The Nutcracker and the Mouse King was the original name of the nutcracker. The Nutcracker and the Mouse king was written by E.T.A. Hoffman. The Nutcracker is about a little girl named Clara that's given a magical nutcracker, and they go on an incredible adventure. The story was so good people started to make other books, movies, plays, musicals, and ballets. Even though there are hundreds of versions of the Nutcracker they all have around the same plot.
Clara is the protagonist in the Nutcracker. Clara is a little girl that grew up in Germany. The antagonist are Fritz, The Nutcracker, the Sugar Plum Fairy, godfather, and the mice. The story takes place on Christmas Eve in Germany. The conflict of the story is man v.s. man, but the man v.s.
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man is the nutcracker v.s. the mice. The rising action of the Nutcracker was when the Christmas Eve party was coming towards an end, God father arrives late and gives the children their presents. Clara got a nutcracker that looked like a soldier. Claire's brother Fritz Snatched The Nutcracker right out of Clara's hands and broke it. Clara started to cry. The children went to bed and Godfather fixed the Nutcracker and then left. Clara woke up and realized that she left her Nutcracker downstairs. Clara goes downstairs to get her Nutcracker, when she gets down stairs she sees that her nutcracker and Fritz’s toy soldiers came to life and are fighting a bunch of mice. The climax was when Clara throws her slipper at the king mouse and all the other mice come to carry him away. The falling action was when the nutcracker turns into a prince. The Nutcracker takes Clara to Sugarland. Clara dances with the prince. The resolution was when Clara wakes up on the couch with the Nutcracker in her hand. The overall theme of the story is to believe in the magic of Christmas. The ballet had many features that express the story, The Nutcracker.
One feature the ballet used to express the story was pantomime. Pantomime is when the dancers use body language to tell a story. Another feature the ballet used to express the story was the music. The music changed every time something joyful, suspicious, or wonder filled happened. The final feature used were the costumes. The costumes help express the story by all the details. The details on the costumes came and a wide variety. Some features include squints, colors, buttons, and much more. To sum up the ballet had features that expressed the story. There were a couple differences between the ballet and the book. One difference the book and ballet had was how people talked. In the book people talked by dialogue, on the other hand, in the ballet people didn't talk, people used pantomime. Another difference between the book and ballet was how the message got across. The message in the book got across by pictures. In the ballet the message got across by the music. The last difference between the book and ballet was how you saw it. The book made it to where you had to use your imagination, but in the ballet you didn't use your imagination. All in all there are differences between the ballet and the
book. Between the book and the ballet, I liked the ballet more. I liked the ballet for a few reasons. One reason I liked the ballet more was because of the costumes. The costumes were marvelous from top to bottom. Another reason I liked the ballet more was because of the music. The music made me feel like I was in the nutcracker story because it was so loud. The last reason I liked the ballet more was because of the props. The props looked like they were real. The props that were painted were painted spectacularly. To sum up I think the ballet was a lot better than the book.
The Nutcracker, as shown in the San Jose theater, was the first professional dance performance I had ever been to and chose to go to because it was conveniently set up by the SCHS Performing Arts Program. With costumes that were elaborately designed to bring out the characteristics of each actor and actress, the overall mood of the performance was admirable. The set of the performance was spectacular; there were fog machines, smooth velvet couches, and accurate, bright lighting. Dancers were able to communicate to the audience without the usage of verbal sounds. They were able to efficiently tell a story through their facial expressions and their dramatic movements, keeping the attention of the audience throughout most of the show. There were elements that were incorporated into the dances that we had learned in our ballet unit, such as demi-plies, degages, and echappes, so it was much more interesting because we could somehow relate to the dancers.
There are these two video examples representative of their respective ballet eras are twenty. A presentation of dance, Contemporary Ballet. The show still had basics skill and the traditional dances are also included. These two video still have basics move like classical ballet. The dancer begins in a Classical Ballet 5th position of the feet, but her arms, instead of a soft, rounded shape, are dangling limply at her side like we studied in this chapter;
Large sets and traditional tutus gave way to clean stages and plain leotards. This simplified external style allowed for the dancers’ movement to become the main artistic medium, which is the hallmark of neoclassical ballet. In neoclassical ballet, there are more varieties to work with and the costumes too it will not be just a traditional tutu. In addition, neoclassical ballet is much more bias towards the contemporary dance side which means more freedom than structure. While in ballet, The vocabularies are very structured for instance a grand jeté has to have both legs straightened, pointed and turned-out. Although neoclassical requires some of these techniques too but the movement are not so restricted. Neo-classical makes the audience visualise different emotions and style unlike ballet, its either lively or dull. Which might be the reason why it stays
(“Ballet History”) During the romantic era ballerinas started to dance on pointe. The first dancer to do this was 18-year-old Marie Taglioni. (Raftis) Art and literature influenced the romantic ballet. Marie Taglioni born April 23, 1804, was a famous Italian ballerina during this era. (Raftis) Her father Filippo Taglioni trained her. (Raftis) She became the first dancer to dance on extreme tips or the points of the toes. (Raftis) She made her debut in Vienne in 1822. (Raftis)In Paris the performance was called La Sylphide, it was the first performance of the romantic ballet. (“A Brief History of Ballet - Illustrated by Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre.”) The play was a mortal man loving and destroy a supernatural creature. Filippo Taglioni created this play. He was an Italian dancer who was known to create the romantic style of ballets. (“Ballet History”) This play inspired many other plays with a similar theme. The focus of romantic ballet was an otherworldly being or ghostly spirits. (“Ballet History”) This theme was known to be performed by women mainly. The costume that is widely known is the romantic tutu. (“Ballet History”) During this, the romantic era gas lighting was also used compared to before where candles were used for theatre. The effect of gas lighting allowed for directors to use dim light. (“Ballet History”)
Walt Disney’s Cinderella is adapted from the original fairy tale written in 1697 by Charles Perrault. There are some key differences between Walt Disney’s Cinderella and Charles Perrault’s Cinderella. In Charles Perrault’s tale, Cinderella’s father is not dead, but the father is controlled by the stepmother. Cinderella’s younger stepsister is much more polite than the older stepsister, who calls Cinderella Cinderwench. The king in Perrault’s tale hosts a two day Ball, which Cinderella attends with the help of the fairy godmother. During Cinderella’s preparation for the first night of the Ball, Cinderella helps the fairy godmother find a coachman when the fairy godmother could not find one. Cinderella’s glass slipper comes off on the second night of the ball. Similar to Walt Disney’s Cinderella, the prince in Perrault’s story announces to marry a woman whose foot will fit in the glass slipper. Unlike the Walt Disney’s tale, Cinderella is not locked up in the attic and the stepmother does not physically attempt to stop Cinderella from trying the slipper. Instead, the step sisters ridicule Cinderella when Cinderella suggests trying on the glass slipper. Cinderella wears the slipper and takes out the other slipper from a pocket which Cinderella puts on the other foot. Suddenly, the fairy godmother appears and transforms Cinderella’s ragged outfit to a magnificent gown. After the transformation, the step sisters recognize Cinderella as the unknown beautiful princess who attended the Ball and beg for forgiveness. Cinderella forgives the step sisters and marries the step sisters to the great lords of the castle. The prince marries Cinderella, however, Perrault does not mention about the prince and Cinderella living happily ever after.
The story Jumping Mouse is a Native American tale that is told with many central themes in mind. The story was most likely told to a wide ranged age group. So with the multiple themes it most likely was design to touch home with all ages in some form or another. One of the more central themes however was the importance of the situations and animals that help Jumping Mouse on his journey. The animals that he meets are much the same as people and situations we have met or well meet in our lifetime.
The element that stood out the most to me was how effectively the music and the footwork corresponded. The best examples of this are seen through the dancers solos. Especially Albrecht's solo, his feet glide on the stage at the same tempo as the music. Similarly, Giselle's graceful footwork is truly amazing. I really like the similarities between the choreographed footwork and the music, it makes Giselle seem much more elegant and beautiful. This also seems to make the work look more put together and in sync because the dancers are dancing in harmony with the orchestra. The choreography by itself is amazing. The footwork is rapid and intricate, however, at the same time it is delicate and graceful. The ballerina (Giselle) made it look very easy to do the choreography, when it rea...
...he ballerina both physically and narratively drew focus to the increasingly vital role of the supernatural, unattainable woman in ballet. The spectacle of Romantic ballet could not be so exuberant without its visual presentation in scenery and dance style, yet the pinnacle of Romantic ideals became the woman in her ethereal, supernatural presence. Giselle was built as a vision of Romanticism as changes in lighting and illusion centralized around her plotline, floating, skimming dance steps enhanced her ethereal qualities, and the narrative of the ballet itself projected her as an unattainable, otherworldly being. She was an isolated spectacle, both mysterious and alienated. The ballerina became the epitome of awe and mystical beauty in reflecting these Romanticism ideals. The ballerina was the most effective expression of a supernatural presence in Romantic ballet.
Both Petipa and Tchaikovsky still did not like the story and refused to work on the project. Petipa did not think the story was right for ballet dancing. He did not feel that Marie, the main character, was a strong enough character to dance. He did try to write a scenario for the ballet, but he could not think of anything past the scene of what we know of as the kingdom of snow. After Petipa gave up, Vsevolojsky begged and persisted with Petipa to try again. He convinced Petipa and this time he created a new character called the Sugarplum fairy. This character was not in either of the original stories. She was to be the main character, rather than Marie, and she would be the ruler of the Kingdom of Sweets. Petipa felt that this character could dance the big scenes better than the character Marie.
There are a lot of ways to present the story which the author wants to share with the audience. It can be a book, a poem, a song, a music item, a film, a play, a dance, anything that the author may imagine. But each form is unique and one and the same story told using different forms will look different. Sometimes a bad story in verses may look perfect in a dance and vice versa. The form in which a story told is important, because it can highlight those important features, which another form may avoid.
Through hundreds of productions of The Nutcracker, that have thrilled several crowds, audiences have experienced the fear of oversized mice and the thrill of the Land of Sweets. Written by Tchaikovsky, The Nutcracker is danced around Christmas annually. The Nutcracker was inspired by and based on E.T.A. Hoffmann’s novel, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King (“The Story of the Nutcracker Ballet”). A girl named Clara receives a nutcracker as a Christmas present, who comes to life to fight the Mouse King. Clara journeys through the Land of Sweets as audiences are mesmerized by the dancers with the extravagant, flamboyant, exaggerated, and bizarre costumes, props, and heavy make-up that perform the famous piece.
The theatre is full of young men and women. The gas lanterns dimly light the room and the silhouette of a figure can be seen in the shadows of the stage. As she emerges, she is like a dream: a tall, elegant body with a form fitting bodice and tutu. She is entrancing on her tiny pointe shoes as she floats across the stage. Love and passion fill the air as she moves in such a way that is almost magical. The Romantic Ballet Period introduced the aspects of theme, costume, and new technique to the dance world and its influences are still seen in contemporary works in ballet.
Throughout the play, the time of the dancers fluctuated. There were times of excitement when the dancers expressed feelings of joy and therefore they had a fast speed but there are other times when the dancers were confused and uncertain and as a result, their speed were much slower and calmer. Additionally, they used the principle of shape to create illusions to entice the crowd. Some parts of the play instructed the dancers to form inanimate objects using their bodies.
Many young girls grow up taking ballet class, but there is a lot more to ballet than just little girls running around in tutus. Many people think that ballet is boring or isn’t their thing but there are many roles that go into putting on a ballet. A lot of work goes into doing a ballet. There are many famous ballets that without the story, the ballet wouldn’t be as interesting. There were many influential dancers and choreographers in ballet. There are many basic steps that frame the technique of ballet. Ballet is very physically and mentally demanding. Ballet is an art that many people misunderstand, but there is so much more to ballet.
Ballet is one of the most popular types of dance. It is known for its grace and elegance. Ballet is a very disciplined style of dance and may take many years to develop the proper technique. Ballet is the foundation for many other types of dance.