Aesthetic appreciation of ballet

On the Aesthetic Art of Ballet

Ballet combines music, dance and pantomime to tell a story. Born more than 300 years ago, it was originally used for the entertainment of European aristocratic families. ...

Ballet, a white gauze and a pair of dancing shoes, is a childhood dream of many girls, more or less because of the extraordinary beauty of ballet. The invention of tiptoe shoes reduced the weight support "face" of the dancer's body to "point", effectively reduced the friction with the ground, increased the rotation speed, and caused lightning effect and the illusion of being in a fairyland. The use of tiptoe shoes can further lengthen the original slender body lines of dancers, extend this specific aesthetic feeling, increase the distance between ballet art and daily life, and vividly embody the classical aesthetic principle of "distance is beauty". Therefore, the action language of ballet is most suitable for expressing the unattainable content of immortal love, thus achieving a high degree of unity of form and content.

Here are some key words about ballet. To be a ballet fan, you must have these knowledge:

The Origin and History of Ballet

Ballet art was conceived in Italy and was born in the court of Louis XIV of France in the late17th century. /kloc-became more and more perfect in France in the 0/8th century, and reached its most prosperous period in Russia in the late 0/9th century. In the long-term historical development of nearly 400 years, ballet has a great influence on all countries in the world and spread widely. Up to now, it has become an art form that all countries in the world are striving to develop.

The history of ballet can be traced back to the Italian court in the heyday of the Renaissance in Wenzhou, Europe and the court in Bergendi, southern France. Whenever we celebrate a wedding, receive a foreign head of state, or hold other large-scale celebrations, we will perform this dance to express our wishes or add fun. The first complete ballet "The Queen's Comedy Ballet" in the history of ballet development was staged in 158 1 year. When Miss Margaret of Lorraine married Yao Yousi, Duke of Fancier, the score of this ballet was still preserved, which can be regarded as the oldest ballet.

Ballet reached its peak in Louis XIV (1643- 17 15). Louis XIV himself was an outstanding dancer and loved ballet performances. 16 1 year, Louis XIV founded the first dance school in history-the Royal French Dance Academy, which specializes in teaching dance. This school now belongs to the Paris Opera House. 1700 fixed five positions of hands and feet and some beautiful ballet postures that are still used today. With the vigorous advocacy of the royal dance masters Beauchamp, Kan Beffort and Luli, the importance of French ballet in culture and music has greatly increased. Therefore, ballet became the source of many new court dances; Such as: Gavett, Pa Speed, Bo Lei, Regardon, etc. Among these dances, the most important one is the minuet. 1653, Lu Li began to participate in the ballet activities of the French court, and reached a climax. Together with Moliere, he made the so-called comedy ballet, which is a mixture of drama and ballet. Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, published by 1760, is the most famous representative work of this kind of dance drama. Lu Rui applied ballet to his opera, and his two successors, Campla and Ramo, followed closely. Mora's works, in particular, are more interesting because they combine Mexican, health and China. This is of course related to his personality and background. The British created a special ballet called "mask". By the second half of the17th century, Vienna had become the center of ballet performance. However, European ballet at that time was in the debate between tradition and innovation, rigor and lyricism, pure dance and title dance, ballet and modern dance. Today in the 20th century, these ideas have more or less consequences, and sometimes they are endlessly debated.

From 1789, a number of early (also known as former The Romantic Period) ballet masterpieces such as The Imprisoned Daughter appeared. 19th century, the golden age of ballet history-romantic ballet appeared in Paris, with Fairy (1832), Giselle (184 1) and gabriela (1870). Including Sleeping Beauty (1890), Nutcracker (1892) and Swan Lake (65438+), it was not until the 20th century that this concept gave birth to "modern ballet" and "contemporary ballet", especially dance began to get out of the misunderstanding of "non-dance". Balanchine (1904- 1983) led the "pure ballet" (that is, ballet works that are not ballet, also known as "neoclassical ballet"), which ended the situation that drama ballet dominated the whole country. There are seven first-class classical ballet companies recognized in the world: Kirov Ballet and Moscow Grand Theatre Ballet in the former Soviet Union, New York City Ballet and American Ballet Theatre in the United States, Royal Ballet in Britain, Paris Opera Ballet in France and Royal Danish Ballet. Contemporary ballet presents unprecedented popularity and prosperity. Representative figures and groups are Jiri Kirian (1947-) of Czech Republic, his Dutch Dance Theatre and William? Forsyte (1949-) and his Frankfurt Ballet.

Ballet classification

1, music ballet

The main purpose is to show the dancers' skills, such as Sansheng's The Dying Swan.

2. Plot ballet

As the name implies, it is a ballet dance with a plot.

3. Romanticism

Also known as "white ballet", female dancers are famous for wearing white bell-shaped gauze skirts. Like Adam's Giselle.

4. Classicism

Female dancers wear gorgeous short skirts and dance with male dancers in a unique classical dance form, such as Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake.

5. modernism

For example, Stawinski's Firebird.

6. Opera and ballet

Ballet is interspersed in operas, such as the ballet in the opera William Tell.

dance shoes

The toes of ballerinas' dancing shoes are hardened so that they can dance with their toes without hurting their feet.

body language

All ballet begins and ends in one of these five postures. These postures were created in the18th century to achieve balance and make feet look beautiful.

Traditional classical ballet techniques are based on the aesthetics of opening, stretching and straightness. Including: "Allah Beske", "posture" and "Icart", five basic foot postures and three basic dances; Leg skills: various "bats"-including leg stretching and opening, and rond de jambo (leg circle); Jump in various ranges and dances; Various rotations; Leg-hitting skills; Various dance steps and connecting movements; Women's tiptoe dancing skills; Techniques such as support and lift of duet; And "Port Brass" and so on. These basic movements (elements) of classical ballet, just like letters, are used by choreographers to write the characters, identities and emotions of different roles, as well as their position and role in the development of the plot. These elements are arranged and combined according to specific structural techniques to form a visual dance vocabulary to express the plot and create various artistic charm dance images.

Five basic positions of the foot:

First place: the two heels are close to a straight line, and the toes are outward 180 degrees.

Second place: the heels are separated by one foot, the feet are twisted outward and the feet are in a straight line.

Third place: put the heels back and forth, and spread the toes outward.

Fourth place: keep your feet a foot apart, keep your toes and heels in two straight lines, and turn your legs outward.

Fifth place: the feet overlap before and after, the toes touch, and the legs turn outwards.

Basic position of hand:

1. Vacanova School (Russian School)

First place: Hands form a natural circle in front of the front abdomen.

Second place: Hands out to the side, in sight, palms inward.

Third place: put your hands above your head and aim at the line of sight.

2. Chagdi School (Italian School)

First place: Hands hang in a natural circle and fingers touch the position next to thighs.

Second place: put your hands aside.

Third place: one hand is inward in front of the body, and the other hand is outward.

Fourth place: keep one hand at the same height as the diaphragm in front of your body, and then raise it above your head at the same time.

Classical ballet skirt

The length of the skirt is shorter than the knee, but the sleeves are sleeveless, long sleeves, lantern sleeves and so on.

1, pure white classical ballet dress

For example, the white swan in Swan Lake.

2, all black or bright red

The former is like the black swan in Swan Lake.

3, lantern sleeve vest

For example, in the second act of Copella, Shiva Nida Shutorihhi plays the doll-Copella.

4, long sleeves with vest, decorated with bright bead embroidery.

5. Ballet skirts with different colors up and down

Romantic ballet skirt

Its skirt is almost near the ankle, bell-shaped, sleeveless, and the colors of lantern sleeves are white, light, lavender and so on.

1, romantic ballet with lantern sleeves

For example, Dance for Four and Rose Essence.

2. When dressing up as a demon, put gauze clothes on your arms or shoulders, such as the second act of Giselle and the dance drama Fairy.

3. Village girl dance costume

The vest is decorated with lantern sleeves and the abdomen is decorated with lovely patterns, such as the first act of Giselle, the first act of Cobella and the ballet Romantic Daughter.

Character; function

Classical ballet has its specific structure and form. Only through the close cooperation of artistic directors, choreographers, dancers, lighting and acoustics, costumes, scenery and professional theater staff can it be completely presented to the audience.

If we can have a basic understanding of the style on the ballet stage, we will have great fun and sing when watching the ballet performance. Ballet performance is mainly composed of the following three roles:

1, protagonist: The protagonist is the core of the story. Dancers need to have skills and physical strength above a certain level, and the most important thing is to have superb dance literacy and personality in order to interpret the roles in the play. Classical ballet duet is the focus of the whole ballet, and most of them are played by male and female protagonists. The structural order of classical ballet duet is adagio of the hero and heroine, then solo of the hero, solo of the heroine, and finally allegro finale (epilogue). The artistic accomplishment and skill level of the protagonist will be presented in the duet.

2. Solo: A person who has the leading role skills and can perform alone or with three or four people.

3. Group dancers: Although the dance steps of group dancers are simple, the complex picture changes and the whole atmosphere is more important. Every group of dancers is important. As long as one person is out of tune, the overall situation will be affected.

Dance terminology

1. Dance image: the dynamic image of characters created by dance art, and the visual effect with appreciation produced by human posture, modeling and footwork with the help of artistic factors such as music, stage art, makeup and clothing. It has the aesthetic characteristics of visibility and fluidity, is the main object to be perceived and recognized in the process of dance appreciation, and is the main body that embodies the aesthetic value of dance art.

Second, dance forms: according to the habitual characteristics of people's psychological activities and expressions in real life, they are summarized into different dance forms after refining and artistic processing, showing inner emotional changes such as emotions. Besides facial expressions coordinated with movements, rhythmic movements, postures, gestures and bodies can also produce artistic dance expressions.

Dance action: the basic expression of dance art, which originated from the imitation of human emotional actions and various dynamic things in nature. Mainly includes:

1, single action, that is, one part of the human body is active, and other parts are static or following;

2, compound action, refers to all parts of the human body at the same time in accordance with a certain order, specifications of the action;

3. Action combination. Generally speaking, it refers to the continuous movements such as sliding, flexion and extension, kicking, jumping and rotation, which are composed of more than two single movements or compound movements in a certain order, direction, speed and amplitude, with the main purpose of training dance skills.

Fourth, folk dance: generally speaking, it refers to a dance form which is produced and spread among the people, restricted by folk culture, improvised but relatively stable in style, and takes self-entertainment as its main function. Folk dances in different regions, countries and nationalities are influenced by living environment, customs, lifestyle, national character, cultural traditions, religious beliefs and other factors, and are limited by the physiological conditions such as the age and gender of performers, so there are obvious differences in performance skills and styles. Folk dance has the characteristics of simplicity, various forms, rich content and vivid image. It has always been an indispensable source of materials for classical dance, palace dance and professional dance entrepreneurship in various countries.

Verb (abbreviation of verb) ballroom dancing: also known as ballroom dancing, it refers to the court dance since the European Renaissance and the dances popular in various social places in modern times. The names and dances used, as well as the basic dance steps, formations, styles and dance performance sequences, mostly follow the characteristics of folk dances in Italy, Britain, France, Germany, Spain and other countries.

Blunt, minuets, Gavett, Polonaise, Laendler, Polka, Mazzuca, Galopa and Waltz are very popular in European courts.

After the French Revolution, the form of the court ball was far from meeting the needs of social activities, and mass dance halls appeared in continental Europe, which gradually replaced the court ball as the main place for social activities.

Dance steps are easy to learn, free in form, easy to improvise and vent emotions. It was very popular in public dance halls, and ballroom dancing quickly integrated into the cultural life of the civilian class.

Ballet: French transliteration. Especially the European classical form with certain action norms, skills and aesthetic requirements; Or generally refers to the dance expression form that uses human body movements and gestures to express the drama content, promote the development of the plot, and express certain emotions, artistic conception, psychological state and behavior. The former is sometimes translated into "dance drama". Ballet originated from the ancient Latin ballo, which originally meant to dance in a certain style in public, without the meaning of theater performance. As a stage art form, ballet first appeared in the grand banquets and entertainment activities of Italian courts in the Renaissance. Later, Catherine of Florence Princess Medici brought this dance form to the French court. 158 1 year, The Queen's Comedy Ballet, the first ballet performed by French courts, caused great repercussions in Europe, and courts all over the world followed suit and regarded ballet as a model of court entertainment. 16 1 year, King Louis XIV of France established the Royal Dance Academy in Paris. After ballet entered the theater, it experienced two stages: comedy ballet and singing ballet. /kloc-In the mid-8th century, with the perfection of "plot dance" and related theories, ballet completely changed its position of being attached to drama and opera and performing dance only in the interval, and developed into a theater art form with serious social significance, which promoted the development of plot with dance and music. /kloc-The beginning of the 0/9th century is another golden age in the history of ballet development, with great breakthroughs in content and theme, skills, performance and performance forms. Tiptoe dancing skills have gradually become the main performance means of actresses, and accumulated a set of systematic and scientific training methods. Influenced by the romantic cultural trend of thought, the development of ballet in European countries pays more attention to the expression of national spirit and temperament, forming different styles of ballet schools such as Italian school, French school, Russian school and Danish school. Since the 20th century, Russia has replaced Italy and France as the center of traditional ballet development. On the stage of European and American countries, modern ballet with different styles and schools has gradually shown a vigorous development momentum, which has injected new vitality into the development of ballet art.

Seven, plot dance: ballet terminology. The original meaning refers to the dance with relatively stable structure and direct connection with the development of the plot. The Romantic Period, the basic structure of sitcom is "appearance", adagio duet, solo dance for men and women and group dance with all the actors at last. The big duets in Remunda, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Maid and the dance scenes in Esmeralda are all typical plot dances. Since the 20th century, drama dance, as a concept opposite to entertainment dance, generally refers to all dances that express the psychological and emotional changes of characters and promote the development of drama.

Eight, dance drama: (dance-drama) dance as the main means of expression, combined with music, art, drama, literature and other art forms, to express specific drama content, artistic conception, characters, emotions, psychological state and behavior, as well as stage performance art to promote the development of the plot. Because of the needs of the plot or the different styles of the times and characters, the dance drama can choose or comprehensively use classical dance, folk dance, personality dance, modern dance, palace dance or ball dance, which is composed of choreographed solo dance, duet, trio, duet, trio and group dance. China dance drama has a long history, which originated from the court music and dance in slave society. There is no clear definition between European ballet and ballet.

9. Group Dance: One of the dance styles. Generally speaking, it refers to the stage performance form derived from folk dance "group dance", that is, multi-person dance with more than three people and different numbers. The picture and composition of group dance are changeable, which requires the performers to be neat in action, unified in style and tacit in cooperation, so it has rich artistic expression. (1) Dance works with independent content and theme and complete plot. China's dance Touch Snail, Female Militia on the Grassland, Under the Grape Shelf, Russian Little Birch Tree, Korean dance Spring, Apple Picking and American modern dance Image are all successful works of group dance. (2) In large-scale dance works, sometimes because of the need of picture and composition, or in order to highlight the main characters and enhance the dramatic effect, some passages of solo, duet and threesome are often interspersed in the group dance, such as the solo and duet in ballet scenes such as Fairy and Swan Lake. (3) Group dances arranged in ballet and large-scale dances to set off the overall atmosphere, such as "Woman Warrior Dance" and "Hat Dance" in China ballet "Red women soldiers" and swan dance in Russian ballet "Swan Lake".