Dance Research Paper

Dancing has always been a passion of mine. Ever since I was three years old I have taken ballet classes. I love the gracefulness and elegance of the movements and the emotions that I feel when moving with the music. I enjoy the performing aspect of the art as much as I enjoy watching the professionals. This art form has always been a special part of my life and I never want to take that for granted. I have always wondered about its history and where it originated but I never thought of doing in-depth research on the topic. My hope was to learn about its past and how it came to be the style that I love performing today. Everyone knows that performing arts exist, but most people ignore them because they are more invested in sports. Through this

During that time, Russia had taken control and became the center of the ballet world. A Frenchman named Marius Petipa went to the Imperial Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia. There he became the artistic director and choreographer, and he created many ballets representing the style of Classical ballet. Some of his greatest works included The Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, and Swan Lake (co-choreographed with Lev Ivanov). With the help of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, who provided the musical scores, Petipa was able to create elaborate ballets still remembered and performed in this day in time. The ballets performed during the Classical era were choreographed to showcase the technique of the dancer. The choreography was quite demanding and required strength and stamina to perform each section of the ballet. The variations consisted of sequences of difficult steps to show the dancers best qualities. The Classical era emphasized the importance of technique and the beauty when done precisely. The difficulty of the choreography during that time transferred into the ballets performed today. As a choreographer, Petipa had a method to creating his pieces of art. In creating his method, “Petipa orchestrated principal dancers, groups of soloists, and the corps de ballet of his ensemble” (Lee 210) and organized the classical ballet steps into seven divisions to help him choreograph. Petipa used his method to separate the dancers into groups based on rank. He categorized steps to create combinations and patterns for the corps de ballet, and he formed special variations for the principals and soloists. The way he divided the group of dancers became the way future ballet companies would categorize their dancers. The Russian influence over ballet aided in the development of the Classical era, which let them bring their success to