a pianist. His mother encouraged her children to have musical education. He began to take piano lesson at age 5. He also received a classical education with his sister, Tamara and his younger brother, Andrei. Ironically, Balanchine had no desire to dance at all. His sister and brother were dancers. Music was young Balanchine's passion he hated anything to do with performing. Balanchine's mother took himself and Andrei along with her to Tamara's audition to Maryinksky School of Ballet. His mother thought it would be a great opportunity if he auditioned as well. The results of the audition changed Balanchine's life forever. He was accepted and Tamara was not. That audition proved he had a natural gift for the art of dance. At this school, he fell in love with dance and performance. He thrived in its atmosphere. At the age of 17, Balanchine entered the Conservatory of Music. He studied piano, composition and th... ... middle of paper ... ...work still lives onto today and his legend will live on forever. In conclusion, Balanchine affected the world of dance by creating the "American style" of ballet. His unique style of technique was the foundation of the School of American Ballet and the New York City Ballet. Without Balanchine, American Ballet would be strictly traditional European style. Balanchine gave America the "kick" it needed. Bibliography: BIBLIOGRAPHY Buckle, Richard. George Balanchine, Ballet Master.: A Biography; New York. 1988. Haggin B.H.. Discovering Balanchine. New York, 1981. Kristy, Davida. George Balanchine: American Ballet Master. Lerner Publications, 1996. "George Balanchine, choreographer" BalletNotes Homepage, February 1998 http://balletmet.org/Notes/Balanchine.html Taper, Bernard. Balanchine: A Biography. New York: Times Books, 1984.
Ballet has been an art form since the late fifteenth century, but society did not truly see the impact of ballet until the nineteenth century. Modern day thinkers possess the idea that ballet began with tutus and pointe shoes, but it wasn’t until the nineteenth century that this opinion was observed. Ballet has come a long way. It has survived the turmoil of many wars and has changed itself by accepting new ideas and impressing the audience with its unique stylistic views.
It was not only until the spring of that year that he for first time left Hamburg professionally. He undertook a tour with the Hungarian violinist Eduard Remenyi for the purpose of introducing himself and his works. At Gottingen they gave a concert in which the young pianist made a deep impression upon the musicians present. He and Remenyi were to play Beethoven?s Kreutzer sonata, but at the last moment it was discovered that the piano was half a tone too low.
In the 20th century, ballet started to experiment and movement. It was due to its Russian
George Balanchine, born January 22, 1904, in St. Petersburg, Russia; is considered the father of American ballet, and the greatest ballet choreographer of his time. Through his 79 years of life, he is said to have created some 465 works, beginning in 1920, at the young age of 16. It is no secret, that as the co-founder of the New York City Ballet, that Balanchine has greatly influenced the world of ballet, its masters, choreographers, dancers, and viewers. The start of George’s interest in music and ballet stemmed from being the son of a composer. Balanchine started his piano studies at the age of five, was accepted into the ballet section of the Imperial Theater School, in St. Petersburg, at the age of nine.
Beethoven’s early life was one out of a sad story book. For being one of the most well-known musicians one would think that sometime during Beethovens childhood he was influenced and inspired to play music; This was not the case. His father was indeed a musician but he was more interested in drinking than he was playing music. When his father saw the smallest sliver of music interest in Beethoven he immediately put him into vigorous musical training in hopes he would be the next Mozart; his training included organ, viola, and piano. This tainted how young Beethoven saw music and the memories that music brought. Nevertheless Beethoven continued to do what he knew and by thirteen he was composing his own music and assisting his teacher, Christian Neefe. Connections began to form during this time with different aristocrats and families who stuck with him and became lifelong friends. At 17 Beethoven, with the help of his friends, traveled to Vienna, the music capitol of the world, to further his knowledge and connection...
Ballet is an athletic art form that utilizes muscle control, flexibility, and physical strength. It requires extreme discipline from the dancers and takes an extreme amount of mental concentration. This discipline causes dancers to have success throughout life and specifically in academic studies. There are many ways that dance can affect the success of a person’s life; however, there are two in specific that make dancers generally more successful. To begin, ballet causes dancers to be self-motivated workers; dancers cannot rely on others to push them to be better, but must have the drive within themselves.
George Gershwin was born in Brooklyn, New York, on September 26 1898. He began playing piano when he was 11 after his parents bought a piano for their other son Ira. Gershwin, realizing his own talent, took it upon himself to find a mentor so he could hone his own skills. He found a mentor in Charles Hambitzer, who was a popular piano instructor in his time. Hambitzer was extremely impressed with his pupil and in a letter to his sister Hambitzer wrote “I have a new pupil who will make his mark if anybody will. The boy is a genius.” Throughout his life Gershwin would study under other noted teachers such as Henry Cowell, Wallingford Riegger, Edward Kilenyi, and Joseph Schillinger.
New Dance is described as a developing art form; this dance was articulated in the early 20th century. According to Chapter 8 in History of Dance book, “the new dance emerged as a response to the ballet that populated the variety shows and music halls, which had a rigid formula of steps and poses” (Kassing). The New Dance was a product of several strands that interlaced together dancers’ studies and backgrounds; these strands and others were woven together in a historical, political, and societal framework. For instance, one strand of New Dance consisted of the concepts, techniques, costumes, and stage settings from around the world. These strands influenced major dancers and choreographers, such as, Isadora Duncan, Loie Fuller, Ruth St. Denis, and Ted Shawn.
Learning about Dance: Dance as an Art Form and Entertainment provides visions into the many features of dance and inspires scholars to keep an open mind and think critically about the stimulating, bold, ever-changing and active world of dance. Learning about Dance is particularly useful for those who do not have a wide and diverse dance contextual, such as students in a preliminary level or survey dance course. This book consists of twelve chapters. Chapter one dance as an art form focuses on the basic structures of dance. Dance is displayed through the human body, it has the control to communicate and induce reactions. Dance can be found in many different places, it enables the participants and seekers to touch and knowledge the joy of movement. Dance is discovered as being one of the oldest art forms worldwide. Dance existed in early cultures was recognized in a sequence of rock paintings portrayed dance. Since this discovery of rock paintings, several other forms of art have been found that depict dance. People used rituals in order to worship the gods and believed that the rituals held magical and spiritual powers. During the ancient period civilizations sentient decisions began to be made with regard to dance. Other periods that had an impact on dance were the medieval period, the renaissance period, and the contemporary period. Chapter two the choreographer, the choreographer is a person who comes up with the movements created into a dance routine. The choreographer expresses themselves through choreography because this is their way of communicating with the audience. In order to be a choreographer you must have a passion for dance. Each choreographer has their own approaches and ways of making up a routine. Choreographers ...
As a child, Beethoven never was too interested in music even though he had the talents. Both his father and grandfather were experienced musicians and wanted him to be one also. At the age of four, Beethoven’s father began to teach him the violin and piano, but wasn’t successful in doing so because of his addiction to alcohol. His training was soon taken
At the end of the 19th century, ballet was the most prominent form of dance. However, to Isadora Duncan, "ballet was the old order that needed to be overthrown, an embodied symbol of all that was wrong with oversymbolized 19th century living" (Daly 26). Duncan believed that the over-technical, over-standardization of ballet was not what dance should be about. Her vision of dance was one of emotions, ideas, social betterment, and the complete involvement of the body, mind, and soul (26). With these ideas in mind, she began to create a new form of dance; what she referred to as the "new dance" (23), and what is now known as modern dance. In creating this new dance, she was inspired by composers such as Beethoven, Nietzsche, and Wagner, writers like Walt Whitman, scientists Darwin and Haeckel, her Irish grandmother, and ancient Greek culture, as well as the spirit of America and its people (Duncan 48, 54). It was a combination of these influences that helped her to create the most expressive, soulful dance known today.
The fine art of modern dance is like many other fields in that it is based on the actions and deeds of those who were pioneers in the field. These pioneers helped to mold modern dance into what it is today. Of the many people who are partially responsible for this accomplishment is Isadora Duncan. Duncan, often referred to as the “mother of modern dance,” inspired many other dancers to the extent that the art of dance would not be the same today without her many contributions.
Eighteenth century dancer, Margot Fonteyn, proved to be an instrumental ballerina. She made ballet more accessible and popular in Britain than ever before. Known for her musicality, unique characterizations, line and grace she changed the world of ballet forever. Her very presence on the stage was noticeably different from others, which drew others in as they were intrigued to see how she was different. More than anyone else, she she did more to educate and excite the public about the beauty of theatrical dancing. She regularly brought tears to the eyes of those who watched her, which drew many into the world of dance. Besides her exquisite talent as a ballerina, many thanks are owed to her for her introduction of ballet to the British
Ballet first originated in Italy in the 1400’s, its purpose was to impress the nobility of other countries. The ballerinas would wear the fashion of the times, with big dresses, wigs, and shoes that were not good for dancing in. Ballet was brought to France when Catherine de Medicis married King Henri II. She brought the culture of ballet with her to Paris. Eventually Paris became the capitol of the ballet world. Up until 1681 all of the female ballet roles were played by men. Many people fell in love with ballet. George Balanchine brought ballet to America.
Franz Liszt was a Hungarian born composer. He was one of the best, and most respected pianist of his time. He was a very accomplished conductor, and one of the foremost educational instructors in history. In 1836, King Charles Halle described Franz Liszt as the following. "He is tall and very thin, his face very small and pale, his forehead remarkably high and beautiful; he wears his perfectly lank hair so long that it spreads over his shoulders, which looks very odd, for when he gets a bit excited and gesticulates, it falls right over his face and one sees nothing of his nose. He is very negligent in his attire, his coat looks as if it had just been thrown on, and he wears no cravat, only a narrow white collar. This curious figure is in perpetual motion: now he stamps with his feet, now waves his arms in the air, now waves his arms in the air, now he does this, now that." Franz Liszt, was born on October 22, 1811, In the Hungarian town of Raiding. Liszt was taught to play piano at a very young age by his father, who was also very involved in music. His father, Adam played the cello, and many other instruments, as he was a very passionate musician. Adam taught Franz to the extent that he was giving concerts by the age of nine and starting to compose his own pieces. His father, having obtained permission from his employer, Prince Nicholas Esterhazy, accompanied the young Franz to Vienna. Franz Liszt was financially supported by a man by the name of Antonio Salieri, who gave him free tuition in composition. The boy, Franz, gave some very successful performances before prominent people in Vienna and gained a lot of fame. He became very well known for his ability to take a melody provided by a member of the audience and work it into a...