Live, Love Ballet Dance

The second dance on my list is ballet dance. I did ballet for 2 years as a school subject.

History
The history of ballet began in the Italian Renaissance courts of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. It then spread to the French court of Catherine de' Medici where it was further developed. The creation of classical ballet as it is known today occurred under Louis XIV, who in his youth was an avid dancer and performed in ballets by Pierre Beauchamp and Jean-Baptiste Lully. In 1661 Louis founded the Académie Royale de Danse (Royal Dance Academy) which was charged with establishing standards for the art of dance and the certification of dance instructors. In 1672, Louis XIV made Lully the director of the Académie Royale de Musique (Paris Opera) in which the first professional ballet company, the Paris Opera Ballet, arose. Early ballets preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were performed in large chambers with the audience seated on tiers or galleries on three sides of the dance floor.

Despite the great reforms of Jean-Georges Noverre in the eighteenth century, ballet went into decline in France after 1830, though it was continued in Denmark, Italy, and Russia. It was reintroduced to western Europe on the eve of the First World War by a Russian company, the Ballets Russes of Sergei Diaghilev, who ultimately influenced ballet around the world. Diaghilev's company became a destination for many of the Russian-trained dancers fleeing the famine and unrest that followed the Bolshevik revolution. These dancers brought back to their place of origin many of the choreographic and stylistic innovations that had been flourishing under the czars.


In the 20th century, ballet had a strong influence on broader concert dance. (Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Styles
Romantic ballet
Romantic ballet is defined by an era during the early to mid 19th century (the romantic era) in which ballets featured themes that emphasized intense emotion as a source of aesthetic experience.(Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Classical ballet
Classical ballet is based on traditional ballet technique and vocabulary.(Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Neoclassical ballet

Neoclassical ballet is a style that utilizes classical ballet technique and vocabulary, but deviates from classical ballet in its use of the abstract. In Neo-Classical Ballet, there often is no clear plot, costumes or scenery. Music choice can be diverse and will often include music that is also neo-classical..(Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Contemporary ballet
Contemporary ballet is a form of dance that opens up the doors to for any style to influence a work made utilizing ballet technique. Contemporary Ballet can take on a wide variety of aesthetics, incorporating pedestrian, modern, jazz, or ethnic forms, so long as a the roots of classical ballet are apparent. It allows for open ended exploration and experimentation, but a good way to determine if a work is contemporary ballet as oppose to contemporary dance, is to ask the question, is ballet training needed to perform this as it was intended?. (Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)


Pictures



(Google pictures)

Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZCo-csnj5k


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhT3orvADjM


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCKk-na2axo


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rTuy4QI1Vs


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kftQQAuqgJY

Live, Love Modern Dance

I love dance and have decide to do some research about different types of dances. As modern dance is my favourite and I have also done it for 7 years, I will start with it....

Definition
Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert dance, it has primarily arise out of Germany and the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

History
Oversimplification of modern dance's history often leads to the erroneous explanation that the artform emerged merely as a rejection of or rebellion against classical ballet. As early as the 1880's, a range of socioeconomic changes in both the United States and Europe helped pave the way to tremendous shifts in the dance world. For example: in America, the rise of a middle class, and the decline of Victorian social strictures led to a new interest in health and physical fitness.

During the 1880's, the champions of physical education helped to prepare the way for modern dance, and gymnastic exercises served as technical starting points for young women who longed to dance. Emil Rath, stated, "Music and rhythmic bodily movement are twin sisters of art, as they have come into existence simultaneously..".

Facts
Modern dance focuses on a dancer's own interpretations instead of structured steps, as in traditional ballet dancing. Modern dance encourages dancers to use their emotions and moods to design their own steps and routines. Modern dancers reject the limitations of classical ballet and favor movements derived from the expression of their inner feelings. Modern dance pioneers often danced in bare feet and revealing costumes. In the United States, several dance pioneers paved the way for American modern dance, including the legendary Martha Graham.

Another characteristic of modern dance in opposition to ballet is the deliberate use of gravity. Whereas classical ballet dancers strive to be light and airy on their feet, modern dancers often use their body weight to enhance movement. This type of dancer rejects the classical ballet stance of an upright, erect body, often opting instead for deliberate falls to the floor.

When attending your first modern dance class, you are probably wondering what type of shoes and clothes you should wear. While some studios have strict dress requirements, you will probably be safe showing up in tights and a leotard underneath a top or skirt of some kind. As for shoes, many modern dancers prefer to wear leather or canvas ballet slippers, and some like the feeling of bare feet.


Pictures





Video 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-6InwN_gVU