About Ballet Dance

Ballet dance is a very beautiful form of dance that is designed to tell a story through the dance. Ballet is very formal and requires a lot of practice to master many of the moves required to be a successful ballet dancer.

History: Ballet is a Russian dance form that started in the high courts during the early fifteenth century. It was a form of entertainment for the nobility. Since then, ballet became a very choreographed form of dance that was practiced all over the country. The dance is performed to classical music and has its own vocabulary. Ballet schools have popped up all over the world to teach those that wish to learn the art form of ballet.

Classic Ballet: Classic ballet is the strictest of all ballet forms. It is very methodical and requires a girl to be on pointe every time her feet are not on the floor in a dance move. Balance, posture and alignment are very important to classical ballet. Pointe shoes were originally created for this type of ballet as it was hard to stay on tiptoes by yourself. The hard box that is contained within the ballet slipper is designed to help keep the dancer on her toes.

Neoclassical Ballet: Neoclassical ballet is more technical than classical ballet; the moves are more complex and harder to perform. However, the movements are not as rigid as classical ballet.

Modern Ballet: Modern ballet is a combination of classical ballet mixed with modern dance. It is much more lucid than traditional ballet but still retains all of the features that make the dance easily recognizable. Modern ballet still tells a story with the dance and movement of the body. Modern ballet is often danced barefoot.