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Comparison and contrast of ballet eras
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Ballet is an art form, out of many, that express a vast arrangement of emotions. Some ballet’s imitate tragic situations while others can emulate times of bliss. Two ballets that are completely different in content and style are “L’espirit de Bleu,” by Carolyn Carlson and The Concert by Jerome Robbins. “L’espirit de Bleu” is a movement from Carlson’s contemporary ballet Signes and The Concert is a comedic classical ballet by Robbins. The Concert and “L’espirit de Bleu are ballets that convey message, or invoke emotions, through choreographic nuances. Despite fact that “L’espirit de Bleu” has subtle nuances, unlike The concert, both achieve a dramatic effect. In “L’espirit de Bleu,” the dance starts off with two dancers, Marie-Claude Pietragalla
I had the pleasure of being in Western Kentucky University Dance Department’s concert, An Evening of Dance. The performance took place on April 29th through May 2nd in Russel Miller Theatre. It consisted of many works from faculty and guest artists. I felt like the concert was a success and that the choreography was all unique in its own way. I enjoyed the pieces that I performed, and the ones that my fellow company members were in. Through the analysis of “Petrichor”, I found that each production and chorographic element plays a large part in the successful outcome of a dance and emotional responses can be evoked by the simplest ideas.
Every dance that is created by a choreographer has a meaning and or purpose behind it. The dance choreographed could be used to send a political, emotional, or a social message. Regardless of the message being sent, each dance created possesses a unique cultural and human significance. This essay will examine and analyze two dance works from history and give an insight into what each dance work provided to the society of its time.
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 ...
When José Limón began to choreograph his own pieces, he brought to his work all the abandon of a twenty-year old trying to find out what his body could and could not do. It was a raw style that came quite simply out of the process of his own discovery of dance, before he learned the technical “craft” of dancing; that is, before he learned how to point his feet or straighten his legs in the air. He threw himself into everything he did, without worrying about his balance, shape, or what dancing was supposed to look like - and audiences were enchanted
The dance was divided up into three different choreographed parts. The plot of the ballet was revealed through the different stages. In the first stage, there were tw...
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.
Both Copland and de Mille forged an American masterpiece with their groundbreaking music and choreography, respectively. The work that both artists put into Rodeo contributed to the revolutionary new genre of 20th Century American ballet. The music and dancing work in parallel and in close interaction, to convey this humorous and lighthearted story. There would have been no ballet without both of these components. Nonetheless, the music composed under the inspiration and choreography of the story is successful as an entity.
A couple of months ago, I went to a concert up in Denver. The band that played was called dada. They are a three-man pop rock band that have been playing since their first album was released in 1992. The band has a small following, but the amphitheater still was still quite full by the time the band started playing. Before this concert, I had been to a couple others in the past with bands of a similar type playing in a similar setting to that of the amphitheater I found myself in a couple of months ago. After going to the dada concert, I noticed there was an interesting pattern of where different people sat or stood at these concerts. This pattern divided people up by their social rank, age, and class. There were three different areas to this pattern: the people standing in the front at the stage, the people standing in the middle of the theater, and the people sitting in the back.
The stage that hosted the creation of illusion for those attending ballet after 1827 in its “golden age” (Guest, 1) introduced a new world, but one that could not be reached. These illusions were expressed through performance as “moods of Romanticism.” (5) The Romantic period of the early 19th century emphasized the alienation of an individual, the spectacle of that isolation, and the Romantic ideal that perfection remains mysterious and unattainable, as opposed to the late 18th century’s Enlightenment ideals that held rationality and tangible beings most profound. The spectacle of an estranged, supernatural being embodies these elements of Romanticism, as was represented in Romantic ballet. Coralli and Perrot’s 1841 ballet, Giselle, incorporated these Romantic elements into “each one of (the ballet’s) component parts - scenic design…choreography and dance style” (7), as well as with innovations in narrative. These narratives began to project women as powerful representations of the ethereal, supernatural being, as is specifically shown in the character of Giselle in Coralli and Perrot’s ballet. Through the novelties of Romantic visual presentation in scenery, movement, and narrative, the golden age of ballet was able to effectively “(reveal) the unattainable” (7) and supernatural.
[6] Cohen, Selma Jeanne. International Encyclopedia of Dance: A Project of Dance Perspectives Foundation, Inc. New York: Oxford UP, 1998. Print.
According to Munsterberg’s film theory, the motion picture is an original medium in that it aesthetically stimulates the spectator’s senses. Although both still picture and theatrical play can possibly leave images on the spectator’s retina or brain, each element of motion picture, including camera angle and work, lighting, editing, music, and the story itself, appeals to somewhere more than just retina or brain— the element of motion picture truly operates upon the spectator’s mind. Speaking of Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan, the film unfolds a story of physically and mentally repressed ballerina’s life. Due to the film’s effective filming and editing techniques, the film successfully increases excitement as well as suspense in the story. Since Black Swan captures not only the real world the ballerina lives in but also the other side of the world the ballerina has within her mind, its spectator would experience a fantastic world where one ballerina lives in two different worlds at the same time. Even though the still picture and the theatrical play also give the spectator either a visual or an aural image, motion picture is the one that stimulates the spectator’s senses with its story, color, sound, acting, filming, and editing.
Claude Debussy’s La Mer is a very beautiful piece of music. I thought the concert was wonderfully done. The music sent chills down my spine and I was really able to just sit there and listen. One thing I would have changed is having the live streaming video of the orchestra members displayed on screen behind the orchestra. I found it a little distracting because I would find myself watching the musician without listening to the music. I would have liked the concert more if it had been earlier in the day also. Concert music is so peaceful in my opinion, at least usually in the first movement, that I sometimes become drowsy. I think I could have had a better experience if the concert had been at an earlier time because I was already feeling tired when it started. After hearing the music, it only added to my drowsiness. I have only been to a few classical music concerts but I would have to say this one was my favorite by far. The other two I attended when I was younger so that could also be influencing my opinion because I didn’t appreciate how amazing this music really is. We had great...
Vollmond by Pina Bausch was created in 2006 and it accentuates dancers of all races and ages in their search for solitude and an in-depth desire to love. The dance is full of unfeeling apathy, laughter and a startling vitality. There are dizzying, poignant and amazing solos that are performed on some bare proscenium. However, these actions alternates with features of both playful and playful seduction as well as comical theatre sketches within the wonderful design. The performance is created within a large lunar rock that is characteristic of Bausch’s water themes that keep on appearing. The piece has a strong pagan imagery set in a 21st century period (Wenders).
However, in this ballet concert, the choreographer had designed the scenes to be more like a comedy. The movement of the sisters are more amusing than cruel. For example, when they pulled each other for being eager to dance with the prince, or when they tried to hurt and bully the Cinderella, these movements are not that cruel but amusing. Even the stepmother was drunk and danced comically in the prom scene. Moreover, the movements of all the girls who wanted their feet to fit in to the ballet shoe which Cinderella had dropped in the prom are also very funny. These kinds of design successfully made the audience laugh out loud and without hurting the hearts of the little girls who went to see the performance with their
Choreographers define dance as “telling a story without speaking”, “the language of the body”, “explaining your heart through movement”, and “is a unique passion that ca be fulfilling to its choreographers, dancers, and audience” (Senior Mastery Choreography Survey). The responses to the Senior Mastery Choreographer Survey proves that the stimulating and creating process of the choreography in the brain is the difficult aspect of this job, but when the visions are transferred to the dancers the results can be tremendous and sometimes breathtaking. The choreography can be created by the use of shapes, kinesthetic and scenic spacing, timing, and different tactics to leave a meaning to the audience. Choreography and dance have been a part of the arts for a myriad of years and will be for numerous more. It is an emotional entertainment that leaves the audience with a message and feelings towards a