Before I selected my topic, I was given many suggestions that really didnt seem

interesting to me. My teacher told me to do something I loved, and that I was interested in, so my
mind went straight to ballet. I am a dancer, and at the end of the year I am evaluated on our
knowledge of ballet which includes ballet terminology, skill, and dance history. I knew ballet had
an interesting history from studying for evaluations, so I went with it. I chose this specific time
period because it was the time dancers began dancing on pointe`, or on the tips of toes. I have
just started with pointe` work in my ballet classes, and I wanted to learn why we dance on
pointe`.
To start my research, I used Google Scholar to find information, and I began reading the
book Apollos Angels by Jennifer Homans. After a few weeks my teacher gave me the
opportunity to visit the RCC library on a field trip. While at RCC I found multiple articles about
the French revolution and its effects on ballet, as well as the costumes effect on the image of
dance. I scheduled my first interview with Dr. Susan Foster at UCLA . Then the very next day, I
had my second interview with Dr. Linda Tomko at UCR. Dr. Foster explained more about the
artistic changes, and Dr. Tomko explained the political effects, and why the ballets became more
artistic. A few more weeks of research went by before I had my third interview with Dr. Jennifer
Homans, author of the book I was reading, from NYU. She explained to me the cultural
exchanges that took place at every show. I also visited the Tomas Rivera Library at UCR to look
up articles on their databases.
Before my first interview, I used what I knew to develop my first thesis, and I have
tweaked over the course of my research as I learned more about my topic. After I developed my
thesis I started my Weebly account. Weebly was tricky to use at first, but I became more skilled
with the program over time. The hardest part of my project was most likely the translating. A lot
of the concepts in dance history involve different terms and definitions in French, and sometimes
even Italian. I had to convert Marie Taglioni tait une belle danseuse sur pointes to Marie
Taglioni was a beautiful dancer. Although I understood the terms and definitions, people who
are not required to study and learn new terms everyday may not understand.
My topic clearly relates to this years theme of Exploration, Encounter, and Exchange.
The choreographers, writers, and dancers explored new ways of storytelling through costumes,
stage technologies, and choreography. They overcame the obstacle of the French Revolution by
encountering social and political issues, and exchanged cultures through choreography and
teaching. The image of the Romantic ballerina became a popular image for women through the
twentieth century, and has created one of the biggest and most competitive industries in the
world.