1. Ballet and beyond https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aJheLRReE8
Introduction to Dance
Ballet and beyond

2. Classical Ballet - descended from royalty
King Louis XIV, a.k.a. “The Sun King” created the Royal Academy of Dancing in
“Academie de Royale de Danse” was the first established dance institution in the western world.
King Louis performed regularly in ballet productions.
His ballet master, Pierre Beauchamps, created the five positions which remain the basis for ballet to this day.
Ballet began as a court dance and thanks to King Louis became an art form of its own, alongside opera.

3. Evolution of Ballet: From Courtly Dances to Feats of Athleticism
Martie Taglioni is the ballerina known for first dancing on her toes, or “en pointe”. She reinforced the toes of her satin slippers with needlepoint stitching to accomplish this new trick.
Taglioni is famous for dancing “La Sylphide”:
More early ballet, a “Pas de Deux”:
Early ballet was more theatrical than athletic.
With the evolution of pointe shoes into reinforced, supportive shoes, dance became more physically demanding and began to require a lifetime of rigorous, constant training.
“The Story of Ballet Shoes”:
“The Physics of the ‘hardest move’ in Ballet”:

4. Anna Pavlova Russian Prima Ballerina - a principal dancer.
Most famous for creating and dancing “The Dying Swan”, a short solo dance, which influenced choreography of Tchaikovsky’s ballet, Swan Lake.
First ballerina to tour around the world.
Ballet has always been focused on the illusion of floating and/or flying, and her famous dance embodied the delicate, graceful, floating style of movement that defines classical ballet.
Modern interpretations of the dance have added more difficult steps and a more controlled technique, especially en pointe.

5. George Balanchine (1904-1983) - Choreographer
“Father of American Ballet”
Balanchine moved to the U.S. (he was Russian) and started the New York City Ballet.
He had an enormous influence on the world of ballet.
He combined classical technique with expressive choreography influenced by his work on Broadway and in Hollywood.
Worked with leading composers of his time, such as Igor Stravinsky, to express music through dance.
He looked for dancers that had a specific body type (thin, slightly taller than average, fragile, delicate) - an ideal that has only recently begun to be broken down in favor of more diverse body types on stage.

6. Modern Ballet
Classical ballet remains popular as an art form today (think pointe shoes, perfect posture, and fast spins).
Various dance companies and choreographers have added steps, techniques, and borrowed ideas from other types of dance.
Ballet technique is the basis for many other types of professional dance.
Ballet training strengthens important muscle groups for dancing and focuses on flexibility as well as athleticism and expressive movement.
A new form of dance, which incorporates ballet pointe techniques is called, “Hiplet”:

7. Beyond Ballet: Professional Dance
Professional dancers now study multiple styles of dance, often building on classical techniques.
What all dance has in common, is often a dedication to illusion: M
Dancers of all types constantly push the boundaries of what the human body can do: