Ballet Dance Style and Types of Ballet Dance

BALLET DANCE

This is one of the classification of dance which originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since then become a widespread, highly technical form of dance with its own vocabulary. It has been globally influential and has defined the foundationaltechniques used in many other dance genres. Ballet may also refer to a ballet dance work, which consists of the choreography and music for a ballet production. A very well-known example of this is The Nutcracker, a two-act ballet which was originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a music score by PyotrIlyich Tchaikovsky.

Ballets are choreographed and performed by trained artists, and often performed with classical music accompaniment. 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. Modern ballets may include mime and acting, and are usually set to music.

Ballet requires years of training to learn and master the dance basics, and much practice to retain proficiency. It has been taught in ballet schools around the world, which have historically used their own cultures to evolve the art. Ballet is the foundation of many types of dance styles in the world. Ballet dance has three different styles which are; Classical ballet, Neo-classical ballet and Contemporary ballet.

TYPES OF BALLET DANCE

Classical Ballet

Classical ballet is based on traditional ballet technique and vocabulary. There are different styles of classical ballet that are related to their areas of origin, like French ballet, Italian ballet and Russian ballet. Many of the classical ballet styles are associated with specific training methods, which are typically named after their creators. For example, the Cecchetti method is named after its creator, Italian dancer Enrico Cecchetti. The below is a picture of this dance style.

Neo-classical Ballet

Neo-classical ballet dance is a ballet style that conforms to classical ballet technique and vocabulary, but deviates from classical ballet through such differences as unusually fast dance tempos and its addition of non-traditional technical feats. Spacing in the neoclassical ballet dance style is usually more modern or complex than in classical ballet.

Tim Scholl, author of From Petipa to Balanchine, considers George Balanchine's Apollo in 1928 to be the first neo-classical ballet. Apollo represented a return to form in response to Sergei Diaghilev's abstract ballets,Balanchine worked with modern dance choreographer Martha Graham, expanding his exposure to modern techniques and ideas, and he brought modern dancers into his company (New York City Ballet) such as Paul Taylor, who in 1959 performed in Balanchine's Episodes. During this time period, Glen Tetley began to experimentally combine ballet and modern techniques. This is a picture of the neo-classical ballet dance style.

Contemporary Ballet

Contemporary ballet is also a dance under the ballet dance style which is influenced by both classical ballet and modern dance. It employs the fundamental technique and body control principles of classical ballet but permits a greater range of movement than classical ballet and may not adhere to the strict body line that classical ballet technique adheres to. Many of its styles come from the innovations and ideas of the 20th century modern dance, including the floor work and turn-in of the legs. This ballet style is often performed barefoot.

George Balanchine is also considered to have been the first pioneer of contemporary ballet dance through the development of the neo-classical ballet. One dancer who danced for Balanchine was Mikhail Baryshnikov, an exemplar of Kirov Ballet training. This is a picture of the contemporary ballet dance.