1. The article by Joann Kealiinohomoku concerns the topic of dances as they are perceived by scientists. In regards to this, she claims that dance is always a form of ethnological identity of people. The author explains this concept on the example of ballet dance, which is regarded by scientists as the high form of art created by Western tradition. The purpose of proving that ballet is also an ethnic dance revealing our cultural ideas and traditions embodied in the characters is to show that perception of dance as ethnic cannot be represented in form of its lower status. According to Kealiinohomoku, the ballet reflects traditions “our cultural heritage is revealed also in the roles which appear repeatedly in our ballets” (Kealiinohomoku 40).
Throughout the article, the author lists themes and characteristics of ballet performances to prove the extent to which ballet has to be regarded as ethnic. Providing support in form of statements about ritualism, flora and fauna that are often included in the performances, the author tries to demonstrate how wrong we are considering ballet to be out of culture. It has inevitable connections to the customs of nations that developed it. Thus, ballet cannot be regarded out of the culturally-historical paradigm, as far as it is deeply rooted in it.
While proving that
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ballet has features of ethnic dance, the author also points out how dancers and dance scholars tend be wrong when equating the term ‘ethnic dance’ to ‘primitive dance’. She also provides convincing support for her idea that this conventional line of assumption is highly misinformed. From a clearly anthropological view, Kealiinohomoku emphasizes that ethnic means belonging to a group with special emphasis on cultural traditional. Considering this, every dance form must be an ethnic form, since it always would belong to a particular culture. 2.
In her article, Kealiinohomoku refers to the ballet as one of examples that prove ethnic origin of dances. She identifies this type of already inter-cultural dance as the one that completely fits in a discussion about ethno-aesthetics. While proving her point of view, she mentions ballet's choreography, body types, sets, and clothes, all of which correspond to the Western perception of beauty and grace. This understanding of beauty involves many nuances, ideals, and resources from specific culture. For instance, ballet involves touching one's thigh, which may be seen inappropriate cultures other than Western. However, this cultural aspect is a norm on th
West. While the ballet is regarded as “the one great divinely ordained apogee of the performing art” it also reflects in terms of regarding definite animals (Kealiinohomoku 35). As the author writes, horses and swans are appropriate for ballet as far as they are honorable and sophisticated animals. However, we would never observe a performance with pigs or buffalo on the scene. The same situation is with flowers used in ballet. Thus, despite its inter-cultural fame and recognition, the ballet still keeps features that originated in definite cultures. The ethno-aesthetics of the dance cannot be lost just due to its recognized nowadays internationality. Thus, the ballet dance is always a part of Western culture that created it, and we could not consider it out of original traditions. The same situation is observed with other dance forms. While their cultural belonging is not always evident, they still represent the culture they belonged to initially.
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 ...
Jensen, Jill Nunes. "Transcending Gender in Ballet’s LINES." When Men Dance: Choreographing Masculinities Across Borders (2009): 118.
Ballet traces back to the 15-century Italian renaissance court; Ballet is known as the mother of all dance due to its influence on any style of dance no matter how small. In the 15th century ballet was a form of entertainment for the Italian Renaissance court. These performances took place in balls and banquets. (“Ballet”) Ballet one of its first performances included aristocratic amateurs with poetry and song alongside the production. (“Ballet”) During the 15th century, France also became influence with ballet. (“A Brief History of Ballet - Illustrated by Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre.”) The influenced of ballet in France was because of Catherine de Medici in 1533. (“Ballet”) She married the French King Henry II which allowed from French and
As discussed during class, dance has always played a large part in society and political affairs. However, what we covered was largely before the nineteenth century. These more than one hundred years that separate what we covered and the Ballets Russes was a time of great artistic innovation. The commodification of ballet was also very interesting to me. Previously, ballet and dance were used in social gatherings, however at the turn of the twentieth century it morphed into something that could be bought, sold, and traded. Garafola notes that, choreographers like Fokine could receive top dollar for their efforts (Garafola 196). I found it very remarkable just how much Diaghilev’s success relied on outside sources and his ability to integrate the Ballets Russes into the era’s operatic marketplace. When looking at the interaction between society and dance from the other direction it is interesting to note that during the twentieth century, dance became much more cosmopolitan in terms of artistic styling. Dance arrived at the forefront of the careful balance between social and artistic behaviors within the academic culture of France, in which a majority of these undertakings were purely of commercial
Considering descendants’ effort to bring this culture back in society, this entire dancing performance, masks, and the idea of interacting with the outside world must not have been merely correlated to their religious and spiritual ritual. It might have been their identity; a symbolic of their society which their ancestors had built and passed down to them.
Aalten, A. (2005). In the presence of the body: Theorizing training, injuries and pain in ballet. Dance Research Journal, 37(2), 55-72. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20444641
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.
This paper will be a detailed description of what dance was like in the 1950’s specifically focusing on 1954 to 1959. It will also go beyond to demonstrate how the style of dancing is a direct reflection of the society during that time period. The topic will be presented in class and a brief reflection will be included in this paper.
[6] Cohen, Selma Jeanne. International Encyclopedia of Dance: A Project of Dance Perspectives Foundation, Inc. New York: Oxford UP, 1998. Print.
Price, Brena and Pettijohn, Terry. “The Effect of Ballet Dance Attire on Body and Self-Perceptions of
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.
The Classical Period which happened in the late 1700’s became one the most evolutionary times in ballets history. The Classical Period is where performance and expression became extremely important. With ballet this period is where the use of storytelling became one of the main focuses for the dancer’s performances. The use of their emotions and the character they portrayed were more important than the use of the costumes. The “father of classical ballet” was known as Marius Petipa. Petipa was born in French but he came to Russia to create in the ballet. In the early 1800’s came the Pre-Romantic Period which was short but needed because of Marie Taglioni. Marie Taglioni was the first ballerina to ever dance en pointe. This time was the time pointe surfaced, em pointe which means “on
The. Marcoux, Erica. The Globalization of Bollywood Dance. Interrogating Dance Globalization. N.p., 21July2013. Web.
In conclusion, this essay aims at analysing and comparing the historical background and current context of Malay Dance, and to investigate the dance elements prevalent and the different historical and socio-cultural influences on its development, comparing the most original form of Malay Dance to its many developed and varied forms of today. Through participatory observation and my own personal embodied experience, I have realized the importance of Malay Dance and its place in the world of Dance. My role as an active audience and mover is to preserve the traditions and heritage of Malay Dance, concurrently appreciating the influences that have shaped it into what it is today.