Ballet - The Perfect Point in a Perfect Foot

Ballet is always about perfect technique. Especially in a dancer toes, if a dancer slacks off in their feet then the rest of their body will slack as well. A dancer's feet is what makes them do their wonderful moves, the arms and stuff are just there to help tell the story.  Feet are extremely important in ballet, like Au explains, "Fokine carried his technical and costume reforms further in Eunice (1907). Basing his choreography on his study of Greek vase-painting and Egyptian sculpture, he avoided virtuosic steps such as pirouettes and entrechats. Since the Imperial Theatres would not allow the dancers to perform barefoot as he wished, they were costumed in tights painted with toes. Anna Pavlova, then a rising star of the Imperial Ballet, performed the 'Dance of the Seven Veils'" (73). These choreographers found a way to still allow their dancers to express their amazing point, with point shoes (what they're called today). The point shoe will show all that point with no mistakes. That's what ballet is about, great technique especially great points in feet. I remember my ballet instructor always told me that 'I need to point so hard that it hurts'. Soon I asked him why, and he said 'If you learn to deal with it, then it'll just come natural'. Pointing takes strength in your feet because you're using all your force to make it perfect. That's why ballet was mad, to help with that strength.

This half of the section will help a dancer get that perfect point in a pirouette turn. Pirouette means to spin, so this is a turn tutorial. Au said something about what a dancer should do, and it is that a dancer should be trained with necessary versatility and strength so they can improve their technique (72). So like in the video above I did a pirouette turn in a passé position which is the term used to explain that one leg is on the side of the other leg to help the dancer turn. Another thing to notice is I'm using a turnboard, turnboards help find your center to spot correctly so then it'll be a piece of cake to do without one. Here are my personal steps to follow doing a Pirouette turn.

              Step 1: Practice going up and down on releve and eleve (going up on your toes then go up and jumping from your toes).

              Step 2: Make sure you have your spot that you need to try to look at the whole time as you spin, so then you won't get dizzy.

              Step 3: Get ready to turn either on a turnboard or without it doesn't matter.

                         - Tips for turnboard; don't go on releve on the turnboard unless you're absolutely certain you can do it, if not don't just do what I did on my turnboard.     

                         - If you aren't using a turnboard then when you turn you can go on releve.

              Step 4:  Have your arms in a L position in front of you (right arm out and left to the side if you spin on the left foot).

              Step 5: As you have your arms in the L position, you need to position your feet with the left foot in front and right foot in back.

              Step 6: Turn: as you turn whip your left arm to your right arm in a circle in front of you (imagine yourself holding a ball) with fingers slightly touching. Don't bring your arms to close to your body, make your arms straight. Also bring right foot to left leg

               - Tips: Find you spot and don't take your eyes off of it, like I explained in Step 2.

               - Also you right foot should be pointed on the inside of your left foot as you turn

               - Don't try what I did unless you're comfortable with the turnboard.

And now you just did a pirouette, always be safe and have fun, and start off with one turn then go on to two or three.

Do you think these steps were helpful? Why or Why not? Tips?

          Au, Susan. Ballet and Modern Dance: Third edition. New York, New York: Thames & Hudson world of art, 1988. Copyright

Ballet - The Choreography Makes Emotion

Choreography is the cause of dance in the first place. Without someone making up so many dances in the world people wouldn't improve in dance and some people wouldn't be famous. Lots of people now a days are famous because they danced a lot in their past and they are good at it. Like Maddie Ziegler, if it wasn't for her choreographer Abby Lee Miller she wouldn't have gotten an opportunity in a Sia video and then onto Dancing with the Stars as a judge, all because of her dancing. Author Susan Au made a statement about a ballet choreographer Beauchamp who invented different ballet steps that we use today. Also that Beauchamp changed his teaching methods to become a little harder so that it will challenge his students to push themselves. Au also explained that all of those kids who were pushed were able to accomplish their goals of improving and getting great outside opportunities (26). Just like Maddie Ziegler, these kids rose to the occasion because of their great choreographers, who kept pushing them all the time without even thinking about it.

What choreographers do with their dancers isn't always about just pushing their technique and stuff. Choreographers also like their dancers to tell a story using different emotion, like author Au states. "The 18th century was an age of brilliant dancers, yet it was also a time when both dancers and choreographers began to seek something beyond the mere display of technique. Dance, they felt, should be more than an ornament of even an object of wonder; it should convey some meaning to the viewer (29). Au stated this because technique can't always tell the true meaning of a story, but the choreographers always remind dancers to use their faces when they dance so they can portray their character. Something I always remember choreographer Abby Lee saying is use the Maddie face, because Maddie Ziegler is so good at her emotion that it gave everyone chills. But for me whenever I dance, my emotion came naturally because I always feel the music as I'm learning it, then when we keep going over it I can feel my face feeling it too.

Do you feel choreographers are the reasons dancers are so good? Why or why not?

                Au Susan. Ballet and Modern Dance: Third edition. New York, New York: Thames & Hudson world of art, 1988. Copyright

Ballet - The True Meaning

Ballet, what exactly is Ballet? Some people call it only a type of dance, but that isn't specific enough. Ballet isn't just a dance, it's a dance that helps build strength as you move with flowing rhythm, to portray a story you want to tell. When I dance at Allegro and I took ballet, my constructer Patrick always told me to hear the music and portray it at the same time because he felt ballet was art. Author Susan Au felt the same way and believes ballet is art being expressed through a dancer's point of view. Also Au explains how ballet is a mixture of art, entertainment, and politics, to give off that true meaning of what the dancer is trying to tell the audience (12). The two years I've been at Allegro have helped me grow physically and mentally cause the art the dancer portrays has to give them that mental ability to understand what they are dancing for. Art of a dance has to be heard and taken in through the mindset so if the dance has an image of what their meaning is in their head, then it would be so much easier to show that through flowing body movements. I now understand why technique is so important in ballet because I use to not before, but technique is what gives off those emotions in a dance. If the dance is sad and maybe depressing then the technique and rhythm will be slow and stiff, while if the dance is happy then the movements may be fast and flowing. Ballet needs to give off that important part of the story.

Harmony is also so important, the dancer has to go with harmony or they can't portray what they truly want to. That's the main part of story telling through ballet being able to harmonize and get that tone of the story. Au even explains, "Dancing in general was considered a means of socializing the individual and drawing him into harmony with the group, and formed an important part of the education of a gentlemen" (13). Drawing other dancers into the harmonizing dance helps them give off their side of the story as well, so then it could either be a twist to a story or an add on. Last May when my ballet class was getting ready for a showcase the beginning started off with a few people and later on added more dancers to the dance to give off that twist. Because the music would start off happy then go to serious and we had that add in to give off a different twist to the story. But also that we stayed in harmony with the whole group, which follows Au explanation.

Do you agree with Au: that ballet is an art form? Why or why not?

Au, Susan. Ballet and Modern Dance: Third edition. New York, New York: Thames & Hudson world of art, 1988. Copyright