Dance
By: Student
My Opinion on Dance
I think that dance can benefit you in many ways. It has benefits in fitness,
social health, and mental health. I really enjoy dance. I am very involved in
dance. I do ballet (I’m also on pointe shoes), modern, and tap. I have done one
year of jazz and hip-hop. Dance is a fun way to get exercise. I love all the styles
of dance. Many people think that ballet is boring. Ballet can be considered
boring because it is danced to slow music with no words (usually). I personally
think that ballet is my favorite style of dance. You have to have good balance.
You also need to point your toes ALL THE TIME. Whenever your foot leaves the
floor it should be pointed. Those are very strict rules that you need for ballet.
Ballet is very enjoyable for me because some moves are very hard but make that
dancer look very delicate and soft. That is what is really beautiful about ballet.
Dancing is a great way to be active and have fun at the same time. Dancing can
be very beautiful.
Ballet
Ballet can be used in many different styles of dance.
Ballet teaches the basic techniques of dance. In ballet,
there is two different types of shoes that you may use. The
first is the basic ballet shoe. The second is a pointe shoe.
Pointe shoes are for ballet dancers that are more
experienced in ballet. Usually you have to have at least 23 years of ballet technique to go up on pointe shoes.
However, your bones in your foot need to be done growing
or almost completely done growing. The age most ballet
dancers start on pointe shoes is around 12-14 years old.
History of Ballet
Ballet began to be seen in Italy in the 1400’s. This was
during the Renaissance. Dukes would have fancy
entertainments which included dance performances.
These dancers in the performances were not professionals.
The dancers were noblemen and noblewomen of a dukes
court. They danced to please their ruler and to stir the
pleasure of his rivals.
Pointe Shoes
● The tip of the shoe is dense layers of fabrics, cardboard and/or paper
hardened by glue
● Pointe shoes require the dancer to balance their entire weight on the small
platform
● Pointe shoes create an illusion of lightness and create a feeling of floating on
air
● You need to always break in your pointe shoes before dancing in them for the
first time
● Pointe shoes may not last very long, this depends on the level of the dancing
Famous Ballet Dancers
Misty Copeland: She was the third African American female soloist at the
American Ballet Theatre in 2007.
Yuan Yuan Tan: She is currently a dancer with the company San Francisco
Ballet. She was the youngest principal in the company’s history and the first
Chinese dancer to be promoted to that level.
Shannon Harkins: She was only 13 years old when she was the only African
American at the Washington School of Ballet in level 7. (the highest
professional level)
Kayla Rowser: She is a company dancer at the Nashville Ballet. She has
spoken about diversity in dance.
Desmond Richardson: He is the co-founder and co-artistic director of
Complextions Contemporary Ballet.
Jazz
This style of dance is very fun. Jazz dancing
relies on improvisation and being original. Jazz
can include many different style depending on
the dancers expression. Jazz includes many
bold and dramatic moves.
History of Jazz
Jazz is thought of an American creation, but
it was originally started from African Americans
in the 1800’s. Many of the moves in jazz
were created by slaves for physical and
emotional activity. Slave traders allowed them
to dance during their journey to America to
keep them physically fit.
Famous Jazz Dancers
Jack Cole: He was considered The Father of Jazz Dance Technique and The
Father of Theatre Dance. He was the first dancer to combine the popular jazz steps
of time, aspects of modern dance and ethnic influences, creating artistic and
technical jazz dance.
Lester Horton: He developed his own unique style of dance choreography and
dance.
Katherine Dunham: She is known as the Matriarch of Black Dance. She founded
the the first major black dance company in America.
Mia Michaels: She began dancing at the age of three. She is a choreographer for
film and stage. Also, she is a judge on So You Think You Can Dance.
Graciela Daniele: She has worked with Bob Fosse, Agnes de Mille, and Michael
Bennet. In 1980 she became a choreographer.
Tap Dance
Tap dancers use their feet like drums to create
patterns and beats. Tap dancers usually rely on the
melody of songs rather than the beat of songs. In
tap, you need to have special shoes to perform tap
dancing. Tap dancing involves rapid foot
movements put together with rhythmic sounds
created with tap shoes. This is very different from
many of the other dance styles.
History of Tap
Before the leather shoes with metal taps people had to
tap with leather-soled or wooden-soled shoes. This style of
dance originated from African American slaves. They put
together African dance moves with British clogging and
Irish step dancing. Performances were started when
groups of people gathered for social arrangements. Some
strong dancers can can even make sounds with their bare
feet.
Tap Shoes
● In Tap dance, you need special shoes called tap shoes
● Tap shoes can be flat or with a small heel
○ This is choosen by how the dancers feels in the shoe
● These shoes are typically black and leather
● Tap shoes have metal taps on the ball of the foot and the heel of
the foot
Famous Tap Dancers
Gregory Oliver Hines: He started tap dancing in New York as a young boy.
He won a Tony Award for his tap dancing.
Savion Glover: He was nominated for a Tony Award when he was only twelve
years old. He has choreographed for two movies, Bring in Da Noise and Bring
in Da Funk.
Sandman Sims: He became well-known for his “sand dancing” which included
tap dancing in a sandbox. He used to travel around the nation, challenging
competitive tap dancers, and rarely lost a dance off.
Bill “Bonjangles” Robinson: He was in many theatre productions. He is
known for reigniting the tap craze in the 20th century.
Hip-hop
This form of dance is usually danced to hiphop music. Hip-hop has many different moves,
such as: breaking, popping, locking and
krumping, and even house dance.
Improvisation and your own interpretation is
very important to hip-hop dancing. Hip-hop has
existed long before rap music, or even rapping.
History of Hip-hop
Hip-hop has been thought to have started in
New York City in the late 1960’s and the early
1970’s. People without professional dancing
would bring their dancing to the streets. The
moves in hip-hop were inspired by the complex
rhythms and down-to-earth movement of style
of African dancing.
Famous Hip-hop Dancers
Ciara: She is known for her hip-hop and pop infused style of music
and dance. She won the Best Dance Performance at the 2010 Soul
Train Music Awards.
Les Twins: The Les Twins are identical brothers. They are known
internationally for their new style hip-hop talents.
Shane Sparks: He has been on So You Think You Can Dance and
America’s Best Dance Crew. He is a world renowned hip-hop dancer
and choreographer.
Beyonce: She is one of the most powerful female vocalists and
dancers of modern times. She was first a part of Destiny’s Child then
went on to a solo career.
Modern
This style of dance goes against many rules
of ballet. Instead of concentrating on
technique, like in many other styles of dance,
you focus on expression and your feelings.
This is a newer style of dance being created in
the 20th century.
History of Modern Dancing
Modern dance was created from a rebellion.
People were going against the strict rules of ballet.
The first two well-known American dancers to
break away from classical ballet were Isadora
Duncan and Ruth St. Denis. People that danced
this style of dance wanted to be thought more of
as an artists rather than an entertainer.
Famous Modern Dancers
Martha Graham: She started her own company called the Martha
Graham Dance Company.
Mary Wigman: She called her own style dark and expressive. She
brought her own emotions and experiences into her dancing.
Twyla Tharp: Today, she is a choreographer in New York City. She
has won many awards and honorary degrees from several schools.
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