Ever wonder where dance originated?  Do you need a refresher in learning dance terminology?

Today I’ll be sharing a few of my favorite resources for learning and practicing dance (ballet) terminology at home as well as the history and stories of ballet.

Dancers, like all artists, must learn a new set of skills to communicate with their bodies as well as terminology to hone their craft.  Many forms of dance utilize the vocabulary of ballet in their respective styles.  For instance, a plie [ple-ay] (bending of the knees) is used in most dance forms such as tap, jazz, and modern.

Learning dance terminology is an important part of the process in dance so don’t let anyone tell you it’s not important.  Just like learning new words increases a student’s fluency in any language, so too, does learning vocabulary for a dancer.  This vocabulary is not specific to any one particular area, but is universal.  A ballet student that leaves our school and travels to Russia (like Miss Megan Streiff) utilizes the same vocabulary in the US as in Russia.

Here is my favorite for refreshing and learning dance (ballet) terminology at home.  It’s not only a dictionary but a visual resource for learning.  This video is wonderful for learning ballet and dance terminology for all classes!

Dance Terminology on DVD

In all of our dance classes at Elko Academy of the Arts, our students are introduced to ballet terminology as well as the style-specific terminology in our tap, modern, and jazz classes.  Even our youngest dancers are learning valuable terminology which prepares them for advancing through our levels and demonstrates the importance of learning the language of dance.

All dancers could use a little help remember terminology as there are entire dictionaries dedicated to dance terminology (that’s a lot to remember!).

For ballet lovers of all ages:

              

For history buffs:

         

A Brief History of Dance (All photos in this section were found on Wikipedia)

Throughout history, dance has been used as ritual as well as culture and story telling for societies around the world.

+ Ballet originated in the courts of Renaissance Italy in the 15th Century. 

+ The term ballet comes from the Italina Ballare, which means to dance.

+ Professional dancers did not make their way into court dances until the mid-1600s.  Members of   the aristocracy danced in these ballets until that time.

+ Court ballets reached their peak during the reign of King Louis XIV, the Sun King who is credited with popularizing and standardizing ballet.

+ The Royal Academy of Dance, the first dance academy, was opened by the Sun King in 1661.

+ 1661 – the year in which women began dancing ballet

19th Century Dance

+ Dances depicted ideas from the Romantic Movement –  ideas about magic and the supernatural drove story lines and women were often portrayed as passive and fragile

+ The calf-length or Romantic tutu and pointe shoes became the norm for ballerinas

+ Russia became a powerhouse for ballet in the later part of 19th century

+ Russian ballets such as The Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty, and Swan Lake, were created to show off the skill and technique of dancers.

20th Century Ballet

+ Choreographers continue to experiment with ballet

+ Russian choreographer Sergei Diaghlilev shocked audiences with non-classical stories such as  human sacrifice

+ George Ballanchine created Neo-Classical (plotless) ballet

21st Century Ballet

+ Some companies and choreographers continue to carry on the traditions of ballet and others have experiment with the norms

+ The lines of ballet often cross over into other genres such as modern and jazz

+ Terminology continues to be the thread that weaves through ballet and its importance cannot be overstated

Here are some other great resources I found while researching this blog and podcast:

http://www.balletaustin.org/education/documents/HistoryofBalletHandoutsforStudents.pdf

http://www.balletaustin.org/education/documents/HistoryofModernDanceStudentHandout.pdf

Read more about the History of Ballet

http://www.pbt.org/community-engagement/brief-history-ballet

Enjoy your journey into dance through vocabulary, history, and stories!

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