Blog Posts - DANC301/302

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Rockettes at Odds with Management Over Trump Performance Blog Post - Hannah St. Aubin

Freedom of speech. This is one thing that all of us, as citizens of the US, possess. I do not think that the Rockettes have done anything wrong. I believe that they are sending out a positive message to dancers and the world. We need to stand up for what we believe in, and if they don’t support Trump and his presidency, then that’s what they believe. I agree with Novellino-Mearns; if being on the Rockettes was my job, and this is what I was asked to do, I would do it, but not quietly. I would want the world to know that I do not support a man who wants to cut funding for the arts, which is part of my career. This article goes hand in hand with the NEA articles about Trump wanting to cut funding for that organization. I wouldn’t support anyone who wanted to see the field of art have less money than they already do. Also, I think it is unprofessional that the MSG did not consult their dancers before signing the contract to perform at Trump’s inauguration. As a multibillion dollar company, the MSG should discuss all possible job performances with the dancers, because if you look at it, the dancers are the ones who are put out there in public, and because of their support at the inauguration, this appears to the public that they support Trump, which in fact, they don’t.  I feel that it is also wrong that the Rockettes aren’t allowed to speak out about this issue without some kind of repercussion happening. For example, one of the Rockettes could not dance for two weeks. So what? She spoke out for what she believed in, and she gets punished for that? I just don’t see how this can be justified. I have read this article before, and it never fails to intrigue me and make me upset. It was a short read, and since this article peaked my interest, I was not distracted whatsoever.

Open Ended Questions: - How can we, as dancers, support the Rockettes in this sticky situation? - Do you agree that MSG should consult their dancers before they sign? Why or why not?

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A Few Good Reasons to Defund NEA/NEH Blog Post - Hannah St. Aubin

https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/culture/matt-philbin/2017/03/20/few-good-reasons-defund-neaneh

This article was written by Matt Philbin. Judging by the content and title of this article, he seems like a very ignorant person. Apparently, Philbin thinks that the NEA/NEH just funds art that is related to pornography, propaganda, and according to him, “the stupid and the ugly.” Art is art. It conveys a story, a message; it portrays whatever the artist wants to portray. Art can be whatever you want it to be. In my opinion, Philbin is just limiting the possibilities of art to pornography and propaganda. Because of his limitations, this makes him ignorant. The NEA/NEH funds so many important dance programs, such as the Charlotte Ballet and ADF (American Dance Festival). Without these dance progarms, the arts wouldn’t be as respected as it is today. These dance programs train and educate beautiful dancers. Also, these programs help university, pre-professional, and high school students achieve their career in relation to dance. Defunding the NEA/NEH will impact many artists around the US. This is a big problem; us artists aren’t known to be quiet about this issue. I feel very passionately about this issue. I enjoyed reading the article, but I did not enjoy the content. 

Open Ended Questions: - What is the reasoning behind the defunding of the NEA? - How will the defunding impact dancers’ careers? What will the field of art look like?

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What is the NEA? Blog Post - Hannah St. Aubin

I find it amazing that an organization like the National Endowment for the Arts exists. I had no idea that there was an organization that encouraged and supported artistic excellence. It is good to know that there are people out there who are connected to the government that are on the arts’ side and support our craft. Without the NEA, I don’t think dance would be how it is today; I think many less people would know about dance. I appreciate the fact that not only did the NEA distribute money to dance companies in need, but they did their research and analysis as well. They needed to understand what it took to succeed, and this process required researching about dance. This just shows that the NEA truly cared about what they were doing for the dance programs. They also helped the areas of dance journalism and dance and media arts. The NEA collaborated with many mediums of “social media” in order to get their message out about the dance program. I did not get as distracted in this reading because I was able to focus on all of the amazing things that NEA did for the fine arts. This was a good read because it made me happy to see that someone in the government supported our craft. 

Open Ended Questions:

- Why did the “big dance boom” begin to descend in the late 1980s when the NEA and the field of dance was flourishing in the beginning? - Why didn’t Fanny Elssler’s mark on dance history have an everlasting effect?

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The Multiringed Cosmos of Krumping Blog Post - Hannah St. Aubin

I thought it was intriguing that there were two kinds of different practices for krumping listed by the author: competitive and spiritual. I always knew that hiphop had this competitive element, but I never knew that hiphop could also be spiritual. Those two never went together in my mind. When you think of hiphop, you don’t necessarily think of spirituality. Since the spiritual side of krumping came from African-American spiritual rituals, this kind of relates back to slavery, when the slaves would create various rituals and form a call and response dance; this traces back to jazz dance. Would that mean that jazz is also a part of the practice of krumping?

Reading about “clowning”, I now realize that hiphop doesn’t always have to be this competitive, serious type of dance. Clowning was all about having fun with others in the clown group. This answers my question last week of “why does hiphop always have to be this competitive form? Why can’t it be friendly?” Clowning could be one of the friendly sides of hiphop; it was for entertainment and it was so anyone could express themselves without being judged, hence the masks and face paint.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0mTvBlLQWc

In this video, you can see that these males are krumping. According to the reading, the author states that krumping is volatile and warrior-like, spastic and quaking, an ecstatic and cathartic dance that involves the vigorous bending of the spine and the thrusting/popping of the chest. You can see clearly that the male dancer is throwing his body all around, thrusting his chest and bending his spine in every direction it can possibly go. Also, the reading mentions that this would happen in a ring; in the video, you can see a clear ring around the male dancers who are krumping.

How and when did krumping become a popular form of hiphop in the media?

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Getting Off: Portrayals of Masculinity in Hip Hop Dance Film Blog Post - Hannah St. Aubin

In the very first topic of this article, the author talks about how hip hop has provided an affirmation of masculinity. Although I do believe this to be somewhat true for men, there are feminine women participating in b-girling and hiphop. I feel that that phrase is just narrowing the hiphop field down to men only. I love how the author says that hiphop is a connection between dancer and message, message and rhythm, and rhythm and dancer. It is like a continuous cycle that is so beautiful, because I feel that not only hiphop has this connection; it can be with any dance style. Honestly, before reading this article, I had no idea that hiphop street dancing had a message. I thought it was just for fun and for the audience’s entertainment. Finding out that hiphop has a message makes me realize that it goes a lot deeper than I thought it did. This cycle gets lost in mainstream media. Ever since hiphop was introduced to the media, people don't really care to delve into the history of hiphop. Rather, they would just go off of what was being shown to them on media. This goes back to the popular cultural appropriation talk our class has often; is this okay? Since hiphop has been brought up by Bronx black teenagers, would it be okay for middle class white people to perform and try out hiphop? I have seen many movies where there are breakdancing battles, where the participants are all surrounding one person, in a circle, cheering them on. Since the media has distorted hiphop in many ways, I am glad to see that this is still something that people in today’s society know about because of these different media platforms. At least one element of their culture was preserved.

I have enjoyed these readings far more than the ballet, modern and jazz ones we have read. I think it’s because I knew a little bit more about those styles because I have been performing them a lot more than hiphop. It is so interesting to know about the upbringing of hiphop and why it is so important to  the dancers that participate in this art form. I think that this author communicated their message thoroughly, and I did not have a hard time reading this at all.

Open Ended Questions: - If hiphop is an “affirmation of masculinity” and since it has so much to do with competition, it is male-based, then how did the women get introduced to this style? How did they become a part of this masculine world? - How did hiphop originate as a competitive style of dance?

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Breaking: Sally Banes Blog Post - Hannah St. Aubin

I am so excited to be diving into the history and cultural importance of hiphop. I feel that it is so important to discuss and be aware of because it has a history, too, just like any other form of dance. Sometimes, I feel that hiphop is underrated and moved aside, and more prominent dance forms, such as jazz and ballet, take precedence. For example, at Ball State, they do not offer a hiphop class in the dance major curriculum. I have always wondered why. Is it not important enough as jazz/ballet? Is there not enough time? 

There was a section I found captivating in the reading that mentioned breakdancing is like the graffiti of the body. Hispanic and black teenagers took breakdancing very seriously and very competitive. This form of dancing was their mark on the streets. Breakdancing is very competitive, yet the dancers always found a way to add their own personal touch in the style, as well as new and exciting artistic qualities.

Also, the article states that no one really scheduled a breakdancing show. There were no such things; you just had to be there at the right time. I think that this element is what makes breakdancing and hiphop unique. Any other dance performance would have to be scheduled, but hiphop, in a way, is improvisation. This could draw a link between jazz and hiphop; they both are defined by improvisation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdCC0z5vXIY This is a video of some kids breakdancing in a circle. As mentioned in the article, each person had a “solo” moment of ten to thirty seconds. You can see the fast footwork, rapid circular motions, and quick slashes of the feet in sneakers. There are many head spins, shoulder spins, and a move mentioned in the reading called the “helicopter”, where the hands support the body’s weight while the torso revolves at a slower speed.

Open Ended Questions:

- Why was hiphop not considered a social dance after the media breakthrough?- Why is hiphop considered its own style? What’s the fine line between jazz and hiphop?

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Stripping the Emperor Blog Post - Hannah St. Aubin

To begin, this article talks about how Africanist culture has had a small but important role in the upbringing of ballet. Gottschild thinks that this has been overlooked, and that when people think of African Americans in dance, they think of the jazz and/or modern era. I hate to say it, but this is true, at least for me, personally. I agree with Gottschild in the fact that borrowing from cultures is a very interactive process, and it is not indeed a one way street. There is intermingling everywhere, and it doesn’t flow one way. This is how we get these elaborate dance styles that we have today. Since whites and blacks have come together to create this style of ballet, she states that blacks have been shadowed in this whole process. I agree with her, because I didn’t even know that African Americans had a part in the upbringing. 

I have always found it interesting that Balanchine incorporated groundedness and bent knees as well as inverted toes in his work. Gottschild brought up the point that ballet borrows from folk cultures and this is where the black influence comes into play. I have always just thought of it as modern dance, not as Africanist dance. This was something that I took away from the reading. This was not hard for me to read at all, and I thought that Gottschild, unlike her book The Black Dancing Body, communicated her message very effectively and thoroughly. She made a lot of good points and I learned a lot from this reading. I was more focused on this reading because it was a topic that I was very interested in and wanted to know more about.

Open Ended Questions: - If more people knew about the upbringing of ballet and that it was partly inspired by African Americans, would they respect African Americans performing in ballets more? Why or why not? - Gottschild states, “it sometimes takes a real outsider to see what the culture is all about.” Is this true for all cultures? What about appropriation?

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Forward to Petipa Blog Post - Hannah St. Aubin

This reading had a lot of interesting points, one being a quote from Balanchine. “You can’t have dissonance without consonance.” The more I think about it, the more I realize that it is true. People wouldn’t know dissonance without the “good-looking” part that came before it. In other words, everything has a counterpart. I think this could be a good method to use while choreographing. If you get stuck, you can always think about the counterpart of the “good-looking” step or the “ugly-looking” step. This choreographic method shines in Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments, because that, again, is a plotless ballet and it contains a lot of turned in knees and feet and bent over torsos. This wouldn’t have became a style if it weren’t for the “pretty” ballet that came before it. Everything is influenced by something else, and it sort of becomes a snowball effect.  At this time, men began to experiment with partnering as well. As opposed to the long lines, pointed feet and geometric shapes of the ballerina, the man would hold the female’s leg and make different shapes with her body than what was expected. This also leads to the contemporary partnering era.  Coming off of the contemporary partnering, it was influenced by American jazz and gymnastics. Now that I know this information, I can see how the flexible, bendy shapes were a part of gymnastics, but I’m confused as to how American jazz comes into play.

My reading process was alright. My roommate and myself had some friends over. I managed to block out a large portion of their conversations and focus on this reading. At times, my mind would wander, and I would bring it back in by putting headphones in and listening to study music. Those were some of my challenging moments.

Open Ended Questions: - Why is it that the ballerina body originated from Balanchine’s time so long ago, yet we, as a society, are frustrated with this strict image and are trying to break away from it? - Since Balanchine was influenced greatly by Petipa, how are their choreographic methods and approaches different?

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Balletic Astonishments Blog Post - Hannah St. Aubin

I feel that Diaghilev really opened up a door for his ballet company, in terms of trying to get people to come view his art. He sent free tickets, he decorated the auditorium nicely, did everything he could, and it ended up successful. I feel that many more companies after Diaghilev’s were flourishing because of all the work that Diaghilev did in order to keep his company afloat and thriving. As I kept on reading, it stated that Fokine’s ballets were important because of how quick the ballets were, the content/style of his ballet, and he also featured the males as equal as the women in his ballets. Because of this, I think that without Fokine, ballet would not be where it is today. Ballets used to be as long as six hours! That blows my mind to even think about that ... I wonder that without Fokine’s contribution to the length of the ballets, how long would the ballets be today? Even longer? Shorter? Fokine also stated that his ballets did not have to stick to the classical style. Whatever emotion, character or situation the dancer found themself in, he would choreograph to that person, emotion or situation. Maybe this could be a little hint to contemporary ballet ?? Going off of that, Fokine also made a tribute to La Sylphide by making his own abstract, plotless ballet to prove that not all ballets have to have choreography with narrative structure. Fokine and Balanchine are alike in this way. I believe these two men made it possible to have abstract, plotless ballets, and without them, we would not have the luxury of this different style. 

This article was a very interesting read. I enjoyed the end of it, and how the author talked about Anna Pavlova and the history behind who she is and how she became such an important woman in ballet. During the reading, I turned on some instrumental calming, study music, which I found helped me to become more focused.

Open Ended Questions:

- In the reading, it states that Diaghilev did little to conceal his homosexuality. Could this be the beginning of men being stereotyped as homosexual if they are interested/perform the art of ballet? Why or why not? - In what ways are Nijinsky and Fokine alike? How are they different?

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Searching for Nijinsky’s Sacre Blog Post - Hannah St. Aubin

I really enjoyed this article, because not only did it inform the reader about how Nijinsky was an important person to talk about on the subject of Russian ballets, but it also showed his methods of teaching and choreography and why he did the things he did. His choreography started from his signature body posture, and from there on, he distributed this energy to the bodies in space, and made up different patterns to explore. I love the fact that Nijinksy included vibrant colors and upbeat energy in his ballets, because this threw the audience for a loop. Also, I really enjoyed how he strayed away from this codified style of ballet and came up with something different; the turned in toes, the bent knees. Although the audience was infuriated with this, because this isn’t what they knew as ballet, I really felt that Nijinksy had opened up a new door for choreographers and dancers from there on out.

I also didn’t know that La Sacre had a certain posture. The posture was more grounded and earth-based. As soon as I read that, I thought of modern dancing, and how usually all the styles of modern are focused on keeping feet planted in the ground and feeling energy from the ground up. Isadora Duncan came to my mind as well, because she focused on the solar plexus, energy coming from the chest. The energy element is how Nijinsky’s posture and Isadora Duncan’s style are the same.

This is a picture of Nijinsky’s Le Sacre. You can see here that the dancers are not dressed in the typical long, flowy dresses like the times during the romantic era. As mentioned in this article, you can see the turned in feet and one person huddled over, bending their knees in order to do so. This defied the societal norms of ballet back in the day, and I believe because of this, he started a new ‘branch’ of ballet.

Open-Ended Questions: - Do you think that Nijinsky cared that the audience was very upset with the sudden change of style? Why or why not? - Why has the notation of dancers died down? Why do very few people use notation to record dances? Why is it not more common? - Why did Nijinsky break the codified style of ballet and do something out of the box? In your opinion, did he still keep the ‘tradition’ of ballet?

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In the Royal Image Blog Post - Hannah St. Aubin

This article pertains to ballet sort of becoming abstract, all because of George Balanchine. He was one of the first choreographers to ever stage an abstract ballet. Since the audience members liked ballets with a story, they were confused by what ‘abstract’ really meant. Since the romantic era of ballet was based on storytelling, this is all that the audience knew. For one of my historical viewings, I watched one of Balanchine’s abstract ballets called Jewels, and I thought that it was a nice change of pace. It was nice to see a ballet that wasn’t predictable, and it was nice to see a change from the usual Nutcracker or Sleeping Beauty. 

This reading also talked about Marius Petipa, and his contribution to ballet. Petipa was Balanchine’s biggest influence when it came to choreographing and learning. Petipa choreographed a lot of political ballets. I believe that he took inspiration from what was happening in history at the time, which was the war. In the text, it mentioned that ballets were supposed to bring beauty and grace to the audience, but if political issues were brought in, the ballets were only supposed to give tribute to the people in power. Why were the ballets so limited to one main focus and subject of politics? This isn’t super important, but I thought it was interesting as well. The reading also mentioned that props and costumes were used always in the most trivial ways in unimportant ballets. Why? What was so fascinating about the props/costumes? Was it just to entertain the audience?

Towards the end of the reading, it talks about pointe and how it was a main focus during Balanchine’s and Petipa’s time. Pointe was starting to develop very quickly. The shoes were a lot more sturdier, and women could actually perform solos on pointe: that’s how sturdy the shoes were. Because women couldn’t balance on pointe and needed a partner, this is where the men’s role came into play. They helped partner the woman, as well as did a couple jumps and leaps in his solo, and went back to rejoin the woman. That blows my mind that just because women couldn’t balance on pointe, they needed a man to help them. Why not another woman who wasn’t on pointe? Why was it the man’s job?

Here is a picture of Balanchine’s Jewels. Here, you can see that one man is doing a saute with two other women. This shows that men started to become equal to women in this time, although they had fewer opportunities to dance. During the romantic era, you would never have seen this on a stage, because the public did not like the men dancing with the women. Also, these two ladies are on pointe, and the men is partnering with them. 

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The Travesty Dancer in Nineteenth-Century Ballet Blog Post - Hannah St. Aubin

I didn’t realize there was so much history and information on the importance and switch of gender roles in ballet. In the beginning, you start to see the switch of men being more dominant in ballet to women playing the men’s roles. Females were considered the commonplace of European ballet. The public did not want to see any men on stage. Why? I think it’s because that since the females had this “anorexic vulnerability” quality to them, the audience did not want to see any contrast of that. Romanticism was all about the delicate and fragile nature of the ballerina’s bodies. Men were too muscular and did not have the bodies to match these females.

In this, you also start to see the switch over of ballet being regal and aristocratic to the art being placed on a stage, and it having a more of a theatrical feel. Because of this change, ballet starts to drift away from having links with the government to becoming the dancer’s and/or choreographer’s own private practice. This leads to the ballets that we know today and the concert dancing era.

Men were only used in these romantic ballets, if needed, to be a comical character and to lift and partner the women. More than anything, the females were featured in the romanticism era. Because the ballerinas were so charming, their job was to enlighten and charm the audience, not to get the audience to think about what they just saw. It was all about the aesthetics and beauty of the art.

This reading process went quite smoothly. I was in the quietness of my dorm, and I got to really concentrate on what was being said. I think that the author did a great job of getting the point of gender roles across to the reader. They used understandable words and were very clear in their thoughts.

Open Ended Questions:

- How can we, as dancers in society today, change the stereotype that men taking ballet isn’t manly? - Why is having men in ballets frowned upon today when a man took charge of ballet back in the 16th century?

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Heroism in the Harem Blog Post - Hannah St. Aubin

This is going to be a short blog post because of the disinterest that I had in this article. To be honest, this reading was the least interesting that I have read so far. I was confused about what the Orient was, and then all these peoples’ names started popping up, and I was very confused and couldn’t keep them all in my brain. I feel that the majority of the article was just talking about the blend of artists, choreographers, dancers, music and stage design coming together, and informing us about the history of those elements, rather than just ballet itself. I feel that it is essential to know, but this was very long. One useful piece of information that I can take away is that whenever the painting period became happy, the dance performances took suit as well, and same for when the painting period became sad. 

My reading process was not the best. My mind was kind of drifting off to other places and other thoughts, and I feel the reason why is because that the reading was not just about ballet, but other art forms. One thing that I could do to challenge myself to keep my mind focused on the reading is to maybe write down the names of the people and say why they're influential and what they did. That way, I can keep track of why they were important in history and to the budding of the ballet art form.

Open Ended Questions: - Do you think that the dance world today is a cultural market place, or has it been stagnant in its addition of new forms? Why or why not? Did the “borrowers” of art back in the day credit the people they borrowed from? - How was the artist/painting period so influential to the dance world?

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In Pursuit of the Slyph Blog Post - Hannah St. Aubin

In the Romantic era of ballet, you start to see improved stage design, set and lighting. The lighting played an important part in what the ballets were trying to portray. A lot of ballets were trying to portray fairies, and so the lighting would contribute to the depiction of their character. The use of oil lamps played a role as well in these ballets. The oil lamps made the dancers become more soft, dissolved in the light and ethereal. The lighting added a lot of texture to the ballet.

I enjoyed the quote from the reading, “Love is only possible beyond the grave” in these Romantic ballets. Looking back, I’ve noticed that not a lot of Romantic ballets are happy and end in a “happy ever after”. Why is this? Why are the majority of ballets tragic and depressing? And another quote from the reading states, “Anything can be viewed as being “romantic” because of the intimacy, spiritual beliefs, color, aspiration toward infinity, etc.” In my mind, the word “romantic” means love, and I don’t necessarily think that anything can be love in the world of dance.

The turnout of the hips had increased sine the 18th century. Why is this? Could it have been the fact that ballet had been around longer, and the dancers were starting to become professionals, so they knew what they were doing? Is it because they were incorporating more technique into their performances? Maybe it’s just an advancement in the art of ballet. The costumes had allowed for more range of motion for the dancer’s legs. 

My reading process was quite difficult for this reading. I have to admit, I skipped some parts just because I couldn’t quite concentrate to my fullest. My roommate was doing a homework assignment and she had to speak out loud for it, so that kind of made me lose focus a little bit. When she was done with that, I got to focus more strongly on the reading. There were a lot of ballets that were mentioned as well, so it was hard for my mind to keep all of them and refer back to them, as well as the people that were being mentioned.

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Section One: The Court Ballet Blog Post - Hannah St. Aubin

Court ballets were simplistic. Court ballets were royal. Court ballets were diplomatic. They were political. These court ballets were performed by non professionals, but choreographed by professionals. I wonder why the choreographers did not find any professional dancers to take the place of the courtiers. These court ballets were intended for entertainment and not to be appraised by the courtiers’ technicality or artistry. This got me thinking... what is the intention of ballets today? Why do we, as dancers, showcase them to an audience? Is it for pure enjoyment? Does it make we, the dancers, happy or proud, knowing that a ton of people are watching us? Or is it to showcase our technicality and artistry? Is it more for ourselves, or for others? Many questions that I seem to have the answer to, but some are a little more vague.

I had never even known that floor patterns played a part in ballet. I knew of the geometrical shapes that ballet dancers had made, but floor patterns? These are what people wanted to see and admire? This could also be considered a big switch of elements in today’s society. Watching a ballet, I want to admire the technique of the dancer, the artistry of the dancer and the way the dancer moves through space... not the floor patterns. So crazy to think about that.

A portion of the reading mentions that Catherine de’ Medici created and produced a song and dance that was meant to be political, and was meant to impress the Polish ambassador. This makes me realize how high up court ballets really were back in the 17th century. It makes me jealous knowing that politics and art could really come together to work as one. 

While I was reading this, my roommate had a friend over and we were kind of talking to her, so that distracted me from my reading. My reading became very choppy and my mind was focusing in and out. As soon as she left, I could fully become immersed in this reading.

Open Ended Questions:

Why were all of the balletti focused on conveying mythical stories and ideas to the audience? At what point in history did the switch of professionalism required by ballet dancers happen? 

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Dance at the Royal Courts Blog Post - Hannah St. Aubin

Ballet was made from an inspiration of many different themes, elements and ideas back in the day. For example, ballet performances were based off of gods and goddesses in the medieval centuries. This still happens today with modern concert dance performances, as well as ballet performances. In the reading, it emphasizes that in order to create a unified, well organized ballet, there was a blend of poetry, music, art, dance and stage design; in these performances is where the audience sees these elements come together as one. While I was reading it was amazing to learn about the origin of the essential elements of ballet, such as the ballet barre, the geometrical shapes that ballerinas make in their choreography, and the art of discipline being implemented in their everyday classes and etiquette. This made me realize that ballet and jazz had completely different upbringings - jazz was more loose knit, free and the choreography was not limited at all. Ballet was more tight knit, constrained and was all about the government and the courts; only certain people could perform this art. In the reading, it also mentions that the audience was invited to join the performers in a dance. I thought that the audience and the performers had a separation when they were put up on the proscenium. It also states that ballet was earned through talent and discipline, rather than through mere accident of birth. I believe that in order to really delve into the style of ballet, one would need to learn the discipline and professionalism that comes with the art. I think that when they refer to “mere accident of birth”, they might be referring to jazz; like I said before, ballet is not improvisation: that would be the style of jazz. This reading process went quite smoothly. There was a lot of information to retain, such as the events pertaining to the history of ballet. There are a lot of people to remember. All in all, this was a very informative reading. Open Ended Questions: How did Catherine have something to do with the classical elements of ballet that are present in our society in the 21st century? Why were medals exchanged after the six hour ballet?

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Ballet a History in Broad Brushstrokes Blog Post - Hannah St. Aubin

I really enjoyed this reading. I loved it because of how jam packed with information it is! In one of the paragraphs, Pardo says that, “in order for ballet to exist, it needs to have a well educated audience.” I found this line interesting, because does ballet really need to have a well educated audience? In my personal opinion, I love performing for people that do not know anything about ballet, because it opens non-dancer’s eyes to how difficult, yet aesthetically pleasing the art of ballet is. Maybe there needed to be a well educated audience in order for ballet to survive back then, but I do not feel that is the case now. In today’s society, is it critical to have a well educated audience? Why?

I love the fact that the turn out aspect of ballet originated from fencing. I find that so awesome! Just a little fun fact I found intriguing :-) Also, there was a section in the reading that stated that since professional performers had a low place in society, they would never consider themselves professional performers. They needed other people’s attention and time in order to be successful. That, again, goes back to the well educated audience perspective. Ballet needed an audience to exist in the 16th century, or else it would go dead immediately. Since these courtiers had a low place in society back then, would ballet have changed if they had had a higher and different place in society? How does this relate to today’s society?

One last point that got my gears turning was the fact that the first professional dancers were men. I feel that the reasoning behind this was the fact that men had to do everything first before the women could partake, because that’s how it was back in the day. What I find interesting is how women are now the dominant gender in the art of ballet. Knowing this information, how did it flip flop from being men to women?