Ballet Terms

There are many ballet terms you need to know in order to take ballet. Most language is in french. Ballet movements all have meanings, for example Plie is when the legs bend. Every ballet class starts with plies in all five positions to loosen muscles and promote elasticity. Good plie gives impetus for jumps and also helps to cushion a landing. Another movement is jete,which is a jump from one foot to another. There is also a grand jete which is when you jump higher then in regular jete. There is also names for certain types of jumps. One being a Pirouette is when you turn your body with one foot. A Turn out is when the dancer does a 90 degree turn out of the leg from the hip without any strain. If you would like to see more ballet postitions and definitions go to this website. http://www.geocities.com/axiom43/ballet.html

Ballet Shoes

Dancers wear blocked slippers called toe shoes or Pointe shoes in order to dance on the tips of their toes. Toe or Pointe dancing was transformed into an artistic expression. Whilst is another type of shoe that have been described as an athletic shoe. There made from paper and paste, there remains remarkably few serious injuries found in the feet of the modern ballerinas. At first some dancers resorted to wearing a soft Pointe shoe for jumping on one foot and a hard one to support the leg for balances and pirouettes. The introduction of stiffer shoes made possible new technical achievements not previously known.This website helped me learn about different types of ballet shoes. http://podiatry.curtin.edu.au/ballet.html#fantasy

The Nutcracker

The nutcracker was a ballet that was written by E.T.A. Hoffman. The nutcracker was a story about a German girl who dreams of a nutcracker prince who fights in a fierce battle against a mouse king with seven heads. The ballet has a lot of music composed by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky. He composed the Nutcracker in 1892. The Nutcracker is usually performed in the late November until Christmas. There were many children in the ballet. The most recent child that played Clara was Emily Gotschall in 1995. The complete ballet did not achieve its great popularity until around the mid-1960’s. If you would like to find out more about this ballet then visit this website. http://www.nutcrackerballet.net/html/nutcracker_story.html

Ballet, and what its known for.

Ballet is known for a lot of things. Its known for its techniques, graceful moves, turn out of the leg, its positions, high extensions and Pointe. In order for you to dance Pointe, you have to have at least 3 years of ballet. Reason being, it is a lot more complicated. Audiences find it fun and peaceful to watch a ballet. Ballet is a form of art, like opera. Works of dance choreographed using these techniques are called ballets and usually include dance, mime, acting and music. Usually in a ballet there is an orchestral. Ballet technique is called classical because it stresses this purity and harmony of design. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballet

Meaning of Ballet

The word ballet came doesnt just mean a type of dance. It also means an individual dance work or performance using classical ballet technique. Any dance work involving a group of dancers may also be called a ballet even though it may not use classical ballet technique. Domenico da Piacenza (1390–1470) was the first person credited to come up with the term ballo, instead of danza (dance) for his baletti or balli. Some scholars view this as the origin of ballet. He began teaching dance where he grew up. Ballet is a type of art. In the 18th century there was a vast advancement in the technical standards of ballet. It was the period t hat ballt became a serious dramatic art. For more information you can visit this website.

http://sg.geocities.com/in_the_wings90/meaning_of_ballet.htm

Pointe

Pointe is a type of ballet that requires you to dance on your toes. To dance Pointe you need to have extremely strong toes and feet. While you’re dancing, you’re holding all your weight on your toes. You also have to be able to balance very well. Most people don’t start dancing Pointe until there 11 years old. You need at lease 3 years of ballet before you being Pointe. There are many injuries that come along with Pointe. Your feet swell, blister, and many beginning dancers break toes. It is the most graceful type of dance, although it can cause permanent damage.

Movements on Ballet

Ballet has many different positions and movements. Ballerinas keep perfect balance. The lines of the dancers body form harmonious designs. While the dancers are performing, they act like gravity doesnt exist. They dance like there floating through the air in long slow leaps. In ballet there are 5 basic steps you need to learn to become a ballet dancer. First position, second postion, third postion, fourth and fifth postion. Other more complicated positions are releve, attitude devant, tendu, plie, battement, jete, glissade, and tour en l'air. Other basic postions of ballet are pliér which means to bend, etendre means to stretch, sauter is to jump or leap, elancer is to dart, glisser means to glide, and tourner is to turn. http://www.dgillan.screaming.net/stage/th-ballet3.html