How do you define "ballet"?

 The headline on this post does have a hint of irony for me. I might just as easily have written "It's ALL ballet to me". There are so many ways to define "ballet" and it occurs to me that if you were researching where to take an adult beginner ballet class, you might have a particular perspective on what "ballet" means to you!

2011 me performing for my Masters of Fine Arts degree. photo: Bruce Wong

While I might not be convincing most of the people who read this blog to come take an adult beginner ballet class with me, I do think this is a great chance to point you in the direction of why so many people will have a different definition of "ballet".

Different styles of ballet are defined by training methods, most of which evolved in service of the companies and productions in which the dancers would ultimately aspire to perform! And they all refer to this as "ballet" training. Some of the most well known teachers have their sytems of training closely associated with their names: August Bournonville, Enrico Cecchetti, Aggripina Vaganova, George Balanchine. In other instances we define the style of ballet with the companies or cities in which the training takes place, such as Paris Opera Ballet in Paris, or The Royal Ballet in London. 

Whatever the case, all systems are built to support creating a physical Art form defined by different aesthetics, while the basic principles of physical control and expression are in service of technical command to transfer weight, balance, turn, and jump in a lexicon of "steps" common to "ballet dancers" the world over.

Today, what you see ballet dancers doing on stage may hardly be recognizable as being rooted in a 16th century form of spectacle. Yet these "ballet dancers" may have been what inspired you to surf the web, and come across my blog. Here are a few clips of videos I have found online where many different styles and approaches to "ballet" have been addressed.

Starting with a short "history", this is taken from a Lucafilm produced documentary titled "Ballet: The Art of Dance". 

Bournonville is introduced by Nikolaj Hubbe in a documentary series hosted by Dame Darcy Bussell for the BBC. 

Anna Pavlova meets Enrico Cecchetti from a documentary and online series called "Ballet's Secret Code" which is a huge online resource all about the Cecchetti technique and system of training. 

And here is the intro from "Ballet with Isabella" who has a Youtube channel discussing all things ballet, and here she offers you her comparison of four major training styles from which she pulls her own online videos. 

If you live or are visiting NYC and would like to come take an Adult Beginner Ballet class with me, I can be found at Taylor Dance West studios (midtown Manhattan), Tuesdays at 6:00pm!

Until soon...