Dance

By: Jenna Mellor

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Dance is an art form that involves movement of

the body. It is not possible to say when this form

of art originated; however, it started thousands

of years ago. Dance may be participatory, social,

preformed, ceremonial, or competitive. It is an

important part of ceremonies, rituals,

celebrations, and entertainment. Choreography

may be preformed solo, with a partner, or with a

group; either way, each dance tells a story.

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There are many styles of dance that fill up my

week to a great extent. Altogether, I dance

around 14 to 15 hours per week. The types of

dance that I do are ballet, pointe, character,

jazz, lyrical, and musical theatre. Each style is

different in its own, unique way; this is why I

love it so much.

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Ballet was discovered in the late 15th century.

Ballet involves a lot of technique, elegance, and

grace. In order to be able to reach a high extent

in this form of dance, you need to have an

immense amount of strength; mainly in your

upper body. Every move in ballet has a French

name such as saute, échappé, relevé, pirouette,

and many more.

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There are three different types of ballet including Classical, Neoclassical, and Contemporary. Classical involves high technique, everything turned out, feet must be pointed when lifted off the floor, and when your leg isn’t bent, it is completely stretched. Also, posture, alignment, and placement are required. Neoclassical ballet is less rigid than Classical. There are more extreme tempos and technicality. As well, spacing is more modern and complex. Contemporary is influenced by Classical and Modern ballet. It involves floor work and turned in legs. Sometimes it is danced in pointe shoes.

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En pointe means “on the tip of the toes”. This means

that pointe dancers are dancing on the tip of their

toes for extended periods of time. It is a part of

Classical ballet and the end result is to look

weightless. Even though men are capable of dancing

En pointe, it is more commonly preformed by women.

Dancing this style requires strength in the foot,

ankle, knee, and abdomen. To dance En pointe, you

should probably be twelve years old because starting

any age younger may result in injuries due to

continuous bone growth in the foot.

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Character is a subdivision of Classical ballet. It

uses movements and music that have been

altered for theatre. Hungarian, Russian, Polish,

Italian, and Spanish are all different forms of

Character. This form of dance is preformed in

black or tan coloured shoes with a suede hole

and small heel.

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Jazz is a fun, upbeat, and energetic form of

dance. It shows a dancer’s style and originality.

Jazz consists of unique moves, complicated

footwork, and big jumps and turns. In order to

excel in jazz, it helps to have a strong

background in ballet. To dance this style, you

need to have strength and flexibility. Some basic

moves is jazz are chaines (shenays), piques

(peekays), pirouettes (peerowets), jetes

(jetays), and turning jumps.

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Lyrical means having an expressive and musical

quality; expressing spontaneous and direct

feeling; expressing deep, personal emotions or

observations. Lyrical includes technique from

ballet, contemporary, and jazz. This style of

dance is expressive and it conveys musicality

and emotion through movement. The

choreography is very dramatic, each move is

connected to another and is continuous and

flows well.

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Musical theatre is a combination of music, songs,

dialogue, and dance. Each musical creates a

story. This form of dance is very fun, energetic,

and there are catchy songs within each dance.

Musical theatre is a mode of dramatic art.

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In conclusion, I love preforming dance for so many reasons. It has provided me with the elegance, grace, flexibility, and strength. Also, it has improved my level of fitness immensely. I have progressed to a great extent due to the value of my teachers and my dance school; Vanleena. Towards the end of each year, I get to compete against other dance schools. As well, I get to preform in various festivals. All in all, I love to dance so much and I cannot imagine my life without it.

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*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballet#History

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/En_pointe

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Character_dance

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz_dance

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyrical_dance

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_theatre

*http://www.dance.about.com/od/typesofdanc

e/p/Jazz.htm

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*SYTYCD picture by ? @ http://www.entertainmentwallpaper.com/download/20017139/

*Ballerina by ? @ http://www.lubbockarts.org/ballet.htm

*Lyrical dancer by ? @ http://www.nsad.ca/nsad-programs.html

*Lyrical dancer #2 by ? @http://www.straubdance.com/classes.htm

*Jazz dancer by ? @ http://www.shop4it.biz/s~q-professional_jazz_dancer.aspx

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*Ballet shoes by ? @ http://www.shop4it.biz/s~q-ballet_shoes.aspx

*Pointe shoes by ? @ http://thedanceconsultancy.com/en-pointe-dance-and-choreography-blog/bid/35226/Welcome-to-En-Pointe-the-Blog-of-The-Dance-Consultancy

*Character shoes by ? @ http://www.bridalshoesuk.co.uk/acatalog/Tap_and_Character_Shoes.html

*Music note by ? @ http://www.birthdayinabox.com/party-supplies/productdetail.asp?prodsku=11660