Ballet in Film: Black Swan

My favorite film of all time, Black Swan, was directed by Darren Aronofsky and released in 2010. The film was extremely successful, raking in a whopping $329,398,046 worldwide according to Box Office Mojo. In total it was nominated for five Oscars including one win, which went to Natalie Portman for Best Actress in a Leading Role. However, this comes as no surprise to me as it is my absolute favorite movie. The drama/thriller takes an intellectual spin on the pressures of the ballet world and creates a suspense that will have you on the edge of your seat.

According to IMDB, the screenplay was written by Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz, and John J. McLaughlin. I find that they did an excellent job capturing the drama that can be found within ballet companies and the relationships that ensue between creative directors and their dancers. While the script does take its time getting to the more dramatic scenes, the suspense builds in the small details of the main character, Nina, gradually losing her mind. Script Shadow states, “Black Swan is a very intriguing story with a quiet slow burn… Heyman focuses on the tiniest of things. The way shoes sound as they click against the pavement. The way a slight breeze tussles at your hair.” All of these small details are brought to your attention quite frequently and it can almost be a stimulus overload. In fact, it took me watching the movie several times before I really felt that I had caught all of the important details in the script that give hints to the larger scheme of the story.

As a dancer, something I was really curious to see upon watching Black Swan was how they would make the actresses such as Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis appear to be professional ballerinas. I was very impressed by how they managed to manipulate the camera shot to switch out stunt doubles for the actresses. They would often shift the point of view to either to the top half of the actress or to solely her point shoes (which were of course those of a true ballerina stunt double). I also noticed that they occasionally used the mirror to show the whole body of the ballerina, but they made the image of the mirror just out of focus enough that you could not distinguish the actresses’ face.

Another unique element of Black Swan was the scene transitions that were used to take the film from one point to another. I thought this was summed up nicely (although harshly) by Script Shadow, “You know how as film evolved, we’ve been encouraged to cut out all the meaningless stuff? For example, instead of showing a character walk from their house to the train, we should just cut to the train? Yeah, Heyman doesn’t do that. If someone needs to walk somewhere, we walk with them.” There are many scenes that continue from place to place and very rarely does the main character go from one place to another with no in-between footage showing how they got there. While the author of this review was not so enthusiastic about this style of scene transitions, I found it to be a rare and signature style that contributes to the movie’s ominous persona.

The supporting actress that stood out the most to me in this film was actually Nina’s mother, played by Barbara Hershey. (Spoiler Alert!) This is mainly because I feel that she is the key to understanding that Nina is actually suffering from schizophrenia and that everyone is not actually out to get her. The mother is painted to be overly protective and often tries to stop Nina from performing as she can see Nina’s mental health deteriorating. In the video above you can see the mother trying to help Nina as she becomes violent and even smashes her hand in the door. This is meant to become confusing, however it can be better understood once you realize the symbolism being used in the scenes where Nina is transforming into a swan. The swan becomes a symbol of Nina’s psychotic state of mind where she is becoming overly obsessed with the role. In these scenes where her toes appear to be webbed and it looks like feathers are growing out of her back she is clearly displaying signs of a mental break.

The video above truly captures one of the most climactic moments of the film, Nina almost fully transforms into a swan. Special effects are used to make it appear as though she pulls a feather out of a bump on her back and her legs buckle backwards like that of bird. In this moment, a foley artist inserted the noise of the feather pulling out of her skin and her legs breaking and snapping backwards at the knee joint which sums up to an almost cringe-worthy moment in the film. The music used in this scene and throughout the entire movie was done by Clint Mansell who scored the film based on Tchaikovsky’s ballet Swan Lake, but Mansell made his own touch on the classic with radical changes to the original music. This new rendition of Tchaikovsky’s music is used for the whole movie with no other music or original songs.

 

While there are many intense scenes in this film, my absolute favorite is the scene where Nina performs the role of the white swan’s transition into the black swan. The lighting is very dark (low key lighting) except for the spotlight that follows Nina across the the stage helping her to standout above all else. Her costume and makeup are dark and mysterious. She wears a black tutu with a fishnet over her face and contacts that appear to make her eyes look completely red. This scene provokes a variety of emotions… As a dancer I am excited to see Nina finally nail the role of the black swan which she originally struggled to embody. The setting of the stage with the back drop and spotlight gives me butterflies as I know exactly what it’s like to be in the moment just like that, catching your breath in the wings and knowing that you just laid your heart out on stage. However, the victory is short lived as you fear that the black swan is going to bring out the dark side of Nina that she has been fighting within. None the less, the dance is mesmerizing and one cannot help but be captivated by the black swan.

“Black Swan”. IMDb, 2010.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0947798/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ov_wr#writers

“Black Swan”. Box Office Mojo, 2016.

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/oscar/movies/?id=blackswan.htm

“Black Swan”. ScriptShadow, August 19, 2009.

http://scriptshadow.blogspot.com/2009/08/black-swan.html

 

Bringing Diversity to Ballet in the Post Modern Era

The Ballet industry has long suffered from a lack of diversity. Whether it is due to economic inequality and the extremely expensive costs of proper ballet training or the possibility of inherent racism in company casting, the bottom line is that the industry has been in dire need of a more diverse lineup. According to Pointe Magazine, “balletgoers might expect some progress in racial diversity onstage, especially in the U.S., where populations of color are growing. But comb the rosters of most American companies and you’ll find a striking sameness. While a few have established inclusive policies in training and hiring, they are the minority.” However, we have seen a rise in two specific minority groups in recent years: African Americans and Asians.

One of the most prominent ballet companies that has been credited with the rise of African Americans in the ballet community is the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT). Founded in 1958 by Alvin Ailey, an African American dancer/choreographer, the company promotes diversity and equality in it’s casting and has made great strides towards breaking typical body and color standards in the modern day ballet industry of the United States. Below we see the number, After the Rain Pas de Deux choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon. It first premiered in 2005 at New York City Ballet’s annual New Combinations Evening. The dancers in the video are two African American dancers of the Alvin Ailey company.

According to the AAADT website, “The dreamlike male-female duet has been widely praised for its sublime simplicity and intricate partnering, and it is revealed in a fresh light as the Ailey dancers make it their own… Some see After the Rain Pas de Deux as being about love and longing, while others see it as a depiction of death or loss.” AAADT English International Contemporary Choreographer, Christopher Wheeldon, has been featured on Broadway and is even the recipient of a Tony Award for best Choreography. He was classically trained at the Royal Ballet Academy and won the Gold Medal at the Prix de Lausanne competition in 1991.

Apparently Wheeldon, “has said of the work that he didn’t realize while he was creating it that it would have such a profound impact on audiences. Wheeldon is often more attracted to creating abstract rather than narrative work, as he likes the possibility of individual interpretation.” I personally feel that the piece is about love and longing. The duo affectionately caress each other in a way that reminds me of the type of emotions only true love can inspire.

The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater also gave rise to some modern day dance legends who continue Ailey’s legacy today of bringing diversity into the dance world. One of the most famous being dancer/choreographer Desmond Richardson. According to The Huffington Post, “Desmond Richardson is the co-founder and co-artistic director of Complexions Contemporary Ballet, a company that seeks to reinvent dance by creating an open environment that embraces multicultural forms of movement. Richardson also performed as a principal dancer at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater for seven years.”

Above we see a piece choreographed by Dwight Rhoden, an African American choreographer and artistic Directer of Complexions Contemporary Ballet Company and performed by Desmond Richardson. The piece is called Lament and premiered at the World Festival of Black Art in 2011. I think Rhoden did a wonderful job of using this piece to showcase Richardson’s strong and masculine style of dancing. The intense music creates an all around suspenseful and inspiring ambiance tainted with moments of rawness and vulnerability.

Also making huge strides for African Americans in the ballet industry is the world renowned soloist, Misty Copeland. She attributes her success in the industry to the Boys and Girls Club where she took her first ballet class at the age of 13. She is well know for becoming the third African American female soloist at the American Ballet Theater back in 2007 and has since used her platform to speak out on racism in the ballet world. In an interview with New York Magazine Copeland said, “[Ballet is] such a traditional and historic art form that people are afraid to change it… It’s hard to change someone’s ideas when they might not even really consciously know that they’re being racist, or have racist ideas, just because ballet has been this way for hundreds of years.”

Above we see one of Copeland’s performances called Despertares choreographed by Marcelo Gomes, a Brazilian dancer/choreographer and premiered at the Gala de Ballet in Mexico City, 2012.  I find Despertares  to have a quirky beginning as there is a violinist on stage performing live and Copeland performs along side him. There even appears to be moments of comical relief in the choreography as she interacts with the violinist and performs a very interpretive style of dance. Copeland’s talent shines through nonetheless revealing her extreme strength and technical abilities

However, the African American community is not the only minority to have made significant strides in the ballet industry lately. Asians and Asian Americans have been becoming increasingly prevalent in some of the most world famous ballet companies. In particular, choreographer Edwaard Liang has become a giant in the industry in recent years. According to his Website, Liang is a Taiwanese born Asian American and, “was the winner of the 2006 National Choreographic Competition, and invited to be apart of the 2007 National Choreographers Initiative. Mr. Liang was also one of the winners of the Prince Prize Grant for Choreography and the Choo San Goh Award for Choreography. In 2008 and 2010, he was also nominated for the Golden Mask Award in Russia for best new production and best choreographer.” One of Liang’s biggest accomplishments is the brand new ballet he choreographed and directed for the San Francisco Ballet, Symphonic Dances.

Set to the music of Rachmaninov, the ballet debuted at the San Francisco Ballet Theater in 2012. This particular piece is significant as it features Yuan Yuan Tan, who according The Huffington Post, “is a principal dancer with the San Francisco Ballet. In the late 1990s she became the youngest principal in the company’s history and the first Chinese dancer to be promoted to that level.” With her achievements, Tan continues to raise the bar for Asians in the ballet world. While Liang is bringing about cultural change in the dance industry, he continues to choreograph with a very traditional style of ballet. I greatly admire this about him as I prefer very classical ballet that would typically be seen in older ballets such as Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, or Giselle.

Here we see a more modern side of Edwaard Liang’s choreography in these excerpts of his ballet Age of Innocence which he created and premiered for the Joffrey Ballet in New York, 2008. While I do prefer his more classically styled work, this ballet demonstrates Liang’s sheer talent and diversity as a choreographer. He also features Asian and Asian American Ballerinas in this ballet which is refreshing as it is good to see any diversity in a ballet company as traditional and world renowned as the Joffrey Ballet.

Lastly, we have a clip from Liang’s ballet Murmuration which debuted at The Houston Ballet’s  Theater as part of the production From Houston to the World in 2013. According to Liang, “Murmuration is a phenomenon in Europe where starling birds flock together and make beautiful shapes and patterns in the sky. Scientists have no idea how they come together to make these shapes, but the birds never crash into one another.” His inspiration becomes clear in the opening moments of the clip as the female dancer is lifted into the air and appears to float effortlessly and light as a feather across the stage. Although the clip is short, it is my favorite piece of Liang’s by far as the movement is absolutely seamless and breathtaking. Liang’s talent is irrefutable and as one of the most celebrated Asian American ballet choreographers he serves as an inspiration to minorities in the dance industry gloabaly.

Fortunately, due to minority choreographers and dancers like these, we continue to see the long awaited change the dance industry needs, but the ballet world still has a long way to go. While the face of ballet continues to become more diverse, it still does not represent all of the minorities evenly. The responsibility mainly lies on the shoulders of major ballet companies as they cast their Core de Ballet and promote dancers up the ranks. I look forward to the day that ballet education is more accessible to people of all economic statuses and when the color and body standards of ballet are no longer part of casting, but rather the talent of the dancer is all that shines through.

Brooks, Katherine. “17 Ballet Icons Who Are Changing The Face of Dance Today”. The Huffington Post, 2015.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/05/representation-in-ballet_n_5618002.html

Carman, Joseph. “Behind Ballet’s Diversity Problem”. Pointe Magazine, 2014.

http://pointemagazine.com/inside-pt/behind-ballets-diversity-problem/

“Edwaard Liang: Choreographer”. Website, 2016.

http://www.edwaardliang.com/biography/

“After The Rain Pas De Deux”. Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, 2016.

https://www.alvinailey.org/performances/repertory/after-rain-pas-de-deux

The Influence of World War I on the Art of Ballet

World War I was like no other war that had happened before. It became known as the first modern war due to the drastic change in weaponry that facilitated the killing of mass amounts of people. The effects of this war were catastrophic and had a noticeable cultural influence. It was during this time that we saw a rejection of traditional styles of art that opened a gateway to increased experimentation and less inhibition for depicting reality. This was especially true for the art of ballet.

This idea of rejecting traditional art styles, often became the source of controversy. Perhaps the most controversial of them all was Igor Stravinsky’s orchestral piece The Rite of Spring (Le Sacre du Printemps) which he premiered as a ballet in Paris, 1913. According to NPR’s Performance Today, “the outrageous costumes, unusual choreography and bizarre story of pagan sacrifice, Stravinsky’s musical innovations tested the patience of the audience to the fullest.” It is said that members of the audience openly booed the performance and some even walked out… it was quite the scandal.

Not only did the music lack a harmonic center, instruments were also used to make sounds considered fiery and disturbed. In addition, the dancers performed a style of modern ballet that had yet to be seen, along with costumes that did not come any where near the traditional tutus and point shoes normally seen in classical ballets of the time period. In the version I have attached above, we see the opening scene is very dark and ominous, it builds tension for a very dramatic start to the show. While this style was outright shocking at the time, it would not be uncommon to find a professional ballet  performance with this style of modern today. Personally, I enjoy this style of story telling through movement and appreciate the difficulty that goes along with its execution.

Igor Stravinsky’s music was also featured in Apollo, Choreographed by George Balanchine, which opened in Paris, 1928. Russian Ballet Choreographer George Balanchine even further rejected the traditional style of ballet post World War I and is credited as the founder of what we now refer to as neoclassical ballet. According to the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, “[Balanchine] is considered by many to be the greatest innovator of the contemporary “plotless” ballet. With no definite story line, its purpose is to use movement to express the music and to illuminate human emotion and endeavor.”

Apollo, originally titled Apollon Musgète, is considered a “neoclassical classic” and tells a story of the young Apollo, the god of music. This ballet particularly focuses on the emotions created by the sounds and tempo of the musical arrangements. Their style of movement is very different from classical movement of the time in the way that their bodies intertwine and shift to angles and forms that would not normally be seen in a traditional ballet. One could also speculate that it is rare to see a partnering number between three females and one male dancer. However, I appreciate that Balanchine managed to incorporate a few proper technical positions, creating somewhat of a melange of classical and modern styles.

Anthony Tudor, an English ballet choreographer brought about another new style in America, 1938 with Jardin aux Lilas. This ballet became known as the first psychological ballet. According to The New York Times, “its steps, gestures and phrases showed flickering aspects of repression, denial, private longing, heartbreak, personal conflict, and hypocrisy, all against a setting both romantic… and conformist.” This new style delves into the concept of depicting reality, which became an artistic theme post World War I. In the video below, we can see that a great deal of acting is incorporated into the pieces of this ballet. I admire that Tudor maintained and showcased classical technique in these numbers, while continuing to evolve the traditional style of ballet by adding a theatrical element.  He includes clear moments in which the dancers are purely showcasing emotion rather than technical training.

“Ballet”. Core of Culture, 2016.

http://www.coreofculture.org/ballet.html

“A Brief History of Ballet”. Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, 2016.

http://www.pbt.org/community-engagement/brief-history-ballet

Thomas, Kelly. “Igor Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring””. NPR’s Performance Today, 1999.

http://www.npr.org/programs/specials/milestones/991110.motm.riteofspring.html

Macualay, Alastair. “Under Analysis: The Psychology of Tudor’s Ballets”. The New York Times, 2008.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/11/arts/dance/11maca.html

Edgar Degas and the Rise of Impressionism in the Romantic Era

The Romantic Era gave way to impressionism, perhaps my favorite style of visual art that, according to Merriam-Webster, “uses spots of color to show the effects of different kinds of light, and that attempts to capture the feeling of a scene rather than specific details.” One of the unique properties of impressionism was marked by a shift in subject matter to more non-traditional material. Artists began to focus less on the fine details and more on the fleeting moment.

A very well renowned impressionist Artist emerged in this time period known as Edgar Degas. He also happens to be one of my favorite artists of all time due to his gorgeous depictions of ballerinas. I have even been lucky enough to see some of his work on display in the Seattle Art Museum. Today, Degas is world famous for his paintings and sculptures of ballerinas, however he was quite controversial at his time. Degas was highly critiqued for a particular piece, Little Dancer of Fourteen Years (or La Petite Danseuse de Quatorze Ans in french), which according to the National Gallery of Art was painted in France between the years 1878-1881. 

“Two-thirds life size and adorned with a horse hair wig, a green satin ribbon, a tattered mid-thigh tulle and gauze tutu, a silk bodice, and pink ballet slippers, it outraged many spectators’ sense of propriety. Unlike the dreamy, idealistic representations of romantic ballerinas, it was violently criticized for its excessive realism and for the expression of “bestial boldness”.” (Karthas, 2012). In terms of the traditional standard of graceful, beautiful, and elegant ballerinas one would have seen featured in pieces perhaps of the Classical Era Rocco style, this piece by Degas utilizes impressionism to go completely against the grain. I admire greatly his courage to portray  a normal young girl; standing with poor posture, in worn down dance attire, and gazing off into another direction. Something about the realness of the moment in time he depicted of this girl is beautiful in its own way.

However, my favorite piece by Degas, as well as my all time favorite impressionist piece, is La Classe de Danse which he painted in France, between 1871-1874. Yet again we can observe Degas looking beyond the grand stage performance put on by ballerinas and focusing on a less traditional more realistic moment in their average day. As said by the Musée d’Orsay, “More than the stage performance and the limelight, it was the training and rehearsals that interested him. Here the class is coming to an end – the pupils are exhausted, they are stretching, twisting to scratch their backs, adjusting their hair or clothes, an earring, or a ribbon, paying little heed to the inflexible teacher.” I think this quote perfectly sums up why this painting is so intriguing despite the lack of grandness and gracefulness one would have expected of a ballet painting prior to impressionism. My favorite part of this painting actually happens to be the small dog located near the bottom of the painting as I feel it adds yet another touch of spontaneity to this piece.

“Impressionism”. Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 2016.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/impressionism

La Classe de Danse [The Ballet Class]. “Musée d’Orsay, 2006.

http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/collections/works-in-focus/search/commentaire/commentaire_id/the-ballet-class-3098.html

“Little Dancer Aged Fourteen.” National Gallery of Art, 2016.

http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/highlights/highlight110292.html

Karthas, Ilyana. “The Politics of Gender and the Revival of Ballet in the Early Twentieth    Century France.”  Journal of Social History. 45. 4 (2012): 960-989. Print.

http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/essays/89464797/politics-gender-revival-ballet-early-twentieth-century-france

The Invention of the Piano in the Classical Era

While the time period of the Classical Era gave way to many artistic and scientific discoveries, the piano just happens to be my favorite. In ballet, the piano is the instrument to which the vast majority of our work is paired. From training in the studio, to performing on the stage, ballet just wouldn’t be the same without the piano. Many professional ballet companies are even lucky enough to have a piano in studio and a professional pianist who plays live for all of their classes, rehearsals, and performances.

According to The Met Museum, “The first true piano was invented almost entirely by one man—Bartolomeo Cristofori (1655–1731) of Padua, who had been appointed in 1688 to the Florentine court of Grand Prince Ferdinando de’ Medici to care for its harpsichords and eventually for its entire collection of musical instruments.” The piano was inspired by the harpsichord and clavichord and was originally named the pianoforte (meaning the soft loud in Italian due to its ability to play both soft and loud chords). Since then, the piano has been refined into a highly versatile instrument that, “can sustain pitches in a lyrical fashion, creating all musical styles and moods, with enough volume to be heard through almost any musical ensemble.”

The Classical Era also gave way to many famous composers like Mozart, Beethoven, and Haydn. All of these composers’ work can be heard in ballets across the world. This is a video of a variety of ballets paired with the very exquisite and highly renowned Turkish March by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 1783.  The song is an excellent example of the vast capabilities of the piano hitting soft yet loud tones at a very fast tempo to create an all around lighthearted mood. While I have never performed to any of Mozart’s work, it is often used in the classes I take every week. The style of this song is used for the Allegro portion of class. Allegro is defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as, “a piece of music that is played or performed in a quick and lively way.” This is paired with tight and intricate footwork such as small jumps and quick changes of direction. This song in particular is so familiar to me that it strikes up a slight sense of nostalgia and instantly puts me in a good mood.

Here we have another famous piano piece, Piano Concerto No. 5 by Ludwig Van Beethoven, 1811. It is a good example of the piano’s ability to stand out in a musical ensemble and hit a wide variety of pitches. I find it to be very dramatic yet strikingly joyful. A piece like this would most likely be performed as a Grande Pas de Deux, meaning one of the most dramatic and powerful points of a ballet in which a female and male lead partner together to conclude the first or second half of a show.

Finally, we have Piano Sonata No. 5 in E flat by Franz Joseph Haydn, 1794. I find this piece to be the most melancholy of the three, and would most likely be seen in a ballet adagio piece. Adagio is defined by Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary as “a piece of music that is played or performed slowly and gracefully.” Therefore it would call for a much more relaxed and poised ballet piece at a slower tempo.

Powers, Wendy. “The Piano: The Pianofortes of Bartolomeo Cristofori (1655–1731)”. The Met Museum, 2003.

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/cris/hd_cris.htm

“Allegro”. Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 2016.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/allegro

“Adagio”. Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 2016.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adagio

The Influence of Royalty on Ballet in the Baroque Era

In this beautiful oil painting, La Camargo Dancing, done by Nicolas Lancret in France the year 1730, we see a couple dancing a duet among a lively scene of people gathered in the forest. According to the National Gallery of Art, “On the far left musicians are hidden amidst the trees… stylishly dressed spectators have assembled in intimate groups to watch a couple perform a pas de deux…the female dancer depicted here is Marie-Anne de Cupis de Camargo, a ballet star of the Paris Opéra.”

At the time, France had recently become the epicenter of ballet as King Louis XIV, who was a dancer himself, had founded the Academie Royale de Danse in 1661 and played a large role in the standardization of ballet technique and vocabulary. This time period was known for hosting lavish productions and court balls featuring ballet pieces – some of which King Louis XIV  even starred in lead roles. Only the most elite members of the aristocracy had access to these highly formal events and most of them were only attended by the nobility and royal families. In his piece, Dances of the Baroque Era, Richard Powers describes these events in detail adding, “Court balls were held every night, often lasting until dawn.  No one was allowed to leave the dancing before the King or Duchesse.”

However, King Louis XIV was not the only member of Royalty to have a profound influence on the development of ballet in the Baroque era.  Catherine Medici herself is credited with the rise of ballet at the start of this era as she was a great supporter of the dance court. Other significant figures in the ballet world of the time include Jean Baptiste Lully  a dancer, composer, and choreographer known as the chief master of the French Baroque style. As well as Peirre Beauchamps a dancer/choreographer who is not only considered to be ballet’s original master teacher, but was superintendent to King Louis XIV’s ballet and is credited with coining the five positions of the feet and arms.

The Renaissance however, marked a much different genre of what was then referred to as ballet. The painting above, Ball at the Court of Valois- French School 16th century, France illustrates the wedding of Marguerite de Lorraine to the Duc de Joyeuse and all of their guests engaging in dancing and other festivities. As this time period was prior to the refinement and standardization of ballet technique, the dances were performed ballroom style with no dramatic continuity (i.e. one dance flowed continuously into the next). However, some significant advancements in style were made. According to The Core of Culture’s piece on the history of ballet, certain techniques were taught such as  “proper dancing posture – carriage of torso, positions and moves of legs and feet, and bows and courtsies.”

As a ballerina today, not only do I find paintings such as La Camargo Dancing to be beautiful and refreshing, it also serves as a great reminder to me how classical and timeless the art of ballet truly is. Although I practice this art form on a daily basis, I often forget how deep the roots of technique are in history as well as how refined our craft has become over time. It also makes me appreciate the royalty who supported the arts during this era and made it possible for people like me to partake in such a classical art as ballet so many centuries later.

Citations:

Powers, Richard. “Dances of the Baroque Era”. Stanford – Social Dance, 2010.

https://socialdance.stanford.edu/Syllabi/baroque.htm

“Ballet”. Core of Culture Website, 09/27/2016.

http://www.coreofculture.org/ballet.html

“La Camargo Dancing”.  National Gallery of Art, 2016.

http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/art-object-page.96.html

 

A Glimpse of Humanism in Raphael’s Madonna of theMeadow

The Italian Renaissance was characterized by a “re-birth or “revival” of interest in the individual, as well as arts and philosophy influenced by Greek and Roman ideology. This new found system of values is known as Humanism. According to Merriam-Webster, humanism is defined as, “a doctrine, attitude, or way of life centered on human interests or values; especially :  a philosophy that usually rejects supernaturalism and stresses an individual’s dignity and worth.” Humanism not only changed the personal philosophies of many, it also influenced a variety of art forms.

The impact of Humanist values could be seen in the visual arts in a variety of ways… While elements of religion/Christianity were ever present in the visual arts, religious characters were portrayed in a more naturalistic way and in dimensions that were more realistic to the human anatomy. This can be seen in Raphael’s (Raffaello Sanzio) Madonna of the Meadow;  which he painted in Florence 1505-1506. The painting of the Virgin with Christ and St. John the Baptist captures a moment of serenity and content on the Italian countryside. As stated on artandcritique.com, “spatial depth signifies a step towards emotional maturity and elaborates the devotional message… this pastoral variant demonstrates more life, more blood and bone, if you will. The three actors literally have the chance to breathe and the children respond to their surroundings by engaging in some kind of a game, of religious symbolical meaning nevertheless.”

One of my favorite parts of this painting is Raphael’s use of chiaroscuro. According to italianrennaissance.org chiaroscuro is, “The use of shades of contrasting light and dark to create the appearance of volume and bulk in painted forms.” This style creates an element of depth that catches the eye. I notice this most in the the Madonna’s clothing as it stands out with its bold colors in comparison to the more neutral colors of the landscape behind her. Raphael also did a lovely job of creating a a humble and worldly scene all the while incorporating very holy and sacred figures in a humanistic manner.

Citations:

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/humanism

http://www.italianrenaissance.org/raphaels-madonna-in-the-meadow/

http://www.italianrenaissance.org/glossary/chiaroscuro/

http://artandcritique.com/raphael-madonna-of-the-meadow/

Intro

Hello, my name is Savanah, and I have been dancing since I was a little girl. It is my absolute passion in life. Dance (ballet in particular) is my favorite form of art and the only kind of art I have any kind of talent for. I cannot paint, draw, or play any instruments. For the most part, I do not have a creative bone in my body, except for when I am dancing. That being said, I find ballet to be a prime example of artistry at it’s finest. As a ballerina, my body is my paint brush and I can use it to paint you a picture that says a thousand words; all the while saying nothing. I have attached a YouTube link to a video of a contemporary number choreographed by Rachel Dubusky which I competed at Rainbow National Dance competition. The number won the Elite Starz title and is a perfect example of the true artistry that goes in to a dance performance.

First blog post

This is your very first post. Click the Edit link to modify or delete it, or start a new post. If you like, use this post to tell readers why you started this blog and what you plan to do with it.