Friday, March 30, 2012

Behind the Elegance

After telling you about La Sylphide,,
Now I will tell you about Tutu..
Tutu is the skirt which ballerina alwaays use it for dancing..
There're many kind of tutu..

well,,let me tell you now..
A tutu is a skirt worn as a costume in a ballet performance, often with attached bodice. It might be single layer, hanging down, or multiple layers starched and jutting out.

There are several types of ballet tutu:
1.Romantic Tutu: three quarter length bell shaped skirt made of tulle. The hemline falls between the knee and the ankle. The romantic tutu is free flowing to emphasise lightness, to suit the ethereal quality of the romantic ballets such as Giselle or La Sylphide. It is said to have been invented, or at least popularized, by Marie Taglioni, first in 1832 in La Sylphide.



2.Classical Tutu (bell): A very short, stiff skirt made with layers of netting with a slight bell shape and fitted bodice. It extends outwards from the hips and does not use a wired hoop. It is usually longer than a classical (pancake) tutu. These can be seen in the famous ballet paintings by Degas.


3.Classical Tutu (pancake): A very short, stiff skirt made with layers of netting that extends straight outwards (from the hips) in a flat pancake shape, and has a fitted bodice. The pancake style has more layers of net and usually uses a wire hoop and much hand tacking to keep the layers flat and stiff.


4.Balanchine/Karinska Tutu: also known as the "powder puff" is a very short skirt with no hoops, and fewer layers of netting than the pancake or classical styles. The skirt is loosely tacked to give a softer, fuller appearance. This style was designed originally for the ballet version of Georges Bizet's Symphony in C.


5.Platter Tutu: A tutu with a flat top that sticks straight out from the ballerina's waistline.

Friday, March 23, 2012

Sense of the Romance

La Sylphide
La Sylphide (The Sylph) is one of the world's oldest surviving romantic ballets. There were two versions of the ballet; the version choreographed by the Danish balletmaster August Bournonville (1805-1879) is the only version known to have survived.


Summary
Act 1

In the hall of a Scottish farmhouse, James Ruben, a young Scotsman, sleeps in a chair by the fireside. A sylph, or forest fairy, gazes lovingly upon him and dances about his chair. She kisses him and then vanishes when he suddenly wakes. James rouses his friend Gurn from sleep, and questions him about the sylph. Gurn denies having seen such a creature and reminds James that he is shortly to be married. James dismisses the incident and promises to forget it.
James' bride-to-be, Effie, arrives with her mother and bridesmaids. James dutifully kisses her, but is startled by a shadow in the corner. Thinking his sylph has returned, he rushes over, only to find the witch, Old Madge, kneeling at the hearth to warm herself. James is furious with the disappointment.
Effie and her friends beg Old Madge to tell their fortunes, and the witch complies. She gleefully informs Effie that James loves someone else and she will be united with Gurn. James is furious. He forces Madge from the hearth and throws her out of the house. Effie is delighted that James would tangle with a witch for her sake.
Effie and her bridesmaids hurry upstairs to prepare for the wedding, and James is left alone in the room. As he stares out the window, the sylph materializes before him and confesses her love. She weeps at his apparent indifference. James resists at first, but, captivated by her ethereal beauty, capitulates and kisses her tenderly. Gurn, who spies the moment from the shadows, scampers off to tell Effie what has happened.
When the distressed Effie and her friends enter after hearing Gurn's report, the sylph disappears. The guests assume Gurn is simply jealous and laugh at him. Everyone dances. The sylph enters during the midst of the revelry and attempts to distract James.
As the bridal procession forms, James stands apart and gazes upon the ring he is to place on Effie's finger. The Sylph snatches the ring, places it on her own finger, and, smiling enticingly, rushes into the forest. James hurries after her in ardent pursuit. The guests are bewildered with James' sudden departure. Effie is heartbroken. She falls into her mother's arms sobbing inconsolably.

Act 2
In a fog shrouded part of the forest, Madge and her companion witches dance grotesquely about a cauldron. The revellers add all sorts of filthy ingredients to the brew. When the contents glow, Madge reaches into the cauldron and pulls a diaphanous, magic scarf from its depths. The cauldron then sinks, the witches scatter, the fog lifts, and a lovely glade is revealed.
James enters with the sylph who shows him her charming, woodland realm. She brings him berries and water for refreshment but avoids his embrace. To cheer him, she summons her ethereal sisters who shyly enter and perform their airy dances. The young Scotsman is delighted and joins the divertissement before all flee for another part of the forest.
Meanwhile, the wedding guests have been searching the woodland for James. They enter the glade. Gurn finds his hat, but Madge convinces him to say nothing. Effie enters, weary with wandering about the forest. Madge urges Gurn to propose. He does and Effie accepts his proposal.
When they all have left, James enters the glade. Madge meets him, and tosses him the magic scarf. She tells the young farmer the scarf will bind the sylph to him so she cannot fly away. She instructs him to wind the scarf about the sylph's shoulders and arms for full effect. James is ecstatic. When the sylph returns and sees the scarf, she allows James to place it around her trembling form.
As James embraces the sylph passionately, her wings fall off, she shudders, and dies in James' arms. Sorrowfully, her sisters enter and lift her lifeless form. Suddenly, a joyful wedding procession led by Effie and Gurn crosses the glade. James is stunned. Madge directs his gaze heavenward; he sees the sylph borne aloft by her sisters. James collapses. Madge exults over his lifeless body. Evil has triumphed.


before that..
so sorry if this blog isn't perfect like before..
i'm too busy with our school program..
yepp!!
PENSI 2012!!
Theme: Teenagers' Lifestyle
Come and join us in SMAK Kolese Santo Yusup Malang..
there's our guest star,,wanna know who?? so,, come~ ^^

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Characterictic of Her

well,,
this session i want to tell you about our legendary ballerina..
her names is Anna Pavlova
well,,this is her biography..

Anna Pavlova
Anna Pavlova (February 12 [O.S. January 31] 1881 – January 23, 1931) was a Russian ballerina of the late 19th and the early 20th century. She is widely regarded as one of the finest classical ballet dancers in history and was most noted as a principal artist of the Imperial Russian Ballet and the Ballets Russes of Sergei Diaghilev. Pavlova is most recognised for the creation of the role The Dying Swan and, with her own company, became the first ballerina to tour ballet around the world.
Victor Dandré, her manager and companion, may have been her husband (she deliberately clouded this issue).

this is her photo..

Thursday, March 8, 2012

The Rising of Neoclassical Ballet

Now,,
Back to our concept..
you have already known about history of ballet,and everything about it..
Now i want to tell you more,,it's about "Neoclassical Ballet"..
Yes,,get ready of it..
please enjoy,,

Neoclassical Ballet~
Neoclassical ballet is like Balanchine. Lines are elongated, and the square, although important, is distorted at times. Also, movements go out of the typical classical ballet vocabulary. Balanchine experimented with different geometrical shapes. Some of his ballet had a story line, others didn't, and some were choreographed around an idea, or just the music.
Neoclassical ballet is the style of 20th century classical ballet exemplified by the works of George Balanchine. It draws on the advanced technique of 19th century Russian Imperial dance, but strips it of its detailed narrative and heavy theatrical setting. What is left is the dance itself, sophisticated but sleekly modern, retaining the pointe shoe aesthetic, but eschewing the well upholstered drama and mime of the full length story ballet.