Citations For All Information

"The History of Ballet." . The McGee Foundation, n.d. Web. 2 May 2014. <http://www.thecharlestonballet.com/educationOutreach.pdf>.

"Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre." The Point of Pointe Shoes. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 May 2014. <http://www.pbt.org/community-engagement/point-pointe-shoes>.

"The Russian State Ballet comes to Guildford! - Guildford." Guildford. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 May 2014. <http://www.thisisourtownguildford.co.uk/the-russian-state-ballet-comes-to-guildford/>.

"Hit the stage in our discount dancewear!." The History of Ballet. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 May 2014. <http://www.tiptoedancewear.com/ballet-history>.

Minden, Aliza . "History of Pointe Shoes and Technique." . Gaynor Minden, n.d. Web. 6 May 2014. <www.dancer.com/hist.php>.

"Today's Male Ballet Dancer." Pointe magazine – Ballet at its Best.. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 May 2014. <http://www.pointemagazine.com/blogs/milwaukee-ballet/todays-male-ballet-dancer>.

"Ballet." Ballet. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 May 2014. <http://www.whererussia.com/culture_Ballet.html>.

"History." . The Australian Ballet, n.d. Web. 11 May 2014. <https://www.australianballet.com.au/about_us/history>.

"Ballet 101." Ballet 101. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 May 2014. <http://www.washingtonballet.org/news-media/ballet-101/>.

"Pointe History." . The Perfect Pointe, n.d. Web. 5 May 2014. <www.the-perfect-pointe.com/hist.php>.

My Reasoning

The reason that I created this blog about ballet was because ballet is something that I am interested in. I am a ballet dancer, as well as a ballet teacher. I teach ages 4-15 and I absolutely love it, but I realized that I didn't know much about the history of ballet. So that brought us to now, me making a blog for history class about ballet. I have learned a lot throughout making this blog, including that ballet began during the Renaissance and Louis XIV was one of the founders. I also discovered how pointe shoes are crafted. Pointe shoes intrigue me a lot because I just got my first pair about 6 months ago and I'm still going through a stage where I'm obsessed with them. So, learning more about their design was interesting. In making this blog I not only learned more about what I do, but also what I do it with, and it was a blast learning and sharing that information through this blog.

Styles of Ballet

The most formal of all the ballet styles is the classical style. Classical ballet differs depending on where it originated from (France, Italy, or Russia). Neoclassical ballet is almost the same as classical, but it usually is put to faster paced tempos and has more featured parts in it. Contemporary ballet is a mix between classical ballet and modern dance. It does not follow a lot of the strict technical aspects of classical ballet and allows a fuller range of movement for the dancer. Contemporary ballet began to boom in the 20th century and included many of the 20th century modern dance techniques incorporated into it. These 3 styles may seem very similar, but in reality they are very diverse and with knowing what each was, anyone could decipher which was which.

Australian Ballet

The Australian Ballet is generally known for their technical excellence and friendliness. They gave their first performance in 1962 which was the beginning of their strong publicity foundation. This ballet flourished and achieved in its early stages because of their director, Peggy Van Praagh. When they first began they had a set of principle dancers that played all of the key rolls in productions. They brought in profound choreographers from across the globe to train their dancers. Maina Gielugd was directing the Australian Ballet when it truly began to become internationally known. She was a very intuitive person and was always setting higher goals for the ballet. This is what trained them to be so professional and optimistic. The Australian Ballet is one of the busiest in the world and tours Australia annually with new and improved material.

The Anatomy of Pointe Shoes

Pointe shoes are carefully hand crafted to fit the needs of a ballerina perfectly. There are many different shapes, sizes, strengths, and styles of pointe shoes, but each have a few things in common. When they are made each is created with a durable shank that lies under the arch of the dancers foot and is the main piece for support in my opinion. The platform is the square piece on the toe of the shoe. This is where the dancer will stand when she is on relive. The box is what is underneath the platform. It is what the dancer's toes touch while dancing. It is the ground for the ballerina's feet while up on her toes. The vamp is the piece of shoe that begins directly behind the toes and runs down and around the box/platform. It is there for toe support and to ensure that your foot is pointing properly. The wing is the side of the pointe shoe. It holds everything together and helps hold your feet in the proper position while you're rising up. All parts of the pointe shoe are essential for the ballerina's health and the durability of the shoe.

Russian Ballet

Russia was not the founder of ballet, however, a lot of the ballet technique that we use today came from Russian decent. Ballet in Russian began during the 1700's. There was only one ballet school in Russia before the St. Petersburg Imperial School of Ballet. When ballet first began in Russia it was mostly dominated by French and Italian dancers, but over time Russia started to incorporate their own ideas into the mix. In 1909 Russia initiated a touring ballet company which expanded the Russian ballet across the world. There are many widely known ballet dancers who have come from Russia including, Anna Pavlova, Mikhail Baryshnikov, and so many more! The Russian ballet is known throughout the world to this day, and their techniques are used worldwide for training uprising dancers. Russia has many attractions surrounded around ballet, and most cities specially build theaters for ballet productions to be held in.

Men and Ballet

For most of ballet's history, men were only there to make the women look pretty. They were the ones who would help the ballerina jump or fly into the air. They were basically the women's foundation. Without the men, the productions wouldn't have had partnering or lifts. Back then, most men only needed strength and slight coordination to become a male dancer, but now, men need strong ballet technical skills as well as the strength and endurance for partnering. Males are sometimes the supporting lead in ballet dances now. Their bodies are structured differently than that of a female and the males are more embodied to do high jumps and leaps and incredible turns, some more so than the women. Since the beginning, male's responsibility in ballet have increased dramatically and now there are some male's that are the most profound in the business.