Ballet Under the Stars

On Friday the tenth I went to see the Ballet Under the Stars with my mom and cousin. The drive to Murray was a little long, but I think the experience was well worth it. I had never really seen a ballet except for on television, so I wasn't really quite sure what to expect. I've always equated it with the upper crust and fancy dresses in a beautifully constructed theatre.

On with the description. The genre and 'object' were ballet and dance. I think that it really represents the hard work of each of the performers. The ballet wasn't one great ballet like The Nutcracker, or Cinderella, but a bunch of little performances or a montage. Actually, one of my favorite dances was called the carnival scene for "The Red Shoes," so I think that I would really enjoy a full ballet. I kind of reminded me of the Romeo and Juliet they did on So You Think You Can Dance. Not in story, but in the way the different participants had to act out there roles, without saying anything, but merely with there feet. That is one of the limitations of dance. There really isn't anyway the dancers can communicate other than with their body language and facial expressions, which really are quite loquacious as is stated in The Little Mermaid and proved in Lie to Me. There are many types of medium in dance. One is the dancer himself. The human body can be made to do amazing things, which is quite evident in ballet. I have to admit that I could never do a lot of the things the dancers did. It requires a great deal of flexibility and coordination, as well as a good memory. When I took dance as a little kid I had to look at the other dancers to know what step was next in our dances, even when we got to preforming time. Some other mediums are the costumes, sets and make-up. It's a little weird, but I decided that the best hairstyle for male ballerinas is floppy hair, like that of Demetri on Anastasia. Okay, that's a lot a bit weird, but it all plays into the general performance. Another thing that pretty much confuses me is the ballet shoe. At times in the ballet yesterday I thought their shoes would just fall right off. It's sort of like wearing flippers, but with a big block of would instead of thin plastic sticking straight out of the toe. the thin ribbon just doesn't seem like it should be able to hold the shoe on. Sometimes the tapping of the wood on the stage was a little distracting, but it was really pretty amazing that the dancers were so quiet generally. The costumes for ballerinas really enhance the art as well. Judging by the definitions in their calves and backs, I think that some of the lady ballerinas would have an easier time lifting their make counterparts than they did lifting them.

I think that one of the most important parts of ballet is line. At some parts they have to be so fluid, while others it is imperative that they be straight. The dancers have to have incredible posture, but they also have to be able to bend backwards and forwards to great degree. I'm not an expert on ballet, but I think that sometimes some of the dancers could have extended a little bit more so that their movements didn't seem halted too soon. Another really important part is space. They did a really good job of using all of the space available to them on the stage. During solos they leaped and twirled across even at times stepping over the mat they had set out. They were very organized when their was a group dancing and their formations were generally symmetrical so that the eye wasn't drawn to any one dancer, unless she was in the center and doing different sorts of movements than the others were.

As far as interpretation, there were so many dances that I'm not going to interpret each of them, but instead I will choose my favorite. The set on the stage was like a carnival with booths and balloons. There were two main characters and everybody wore masks. I interpreted the whole dance as a chance meeting between a commoner and royalty that was hesitant at first, but ended in love which at the very end was lost. The reason it was called The Red Shoes is that the common girl was given the shoes by the royal gent and they made her dance better. She was at first embarrassed to dance but slowly became more comfortable. This particular dance was manic. I think the meaning was made known at first by the facial expressions, and then by the body motions because masks were donned.

It was a very interesting night. I think that the performers were trying to educate the people there and expose them to culture. They did a really good job of that and there were quite a few people in attendance. It was unified by the fact that each of the dances were done in the ballet genre, but there was variety among the performers and the separate performances. It stories were clear, but the movements the dancers used to express them were quite complex. I would definitely be interested in attending another ballet.