World Voyageur: March 2015

I love this photo. Not only is it unexpected and amusing, but it gets an important point across (no pun intended).

Ballerina's are athletes.

In fact ballerina's and football players are considered to tolerate the same amount of pain in their respective sports, as well as to maintain the same kind of discipline.

As I spent quite a few years in ballet myself, I have a great appreciation for the athleticism and artistry of this dance form; the gracefulness and precision of the movements, the poised and powerful strength of the body, and the romantic, classical elements of the music and performances.

I was first enraptured by the magic of ballet and inspired to be a ballerina when my mom took me at the age of seven to see, The Nutcracker, performed by the Alberta Ballet. I even had my picture taken with the Nutcracker Prince!

I dreamed of being a professional ballerina and dancing on pointe, and though I have never reached either of my childhood goals, my years in dance are far from being a waste. They were extremely meaningful; a foundation for so much more. Ballet taught me discipline and perseverance, gave me an ear for rhythm, instilled within me a love for classical music, and most importantly, revealed to me that I can use dance to worship God!

In light of my passion for dance, I thought it would be interesting, dear readers, to take a little trip into the world of ballet.

Here's a short introduction to begin - an interview with a leading American ballerina, Misty Copeland.

So where did ballet originate?

1300's - 1500's: Ballet (Balletto or ballo meaning "to dance") begins to take form as an elegant court dance during the Italian Renaissance.

1600's: King Louis XIV of France (also known as the Sun King) takes ballet as his own and transforms it into a grandiose art. He names the steps (plié, soussus, pirouette, arabesque, fondu, grande jete, etc.), uses it to enhance fencing, and dances in many performances himself along with his courtiers.

1700's -1800's: Ballet continues to flourish. Begins to look like the ballet we see and dance today.

1900's: France's ballets becomes rather "stagnant and predictable." Russians take the art and breath life into it once again. This is what we call classical ballet (to this day, Russian ballerina's are often considered the best). Britain and America follow in Russia's footsteps and begin establishing their own ballet schools and companies.

Present Day: Classical ballet is still taught and performed worldwide, but choreographers and teachers are branching out to include modern, aesthetic movements and stories (neoclassical).

Note: I didn't want to overwhelm my readers with clips of dancers (there are so many!), but if you have time I would highly suggest watching this interesting video which gives a great visual of how ballet has changed over the centuries.

Okay, now that we've traveled briefly through the history of ballet, we're going to tour the studio where the ballerina's are practicing and then rendezvous over to the theatre for a night of music, art, and culture.