Essay On Modern Dance And Ballet

Modern dance and ballet are often considered to be opposites of each other. In fact, modern dance was originally created as a rebellion of ballet. Although the two forms of dance have many differences, they also share similarities that are often overlooked.

Classical ballet, which originated in Renaissance Italy, is one of the strictest forms of dance. Its technique, which involves specific movements that are performed in set ways, is highly developed, very particular and demanding. Classical ballet has its own vocabulary that comes from terms in French. Each move or step has a name, such as “plié”, which is the bending of the knee or knees, or “fouetté”, which refers to a whipping movement. Ballet dancers often train from a very young age well into adulthood to master the complicated technique of this dance form. Traditional ballet technique has, over time, become the foundation of multiple other dance forms, and many professional dancers, despite their main dance style, have been trained extensively in ballet.

Modern dance developed as a rebellion from classical ballet in the late 19th century and the early 20th century. Modern dance pioneers such as Isadora Duncan and Martha Graham took the strict, technical form away from ballet and created this shocking new type of dance. At the time of its creation, there was a lot of focus on change and reconstruction, and one of the ways people expressed themselves during this time was through this new form of dance. The main goal that the pioneers of modern wanted to achieve was for dance to be an art form. They used their bodies to express emotions and tell stories, like ballet, but with a focus that was not on perfection, but on freedom of expression.

In ballets, there are specific t...

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... freer form of dance.

In ballet, a story is often told through the dance. There are multiple different kinds of stories that can be told in ballet, including fairy tales, fables and folk legends. The subject matter consists of a variety of topics, including

Modern subject matter

Ballet strives for perfection. The purpose of ballet is to tell a story while entertaining and amazing an audience.

Like ballet, modern dance also portrays stories, but modern relies more heavily on the emotions of the dancer to do this. The creation of modern was done in hopes of achieving the goal of transforming dance into a complete art form and more of a freedom of expression. Modern dance choreographers wanted to create dances without the rules and restrictions of ballet, so developing this new form opened up opportunity for new innovative ideas and creativity in the dance world.