Ballet, Then and Now

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. 

 

In the Studio

Variation from Giselle: 

This clip demonstrates the drive, technique, and practice a dancer needs in order to perform.

Here follows some of the hardest moves of the profession...

On Stage

Odile's Coda from Swan Lake:

Notice in particular the height of the man's jumps, and the stamina and balance of the woman.

Isn't the set magnificent?

Dance of the Cygnets from Swan Lake:

By far one of my favourite variations. Their precision and grace as a team is beautiful!

Kitri Variation from Don Quixote: 

Such an elegant and flamboyant dance! 

I hope you enjoyed the show!

Resources
Timeline of Ballet: www.coreofculture.org/ballet.html

"Irrevocably a Reader"

"To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out is a spark."  

                                                            Victor Hugo (author of Les Misérables)

Reading. 
There is something profoundly beautiful, almost sublime in the fact that God has made us capable of inventing symbols that when combined in diverse patterns can capture the perceptions, memories, and thoughts that swirl within our minds, and coherently relay them in physical form to others, so that they too may understand and share in the moment.*

 *God himself chose the written word (the Bible) as the vessel by which to speak personally to us!

Consider also that at one time or another we have all been ignorant of what those symbols meant and had to devote many of our early years to mastering this fundamental skill. The anthologist and essayist, Alberto Manguel, illustrates this wonderfully:

"At one magical instant in your early childhood, the page of a book–that string of confused, alien ciphers–shivered into meaning.Words spoke to you, gave up their secrets; at that moment, whole universes opened.You became, irrevocably, a reader."

This prompts me to ponder yet another fascinating aspect of learning to read...
The innocence of childhood. 
A child, though naturally sinful, has a naive beauty to their actions, words, and thoughts that have not yet been sullied by the deception and waywardness of the world. It is a common theme in literature, most predominately in William Blake's Songs (poems) of Innocence and Experience (maybe you're familiar with his poem The Tyger).
Jesus spoke to his disciples in Matthew 18 about the importance of childlike faith and innocence when he said,

"Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

And the Apostle Paul wrote about the beauty of childhood and growing up: 

"When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways" (I Corinthians 13:11). 

So how, you might ask, does this relate to reading?
As I endeavoured to express before, the written word is a beautiful thing, but there is also a beauty in the journey of reading - beginning as a child, guileless and unassuming, the world slowly opening and growing as they themselves grow and gain experience. 
The books I read as a child - even the simplest picture books - shaped and reflected the perceptions I had of the world. They were tiny stepping stones on the road to maturation and gave me an appreciation for literature that continues to grow and impact me every day.
With that said I would like to share with you ten books that capture and reflect my own early steps into the wide world of reading and literature (by no means an exhaustive list - it was difficult to narrow it down to so few!). 
My idea for this came about while I was sorting through some things in the basement and stumbled upon a collection of books that I read and treasured as a young girl. Poignant, delightful memories flooded over me. As I flipped through the books I was transported back in time and reconnected with a younger version of myself. I could remember how I felt, where I sat, what I thought, and the unique circumstances of my life at the time.
I was reminded of how small and simple my world was - even how my perception of time had not yet fully developed (the childhood bliss of not looking and planning beyond the moment. When life consisted of a day - or at most a week). 
I've placed them in an approximate order of when I read them, so as to loosely chart five years of my life (#1 being what I read when I was about five or six, and #10 being what I read when I was ten or eleven).

1. Christmas Trolls by Jan Brett

This book always brings a smile to my face as it reminds me of my first year in school and how it sparked my young imagination.
I never really believed in Santa Claus as a child, but for a time I did believe in these trolls. During kindergarten class I distinctly remember my classmates and I sitting on our little mats in anticipation of story time. That day our teacher read us this delightful Ukrainian folk tale. It tells of two trolls stealing small Christmas decorations and goodies from a family, until the girl discovers why everything is disappearing and teaches the trolls that Christmas is not found in getting and the items themselves, but in giving and loving. Our teacher decided to bring the story to life! Over the next week, things started to disappear in the classroom. "Could it be the trolls!?" we wondered excitedly. 
So we wrote the trolls a note, asking them to return the missing items to our classroom. The next day everything was back in its rightful place.

2. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett

More people are probably familiar with the movie than the book (the book's better!). Imagine a world where people never have to cook and all their food comes from the skies! 
Every time I flipped through the illustrations of hamburger clouds and orange juice rain, my mouth would water and I would picture myself climbing up a jello mountain, sailing on a sandwich boat, or playing in ice-cream snow. Now wouldn't that be fun!

3. The Boxcar Children Series by Gertrude Chandler Warner

Warner's story (set sometime in the 1930's or 40's) of four orphan children seeking refuge and making a home in an abandoned boxcar was based off of true events. I was fascinated by how the four siblings worked together and lived on their own - washing and fishing in the river, cooking over an open fire, and making the boxcar comfortable and clean. In the end, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny are found and adopted by their rich Grandpa. The rest of the series recounts their adventures and the mysteries they solve along the way. It was always an adventure going to the library to take out another book from the series (there were over a hundred, but only the first ten were written by Warner). These books also served as my introduction to the genre of mystery and led me to read the Nancy Drew series and more recently, the excellent Sherlock Holmes mysteries. 

4. The Story of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting

Lofting dedicated this story to "All children. Children in years and children in heart." It recounts the life and travels of the singular Doctor Dolittle - an animal doctor who under the tutelage of his parrot learns to speak to animals. Along with his animal friends, Dolittle sails across the ocean to Africa where he has many adventures and meets a pushmi-pullyu, a "very shy" creature like a gazelle with two heads; one at each end of its body.
I remember wishing when I was younger that I could speak to animals (what kid doesn't?). And I could - at least when I was reading this book and had befriended, among others, Dab-dab the duck, Jip the dog, and Polynesia the parrot.

5. Midnight in the Dollhouse by Marjorie Filley Stover

This story follows tomboy Melissa, living in the wake of the American Civil War, who must stay in bed for four months to heal her broken hip (she fell out of a tree). Before her accident she showed very little interest in dolls, but with nothing else to do besides read, her family pitches in to buy her dolls and build her a dollhouse. What she doesn't know is that at night, her dolls come to life, and not only that, they secretly help Melissa and her family find the family fortune that her grandfather hid at the beginning of the civil war.
Melissa's dolls reflected my desire (and many children's) for toys and stuffed animals to come to life!

6. The Cricket in Time's Square by George Selden

A cricket, a mouse, and a cat - an unlikely trio. This is a story about their friendship, as well as a celebration of music, culture, and the diversity of the countryside and the city. Of course I didn't understand all of that when I first read this book; I was simply captivated by Chester, the cute talking cricket who gets carried in a picnic basket from the country to New York City, and whose ability to chirp classical music draws eager listeners, and ultimately assists a struggling Italian immigrant family at their newspaper stand.

7. The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien

I was first introduced to the fascinating world of Middle Earth by my dad who read this book aloud to me when I was about eight or nine.
Stolen treasure, dwarves, elves, goblins, giant spiders, a cunning dragon, a wise wizard, mysterious forests, a magic ring... and then amidst these Homeric characters and against this epic backdrop stands the unlikely hero: Bilbo Baggins, an ordinary Hobbit fond of his pipe and the comforts of home, who surprises everyone - including himself - with his courage. Bilbo's simple acts of bravery encouraged me in my own tentative steps out of my front door and into the wide world.
But that was only the beginning of the journey! A year later my dad would read me The Lord of the Rings!

8. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo

Edward Tulane cannot move or speak, but he can think and feel. He is in fact a china rabbit, a unique and expensive doll owned by a rich girl named Abilene. And then one day he is lost - taken from Abilene's arms and thrown over the side of a boat by some rowdy boys. Thus begins an incredible journey from the bottom of the ocean, to the coarse hands of a fisherman, to a garbage heap, to the tender arms of a dying child, and eventually to a fancy and lonely toy shop. The miracle of this unique and often sad tale takes place within Edward. As the blurb on the back of the books says, "even a heart of the most breakable kind can learn to love, to lose, and to love again." 

9. Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery

Anne Shirley will always be a "bosom friend"; a "kindred spirit." She sparked my imagination, introduced me to the timeless poetry, romance, and beauty through which she saw her every day life, and made me laugh (and sympathize) when she suffered from mishaps or let her wild imagination run away with her. The other characters that make up the story's cast are just as colourful: sharp and serious Marilla, quiet and shy Matthew, busybody Mrs. Lynde, handsome and smart Gilbert Blythe, and elegant Diana Barry. You might even consider the orchards, fields, and shores of L. M. Montgomery's beloved Prince Edward Island a character in and of itself, with the enchanting descriptions and names that Anne and the author bestow upon them throughout the book. A true Canadian classic! 

10. The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff

Though I had read historical fiction before, this book was a great initiator in forming my love for this genre. The majority of Sutcliff's books take place in England and Scotland during the years of the Roman occupation, the Viking and Norman invasions, the English Civil War, and various conflicts in the Scottish Highlands. Sutcliff's ability to describe the landscape, and develop the characters not only made me feel as if I were there, they helped to define my appreciation and interest in the history of these countries. 
This story follows Marcus Aquila a young centurion stationed in Northern Britain to keep the Celtic tribes under control. Marcus embarks on a dangerous quest into the wilds of Caledonia (Scotland) to discover the fate of his father's legion which mysteriously disappeared years before. The themes of friendship, belonging, and perseverance that emerge throughout the story were very meaningful to my own life.

Now that I've shared with you a few of the books I read and treasured as a young girl; what books played an integral part in your childhood? 

A Walk with William Wordsworth

Poetry is considered by many as the most challenging form of writing to read and decipher; and understandably. The art refrains from using many grammatical rules, while making use of "aesthetic and rhythmic" words that often endeavour to evoke difficult emotions, thoughts, and sensations that are inexpressible in prose. The word "poem" itself derives from the Greek, poesis, meaning, "hard to measure." 

In order for a reader to fully "measure" a poem - in other words, comprehend and appreciate the depth of the verse - they must take the time to read and reread; to taste and to savor.  

One of the first steps in executing a thorough (and enjoyable) poetry analysis, is to meet the author; learn about his or her childhood, beliefs, struggles, and successes. This will in turn give dimension and context to the poem.

  
Wait! Did you say analysis!?

Yes, I know that the word "analysis" is often associated with long hours of dull, eye-straining research and endeavours to painstakingly dissect long pieces of writing, but there is another way of looking at it...

Analysis is defined as, "a method of studying the nature of something or determining its essential features and their relations," and though I cannot change the definition itself, I can hearten analyzers to do one simple thing: use their imaginations! 
Think of analyzing as a friendly, intimate walk with the poet or speaker of the poem. As you stroll along you chat candidly. They share with you their thoughts; a funny anecdote from their day, a deep question they've been struggling to answer about the mysteries of life and humanity, or maybe even a deep and painful sorrow. This is personal and meaningful. You have the opportunity to talk, ask questions, and sympathize with them, and they in turn can offer you encouragement or comfort. 
Or think of it as digging for buried treasure and finding a multifaceted diamond. As you examine it, you discover new angles by which it catches the light.
But enough with the metaphors and similes! Let's take the first step in our analyzing journey by meeting the poet... 

William Wordsworth

William was born in the scenic Lake District of England, on 7 April, 1770. He was the second oldest of five children, all of whom, sadly, did not have a strong relationship with their father due to his business excursions that kept him preoccupied and away from home for long periods of time. When his mother died in 1778, William was sent to Grammar school, while Dorothy, his younger and dearest sister, was sent to live with relatives (it would be nine years before they were reunited). These painful events were only intensified when their father died a few years later, leaving William and his siblings orphans. 
The years spent in Grammar school were difficult ones for young William, but it was there that his love for poetry began to emerge and his own hand at verse began to assert itself. 
In 1790, William set out on a walking tour of Europe, where he fell in love with the revolutionary ideologies of France and had an affair with a French girl named Annette. 
On his return to England, he lived with his sister Dorothy and began writing poetry with his close friend Samuel Taylor Coleridge (maybe you've read his poem, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner?). According to a short biography on Wordsworth, these men were pivotal in "launching the Romantic era of English literature," inventing, "a new style of poetry in which nature and the diction of the common man trumped formal, stylized language." 
It goes on to say that, 

"Even in the nineteenth century, Wordsworth felt that the world was 'too much with us' - too fast-paced, too noisy, too full of mindless entertainment. He wanted to create poetry that reunited readers with true emotions and feelings. When he wrote about a field of daffodils, he didn't want you just to think about it - he wanted you to feel those flowers, to feel the breeze against your skin and the sense of peace this sight brought to your soul."

William continued to write and travel (briefly visiting and providing for his mistress and their daughter, Caroline, in France after the Reign of Terror) before settling down and marrying a childhood friend, Mary Hutchinson, in 1802. They had five children, two of whom died in infancy.
One of William Wordsworth's greatest ambitions was to write poetry in the "common speech." In this he succeeded and continued to do until his death in 1850. He is also credited with making England's beautiful Lake District famous. He would wander throughout the "vales and hills" of the countryside he loved and compose poems. The Prelude, considered by many to be his greatest work, was published posthumously by his wife.
  

And now for the moment we've all been waiting for... the poem! (Try reading it aloud!)

I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

and twinkle on the Milky Way,

They stretch in never-ending line

along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they

Out-did the sparkling waves with glee:

A poet could not but be gay,

in such a jocund company:

I gazed - and gazed - but little thought

what wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

A Short Analysis

On the 15 April, 1802, Dorothy, William's sister, wrote in her diary,

"When we were in the woods beyond Gowbarrow Park we saw a few daffodils close to the water side... But as we went along there were more and yet more and at last under the boughs of the trees, we saw that there was a long belt of them along the shore... I never saw daffodils so beautiful... Some rested their heads upon... stones as on a pillow for weariness and the rest tossed and reeled and danced and seemed as if they verily laughed with the wind that blew upon them over the Lake, they looked so gay, ever glancing, ever changing." 

This is the memorable walk that William would immortalize in his poem. He paints such a delicate and "jocund" picture, with his sprightly end-rhymes and verbs ("fluttering," "dancing," "sparkling")! It is a poem reveling in imagery, similes (the flowers are likened to the stars) and personification ("lonely as a cloud"). 
I can imagine William standing in blissful awe amidst the daffodils, soaking in the beautiful sight in silence by Dorothy's side, and then running home and composing this poem before the fire in an impulsive fervor of artistic inspiration, while his sister leans contentedly over her open diary, the sound of her feather pen, accompanying his own. 
But it didn't happen that way. 
It would be over two years before he wrote about the event.
So the question I ask is... why? Why did he write about a simple walk that had taken place two years before?
The answer brings us to one of the poem's major themes... The beauty of memory.
In the last stanza, Wordsworth writes, "For oft when on my couch I lie/ In vacant or in pensive mood/ They flash upon that inward eye/ Which is the bliss of solitude."
We have all felt at one time or another as "lonely as a cloud." Possibly discouraged, or dismal, and distant from the world. But then suddenly we are struck by the beauty of nature, or maybe even the kindness of`a person and awakened from our brooding mood. Later as we recollect the experience it becomes a cherished memory; a beautiful gift.
Wordsworth understood this, as well as the fact that it is a gift that keeps on giving; a gift of memory and imagination; unhindered by time or place. While in a "pensive mood," he recollects the beauty of the walk taken two years before, and is encouraged. "My heart with pleasure fills," he writes, "And dances with the daffodils."
It was impossible for Wordsworth to keep this "wealth" to himself, so he penned a poem, capturing a moment in time and thus sharing this treasure of creation with all of us... even those of us living in 2015, over 200 years later!
Can you see the daffodils "flash(ing) upon (your) inward eye"?

Though Wordsworth does not acknowledge God in his poem, I cannot help but consider the fact that He is the Composer and Conductor of the daffodils in "sprightly dance." They are "tossing their heads" gleefully in worship to Him (the ultimate Poet), which makes the event all the more awe-inspiring! 

"...The mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands." Isaiah 55:12

"For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made..." Romans 1:20

Before I end this lengthy "wandering", I would encourage you to consider: 
What beautiful memories uplift your spirits or encourage your soul, and why? 

I hope that such memories bring us to look beyond the event itself and at our Lord, the Creator of "golden daffodils," and that they increase our love for Him and imbue us with a greater knowledge of His Magnificence!


Resources

"Dictionary." Dictionary.com. n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2015.

Metaxas, Eric. Amazing Grace. Harper Collins. New York, 2007. Print.

"Poet: William Wordsworth." Poets. Academy of American Poets. n.d. Web. 13 Jan. 2015.

Shmoop Editorial Team. "I Wandered Lonely As a Cloud." Shmoop. Shmoop University, Inc. Web. 13 Jan. 2015.

"William Wordsworth." Wikipedia. Wikipedia. 9 Jan. 2015. Web. 13 Jan 3015.