The word ballet comes from the French word ballette and from the Italian balletto meaning "a dance". According to dance historians, ballet can be traced to Italy during the Renaissance (Charleston Ballet and Avampato Discovery Museum, CBADM). In the beginning stages of ballet all the dancers were men and they wore masks to play women roles. The dancers would perform dances to entertain their ruler. Italian native, Catherine de Medici became the queen of France in 1547, and introduced France to the entertainment she was accustomed to in Italy.
“They are set to music and poised in a style of dance which incorporates the foundational techniques for many other dance forms.” Ballet is an intense theatrical performance put forth by solo dancers, duets, and choruses, or corps de ballet. According to the Dance Encyclopedia, ballets essential principle is “the reduction of human gesture to bare essentials, heightened and developed into meaningful patterns” (Sporre, 2011, p. 227). The Encyclopedia defines Ballet as a type of performance dance that originated in the Italian Renaissance in the 1400s, and which was developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The earliest forms of ballet were intended for on the most prestigious of people and were presented to them on the most glamorous of stages with audience members seated in tiers of galleries encompassing the stage. Ballet since that time has become one of the most difficult of dances to master because of the extensive demands it requires on the body and the technicality of line and form it requires.
Sweet charity is a musical with music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Dorothy and book by Neil Simon. Bob Fosse directed and choreographed the musical for Broadway; it starred his wife and muse Gwen Verdon. The musical was based on Federico Fellini’s screen play for Nights of Cabiria . Sweet Charity had 10 productions; the first one on 1996 in Broadway. The last production took place on 2009 in the West End, the last production was scheduled to take place in 2011 in Toronto, and however, it was cancelled.
Bob Fosse was the Director/choreographer who not only brought to Cabaret an interesting background and storyline, but folded the big musical numbers into the Kit Kat Club’s performances to better illustrate and emphasize the plot. John Kander was the music composer and Fred Ebb wrote the lyrics for both this movie and the 1966 Broadway Musical stage play. They wrote several new songs just for the film version. John van Burek was the playwright who adapted Joe Masteroff’s, 1966 book, Cabaret, for the stage. The film portrays the life of an American singer, Sally Bowles, who sings at the Kit-Kat Club in 1930s Berlin where she falls in love with bi-sexual Brian Roberts, a naïve Englishman who has just arrived in Berlin.
- HOW DOES WILLY RUSSEL PRESENT THE THEME OF DANCING IN BLOOD BROTHERS - The theme of dancing plays a big part the play blood brothers. The image of dancing has many different connotations and this is demonstrated in the numerous times it comes up throughout the story. From the beginning we hear Mrs Johnstone singing the song Marilyn Monroe as she describes how her husband used to take her out, ‘and we’d go dancing’. Dancing is seen as a symbol of being beautiful and carefree. People dance at weddings, and parties and times of happiness.
She was also the High Priestess in Verdi’s Aida. Her first leading role was as Amelia in Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a composer of the classical era. One opera that I truly love from Mozart is The Magic Flute. It is humorous and makes one think.
Music History II 19th Century Opera The nineteenth century introduced a fresh appreciation for opera. Throughout Western Europe opera houses became a form of entertainment for the middle class as well as the upper class. Higher society and the public at large took interest in this art form. Opera was heard in cafes, salons and private homes. A unique theme of nationalism was introduced in productions throughout Italy, France and Germany.
She also no longer referred to him as Curtius, she called him “uncle.” A couple of years later, Curtius moved to Paris to start working on setting up a wax exhibition. Later that year, Tussaud and her mother joined Curtius and also moved to Paris. Only being ten years old, Curtius saw the talent in Tussaund and asked her to help him create a waxwork of Louis XV’s last mistress, Madame Du Barry, a cast of which is the oldest work currently on display. The first exhibition of Curtius' waxworks was shown in 1772, and attracted a big crowd. The wax figure of Madame Du Barry was displayed and everyone was surprised by the artwork.
I will focus on Ballet Folklorico de Mexico which is a folkloric ballet ensemble in Mexico City. For the past five decades folkloric dancers have performed dances in costumes that reflect the traditional culture of Mexico. The most famous dance group in Mexico is Ballet Folklorico de Amalia Hernandez, this group has been international competitions and has won many times. Folklorico is composed of Ballet steps and musical pieces reflecting various regions and folk music genres of Mexico. We should educate ourselves a little about Mexican Folklore.
However, one of Madonna’s greatest achievements is how she manipulated the media and the public with her music, her videos, her publicity, and her sexuality. Arguably, Madonna was the first female pop star to have complete control of her music and image. Madonna moved from her native Michigan to New York in 1977, with dreams of becoming a ballet dancer. She studied with choreographer Alvin Ailey and modeled. In 1979, she became part of the Patrick Hernandez Revue, a disco outfit that had the hit “Born to Be Alive.” She traveled to Paris with Hernandez; it was there that she met Dan Gilroy, who would soon become her boyfriend.