Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Dancing to the Classical Ballet

By Sandy Fe


Considered by many as one of the most formal styles of ballet, classical ballet uses certain techniques and features that is unique to this form of dance style alone. People who wants to learn this type of dance usually start at an early age, mainly because younger people are more flexible, hence, are easier to train for this type of dance style. They can easily adapt to the physical demands of the dance, and are more capable of pushing their bodies to be able to perform the techniques and dance routines they need to do. Aside from that, ballet also involves a certain kind of mystique about it, making it appear magical to most people.

History

Ballet made its debut in the 18th century as a tool for assisting in plays. Ballet Dancers were part of the cast who expressed character. It was also a time when ballet dancers wore hoops, high heels, wigs, and corsets. Ballet was later used as interludes for operas.

In the 19th century, ballet went through a dramatic change. It was like a renaissance period for ballet. New dance techniques were introduced such as pointwork and at the same time, ballet shoes or slippers came to the scene. The dance later developed the characteristic of out of world creatures that glide on stage.

Classical Ballet Style

Classical ballet is known for putting a lot of emphasis on execution and method of how the dancer moves. They can appear as if they are defying the laws of gravity wherein they create a perception that they are flying on stage as they dance. They may even give the illusion that they are hovering.

Female Ballet Dancer Outfit

The attire used by female dancer is distinct. As students, the ladies are to wear tights which could be flesh, pink or blue in color along with a leotard with any color. The wrap skirts are not a requirement but the student may wear one if she wishes to. For the feet, the students wear flats or in ballet jargon, are called soft technique shoes. As they advance in their training, they get the privilege of wearing pointed shoes.

Male Ballet Dancer Outfit

Men, on the other hand, basically wear the same thing in the sense that they wear tights and a leotard or a form-fitting shirt. They also wear flats, or soft technique shoes, which are black or white in color.

Ballet Training

In classical ballet, there are over seven different training styles that classical ballet dancers could go through, the most common of the training styles being the Vaganova method, Royal Ballet School method, Balanchine Method, Cecchetti method, and the Royal Academy of Dance method.

During training, students need to rise to the ranks by increasing their skill and strength. The degree of improvement will likewise determine the level of ballet they can do. An example is the wearing of pointed shoes. Ballet schools only allow their students to wear this after earning a certain degree of skill and strength.

Wearing of pointe shoes at such an early age before the dancer is actually ready, both skill-wise and strength-wise, then the dancer might experience some form of injury or damage to her feet later on. This is why ballet dancers go through a rigorous training regimen, especially since strength and skill is needed to be able to dance this particular style.




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