Norton 1 Lacie Norton Liz Christianson English 311H 26 March 2013 Ballet: The Determining Factor A world deprived

of ballet technique would not produce the dancers necessary for professional dance companies today. Ballet began as the entertainment of royalty in the time of King Louis XIV and then morphed through Russian ballet to become more of what is seen as classical ballet today. A movement, however, occurred in the mid-1900s challenging the restrictions of ballet where ballerinas ran from their ballet technique training and created what is now known as Modern Dance. Modern Dance offered an opportunity for dancers to express inner emotions freely without the restrictions of ballet technique. Modern Dance pioneers considered themselves revolutionary leaving ballet technique behind. Since then modern has adapted into a hybrid of modern and ballet now known as postmodern dance or contemporary dance. This fusion is similar to what is seen on So You Think You Can Dance and other movies and TV shows today. This form of postmodern dance has taken over much of what modern used to be except for some places that still encourage the traditional modern technique that broke off from ballet. Most examples are colleges where Modern Dance is taught for dancers aiming to become teachers and choreographers. These colleges, such as BYU and Ohio State, are where the line of genealogy of dance technique has been passed down from modern pioneers to now. It can be seen at BYU and other colleges that the traditional technique form of Modern Dance is still being emphasized through college education. But how does a dancer go from an education in traditional modern to professional postmodern performance on companies such as Hubbard

Norton 2 Street Dance Company? Although dancers need modern technique to dance contemporary they first need a classical ballet background to ensure the bodily control and performance quality to meet audition requirements of professional contemporary companies. Due to the choreographic stress put on contemporary dancers in a professional atmosphere, they need more than just modern technique. Professional contemporary dancers are in high demand of physicality, but what elements of physical fitness will aid the aesthetic not hinder it (Angioi 115). A dancer must have bodily control with endurance and strength before being able to dance on a professional level, especially for a company such as Hubbard Street Dance Company. This control includes, but is not limited to, the control of movements, accuracy of movements, and technique all provided in ballet (Angioi 116). To gain bodily control a dancer must first be able to control their movements. The control of movements can be measured through the controlled landing from a jump/turn, controlled lifting/lowering of limbs, controlled shifting of body weight, core strength, alignment, and posture (Angioi 116). Ballet training provides the attainment of these qualities more readily than modern technique through its symmetrical training (Golomer 6). For example compared to modern dancers ballet jumps require a significant recruitment of the hamstrings involved in controlling knee flexion and decelerating knee extension, which more fully develops the neurophysiological qualities of strength and coordination in a dancers jump (Golomer 2). However, this coordination does not fulfill the bodily control requirement without accuracy of movement and technique. Controlling a move is not enough for a professional dancer who needs to accurately execute the control of that movement. Accuracy is very particular to arm placement, feet positions, and fully stretched leg extensions (Angioi 116). In other words, accuracy of

Norton 3 movement is the icing on the cake. Looking at the example of control, the controlled landing of the jump would not provide the aesthetic alone without accuracy. The dancer needs to jump with articulation of the feet to a point, place their limbs in the correction position, and land in the correct position to complete the jump with accurate control of the movement (Angioi 116). But again, neither control of movements nor accuracy of movements is enough to portray bodily control as a dancer, the missing criteria is technique. Without technique, the driving force for controlled movement would not exist. Technique creates a quality of control in the body that normal everyday movement of the body cannot produce. Technical mastery of skills is essential to achieving the necessary aesthetic competence during a dance performance (Angioi 115). These skills are included in a ballet technique class with barre and center sequences. Ballet barre for instance concentrates highly on the articulation of the feet to produce a long clean line through the toes as well as increase strength in the intrinsic foot muscles to create a sturdy base to hold the body upright while there is still movement above the ankle. Foot exercises make up most of the ballet barre technique including tendus, degages, relevs, balances and rond de jambs. These exercises portray the positive influence ballet technique has on the bodily control of a contemporary dancer. This criterion of bodily control is looked for in dancers auditioning for HSDC because technique and skill make up what dance is. However, with the demands of choreography placed on professional dancers their physiology and fitness are just as important as skill development (Koutedakis 652). According to Koutedakis professional dancers need to become performing athletes, they need more aerobic exercises apart from modern and ballet technique (653). Ballet barre technique only provides aerobic exercises with low or moderate intensities. Ballet center work can reach 70-80% of a dancers maximum oxygen uptake, but only for short increments

Norton 4 (Koutedakis 653). Modern is similar where a dancer moves in high intensities for short increments between one and three minutes. One to three minutes oxygen capacity is not enough to support the body in a ten minute performance piece. At least 20 minutes of aerobic exercise three days a week is needed to make any improvement in cardiorespiratory responses for the performance of a dancer (Koutedakis 653). The graph below shows these numbers in a visual form to better understand the extreme difference between what cardio fitness a dancer has and what a dancer needs to perform at their best. Neither ballet nor modern technique provides enough physiological endurance to support a contemporary dancer in performance, otherwise all the bodily control they have through technique is lost in the exhaustion of their cardiorespiratory track.

Time (minutes) of Aerobic Exercise at 70-80% of a Dancer's Maximum Oxygen Uptake

25 20 15 10 5 0 Ballet Barre Ballet Center Modern Center Optimum Time (minutes) of Aerobic Exercise at 70-80% of a Dancer's Maximum Oxygen Uptake

A professional dancer not only needs to have the endurance to perform, and the bodily control to perform well, but also the strength to perform movements otherwise seemingly impossible. At a professional level dancers must be experts in the aesthetic and technical side of the art, psychologically prepared to handle the stress of critical situations and be free from

Norton 5 injury (Angioi, Fitness). However, professional dancers tend to show lower fitness levels than other athletes, ballet being less fit than contemporary. In ballet, oxygen intake is low, but so is upper body strength. A ballet barre is about strengthening the legs and core which is good for jumps, turns, and alignment, whereas modern includes both work in deep pli and inversions to even the strength between lower and upper body (White 5). With this knowledge, professional contemporary dancers showed higher values of maximum oxygen intake than their ballet counterparts (Angioi, Fitness). Although contemporary dancers have more oxygen uptake, there is not much difference between the aerobic capacity in university level ballet and modern dancers. In Susan Whites article she compares the physiology between university ballet and Modern Dance students. White argues Modern Dance requires much more upper body movement and floor work than ballet. This is true in performances where contemporary is seen moving in and out of the floor, while classical ballet stays mostly upright on the feet. With this idea White suggested there would be significant differences between the physiology of these two genres including body type and aerobic capacity. The study proved otherwise, there was no significant physiological difference between female modern and ballet dancers on a university level (White 5). Although this was a study on university level students, these subjects are pre-professional dancers, and after graduation these dancers become the professionals (White 5). In any case, both technique forms are low in aerobic capacity meaning training in both genres is not enough to support a dancer in performance. The performance of a dancer must be seen in two ways, performance quality and overall performance. A performer needs to capture their audience as well as perform with great efficiency (Angioi 116). To capture an audience, a dance performance needs to provide a bodily

Norton 6 sensation not only for the dancer, but also for the audience giving rise to a Kinaesthetic experience (Butterworth 331). In this Kinaesthetic experience, according to Jo Butterworth, the audience participates in the performance rather than merely looks on. Butterworth explains, the performance of classical ballet requires only a passive audience whereas contemporary dance requires a stimulated action of the audience. What would a fusion form of ballet and contemporary require? The audience would still need to embody themselves into the movement portrayed, but the audience would also be given the freedom to simply enjoy the physicality of the performing body (ballet technique) instead of embodying the art form of bodily movement. Ballet technique may not seem necessary for a professional contemporary dancer, but there is no other way a contemporary dancer would be able to embody the idea of kinaesthea without a background of ballet technique to allow for further exploration of the art form. Training in ballet can contribute to this artistic dialogue (Johnson 182). Lorin Johnson stated training in ballet served as a springboard to add greater texture to how my body could move expressively through space. This technical ballet background provided Johnson the ability to encompass the idea of kinaesthea within him to use on stage providing the same opportunity for his audience through his movement choice. Ballet enhanced his performance capabilities. In the late 1980s ballet was seen as the performing art while modern was considered a choreographers art (Sussmann 21). Modern dancers would attend college to become choreographers; conversely ballet dancers would attend ballet schools to become professional performers (Sussmann 21). Change, over the years, has shifted this idea that only ballet performs, because now modern is also a performing art. However, contemporary with a background in ballet enhances performing capabilities. Ballet has always been seen as a performing art from the beginning in King Louis XIV time. The whole point of ballet was to tell

Norton 7 a story with the beautiful lines of the body, and everything was choreographed for the entertainment of an audience. This history of ballet proves its ongoing use in performance. A background in ballet only improves a contemporary dancers overall performance quality.

Criteria Control of movements Spatial skills

Criteria to Test Technical Mastery of Professional Company Dancers Description Controlled landing from jump/turn, controlled lifting/lowering of limbs controlled shifting of body weight. Core strength, alignment, posture Spatial awareness, accuracy and intent.

Accuracy of movements Technique

Arm placement, feet positions, fully stretched leg extensions

Elevation, turning and falling technique, height of extensions, balance, posture, placements, articulation Dancing with correct timing and ability to perceive movement and rhythmic patterns. Showing awareness for changes in musical dynamics and phrasing

Dynamics, timing and rhythmical accuracy Performance Qualities Overall Performance

Ability to execute the work for an audience. Presence, expressiveness, memory recall. Does he performance overall impress markers?

The information in the table above was formulated to produce a study of the Association Between Selected Physical Fitness Parameters and Aesthetic Competence in Contemporary Dancers (Angioi, 1). These criterion and descriptions are examples used to describe the requirements in bodily control and performance in a professional contemporary dancer, particularly those wanting to dance with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. HSDC is a professional dance company stationed in Chicago and is considered highly for their ballet technique and professionalism in performance.

Norton 8 Ballet boosts any dancers aim to dance professionally on a company such as HSDC. A study on professional modern dancers, and the repertoire they perform by David Weiss, found that females began dancing between ages two and ten and more than half began their training in ballet and sixty-seven percent of those dancers said they still take ballet technique (41). This study shows a good majority of dancers with ballet technique demonstrating a significant number of professional dancers with a ballet background. Although this study was taken with a small percentage of professional contemporary companies in the United States and some of the companies may not be as prestigious as HSDC, the results still provide evidence that a ballet background is prominent in professional companies, yet not required by every professional contemporary company. Hubbard Street Dance Company, however, does require their dancers to have the aesthetic of a ballet body, thin, long, flexible and petite. But also dancers are required to demonstrate extreme ranges of movement, lifts, jumps, balance, and falls whilst giving the impression that this exertion is effortless, they need strength (Wyon 251). When looking at strength, modern dancers seem to have more upper body strength than ballet, but ballet technique creates the aesthetic of long and lean limbs (White 6). Ballet is important in an aesthetic sense but modern adds the strength. When looking at the dance background of each member of the Hubbard Street Dance Company, found on the HSDC website, all the dancers have some form of ballet background. Each was trained at a different place but all first had classical ballet training before dancing professionally in contemporary (Job). They all had training in modern as well, but it is the extensive ballet training that set them apart from other contemporary dancers increasing their success in Hubbard Street. Together ballet and modern help create the bodily aesthetic of a Hubbard Street Dance Company member.

Norton 9 Roster and Background Training of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (women) Ballet Training HSDC Jacqueline Burnett Kellie Epperheimer Meredith Dincolo Alice Klock Ana Lopez Laura OMalley Penny Saunders Jessica Tong Classical ballet training in Pocatello, Idaho Academy of Dance, Civic Ballet of San Luis Obispo Iacob Lascu, Lyon Opera Ballet Interlochen Arts Academy, Alonzo Kings LINES Ballet Conservatorio de Danza Diputacion de A Coruna Kirov Academy of Ballet Harid Conservatory, School of American Ballet, Princeton Ballet The Ballet School, SLC

Hubbard Street Dance Company searches for dancers with a ballet background and at least two or three years of professional experience. As said by Glenn Edgerton, director of HSDC, of course you need to have a good, strong ballet technique and be able to move big, but you need to be inspired to delve into the movement as well (1). The audition requirements for HSDC are quite severe beginning with a ballet barre, those that make it past the ballet barre then move onto learning a contemporary repertoire for another cut (Job). Jenna Reigel, a professional dancer with Bill T. Jones and participator at an audition of HSDC, expressed her experience I was cut after tendus, there was a cut after plis then another after tendus and rond de jambes, and I was cut after tendus. She later explained that there was a cut after each sequence of barre before contemporary choreography was taught, she also added that she was not trained in much ballet. This audition experience portrays the extensive emphasis on ballet; no dancer would be able to surpass the ballet barre cuts without a ballet background to aid their technique and their chances of making it past the each cut of the audition. A dancer would not be able to succeed in the professional contemporary dance world nor the audition of Hubbard Street Dance Company without a classical ballet background or modern

Norton 10 technique to aid their bodily control, and performance aesthetic. Although these two techniques, ballet and modern, are not enough alone for a dancer to have success in a professional contemporary company they provide a much better probability for success. A dancer is required to have the aesthetic of a ballet body long, thin, flexi, and petite, while still having the strength to possibility lift another man or woman over their shoulders in a performance (Wyon 252). Most often these two descriptions cannot be expressed from the same dancers body; however, that is what the professional contemporary world wants.

Norton 11 Works Cited Albright, Ann Cooper. Moving Across Distance. Choreographing Difference: The Body and Identity in Contemporary Dance. Hanover: University Press of New England, 1997. Print. Angioi, Manuela, et al. "Association between Selected Physical Fitness Parameters and Aesthetic Competence in Contemporary Dancers." Journal of Dance Medicine & Science (2009): 115. Web. 26 Feb. 2013. Angioi, Manuela, et al. "Fitness in Contemporary Dance: A Systematic Review." International journal of sports medicine (2009): n.p. Web. 26 Feb. 2013. Butterworth, Jo and Liesbeth Wildschut. Seeing the Body Move. Contemporary Choreography: A Critical Reader. Routledge (2009). Print. Golomer, E., and Y. A. Fry. "Unilateral Jump Behavior in Young Professional Female Ballet Dancers." The International journal of neuroscience 1 (2001): 1-21. Web. 26 Feb. 2013. Jrvinen, Hanna. The Russian Barnum: Russian Opinions on Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, 1909 1914." Dance Research (2008): 18-41. Web. 26 Feb. 2013. Job Opportunities. Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. n.p. n.d. Web. 9 March 2013. Johnson, Lorin. "More than Skin Deep: The Enduring Practice of Ballet in Universities." Theatre, Dance and Performance Training (2011): 181-97. Web. 26 Feb. 2013. Koutedakis, Yiannis, and Athanasios Jamurtas. "The Dancer as a Performing Athlete: Physiological Considerations." Sports medicine. Auckland, (2004): 651-655. Web. 26 Feb. 2013. Manley, Mary-Elizabeth, and Vietta Elin Wilson. "Anxiety, Creativity, and Dance Performance." Dance Research Journal (1980): 11-22. Web. 26 Feb. 2013.

Norton 12 Sussmann, Leila. "Recruitment Patterns: Their Impact on Ballet and Modern Dance." Dance Research Journal (1990): 21-8. Web. 26 Feb. 2013. Weiss, David S., Selina Shah, and Raoul J. Burchette. "A Profile of the Demographics and Training Characteristics of Professional Modern Dancers." Journal of Dance Medicine & Science (2008): 41. Web. 26 Feb. 2013. Weiss, Hedy. Still Taking Chances. Dance Magazine. n.p. n.d. Web. 9 March 2013. White, Susan B., et al. "Physiological Comparison between Female University Ballet and Modern Dance Students." Journal of Dance Medicine & Science (2004): 5-10. Web. 26 Feb. 2013. Wyon, N. Testing an aesthetic athlete: Contemporary dance and classical ballet dancers. Sport and Exercise Physiology Testing Guidelines Exercise and Clinical Testing 2. (2006): 249 262. Web. 26 Feb. 2013.