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The Beauty of Ballet Nikki Ahlf

Ms. Lane English 7 4/16/13

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The Beauty of Ballet Have you ever witnessed the awe of watching a beautiful ballerina take the stage, leaping and spinning gracefully as the seeming effortlessness snatches your breath away? Or, are you more of a skeptic towards balletic cultural importance, perhaps believing stereotypes that ballet is simply a feminist art consisting of women in leotards and tutus prancing about? Either way, ballet is the foundation and basis for every type of dance that has ever been created, from ballroom to even break-dancing. Ballet is also a form of self expression, and many people have used it to exhibit their emotions when they cannot seem to fabricate them into words. It is the history, math, and science enclosed in ballet that makes it such an intricate, yet elegant, art which people have enjoyed for centuries all around the world. Now, let us initiate this journey through the art of ballet by historically traveling back to where it all began. Ballets rich history could be recognized as colorful because of the many places and people that have made it to evolve into the modern version it is today. Classical ballet originated in royal palaces in Italy during the 1400s because kings and queens would request dancers for entertainment after they had completed their meals. The first academy to be founded, Academie Royale de Dance, was created in France by King Louis XIV. For many years men were the only people allowed to dance, but in 1681 women began to perform as well. (History of Ballet 1) After the Kings academy closed down during the French Revolution, the worlds first ballet school was founded in 1713, attached to the Paris Opera, which in turn formed a company. Ballet began to move to other parts of the world and flourished, especially during 19th and 20th century Russia. Modern ballets now include the works of composers such as Tchaikovsky for music and dancers such as Mikhail Baryshnikov and Auguste Bournonville. (Mack 54) Modernly performed include Swan Lake, Cinderella, Spartacus, Coppelia, La Fille mal gardee,

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Giselle, and The Sleeping Beauty along with various others. (Mack 58) Modern ballet appears on television as well as on stage and has come a long way since its birth during the mid-1400s. Since it originated in France, most of the terms used to describe ballet movements are French, such as plie (meaning to bend), releve (meaning to rise), battement (meaning movement of the legs), etc. Also, the five positions of ballet and eight facings have a great deal to do with the placement of a ballerinas body. Throughout history, ballet has journeyed along with the rest of culture to produce something brighter and better in passing generations. Since you now understand ballets origin, lets look at the math (geometry) of ballet: those leg and arm angles have to come from somewhere! Ballets connection to geometry is obvious yet hidden unless you look in the right perspective. There are all sorts of shapes that make up balletic leaps, turns, and moves. One example of a move is called rond de jambe, in which a dancer begins with her leg in front, drags it around her side and then to the back, and finally closes into a position, making a geometrical semi-circle. Lines of ballet are also easy to spot, especially in dancers that are muscular. A diagonal line, one of the longest lines a ballerina body can make, generally originates from the tips of the fingertips, elongating down through the shoulder, torso, and legs until it reaches the feet which are pointed and stretched as long as possible. The angle of the turnout in a dancers feet is also geometrical because of, well the angle. The six positions of ballet all force the ballet dancers feet into different angles, such as first position placing the feet into a 180 degree straight angle. Many people are unbelievers that math has absolutely any importance to ballet, however all balletic leaps, turns, and moves have a measure of angle, line, and/ or speed to them. (Mullen 1) Let us now switch gears from math to last, but not least, science and physics!

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The physics that are included in ballet are probably the most complex element provided because there are physics for classical ballet and ballet en Pointe. Yet, even though these categories are utterly different, their basic equations for turning and leaping are similar if not the same except for many rules for ballet en Pointe that involves the inclusion of the Pointe shoe. The concepts of force and gravity are derived from Newtons Third Law of Motion (the actionreaction law) which states: Whenever one body exerts a force on a second body, the second body exerts an oppositely directed force of equal magnitude on the first body. If the center of gravity is not in line with these other equilibrium forces, the dancer will be unbalanced and experience an angular acceleration to the ground (in other words the dancer will fall to one side.) (Dodge 1) For ballet en Pointe, the equation for a turn or rotation is angular momentum=rotational inertia multiplied by rotational velocity. Keeping a straight back, and tucked in arms are key movements to continually rotating. (Missaghi 2) Now that youve learned about physics, it is hopeful that your head isnt spinning! As you can see, ballet is a beautiful art that people have practiced and perfected over many years in many places. The history, math, and science included in ballet are what make it such a spectacle for everyone to enjoy. Honestly, ballet is a great activity that everyone should try, however it requires a large amount of upper and lower body strength along with persistence because it takes try after try to master many ballet moves. So, now that you have all this information on ballet, if you were a skeptic at the beginning, hopefully you have changed your perspective. The next time you see a ballerina or a male ballet dancer in a show or on television, remember all that it has taken for their style of dance to make it to where it is and that its enormous impact on the worlds culture is truly beautiful in itself!

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Works Cited Dance & Dancing. 1 Mar. 2006.8. Apr. 2013. http://en.allexperts.com/q/Dance-Dancing1755/ballet-relates-geometry.htm History of Ballet. Northeastern University. 8 Apr. 2013. http://www.ccs.neu.edu./home/yiannis/dance/history.html Mack, Lorrie. Dance. New York: Dorling Kindersley Publishing, 2012 Physics of Ballet Dancing. 1997. Sheila Dodge Boston University. 8 Apr. 2013. http://iceskatingresources/PhysicsBallet.pdf The History of Ballet Dancing. 2011. Essortment. 8 Apr. 2013. http://ballet-dancing-65339.html The Physics of Toe Shoes. 2008. The Perfect Point. 8 Apr. 2013. http://www.the-perfectpointe.com/PointeShoePhysics.html The Online Ballet Dictionary. 8 Apr. 2013. http://www.balletdictionary.com/ballet_dictionary/balletdictionary.html