How can you differentiated ballet from modern dance?
Answers
Answer:
Many choreographers present and past have crossed the line between modern and classical ballet in the modes of expression and creation, so this is not an easy question to answer.
Generally speaking in history, classical ballet has women in pointe shoes and the men perform in soft ballet slippers. The style of dance has connections with the courts in Italy and France in the 16th and 17th centuries, and generally had a very aristocractic bearing and courtly gestures. There was a manner of graciousness, and when the pointe shoes made its appearance later on, the quality of lightness was also sought after. The long tutus became shortened as romantic ballets developed into classical works.
By the early 20th century there were individuals who wanted to liberate themselves from the stricter formats of ballet- the corsetted costumes and the aristocratic connotations. So corsets were removed, and the feet were free of shoes. A type of more liberated dancing was experimented with, and even ballet created revolutions in theaters by its connection with earthier movements, the lack of turned-out legs and feet, and more aggressive dramatic and music themes.
This diversity became the predecessor for different modalities of modern dance. After WWll, the division became even more delineated with modern dance companies and schools forming… especially in the US, England and Germany. But even classical ballet borrowed themes from folk dances and contemporary styles, so a question of “what is pure ballet?” would receive many different answers!
If generalisations were allowed, I would say that if a dance piece contains, pointe shoes and tutus on the women, soft ballet shoes on the men in tights, turned-out legs, pointed feet, mostly upright bodies, and set choreographed movements to a classically based music, then I would probably consider it a classical work. Generally facial projections would be fairly high and audience recognition allowed.
If dancers are barefoot, have more grounded movements (including those where the body is horizontal to or on the floor), there may be moments of improvisation allowed and the upper body is more involved in the initiation of movement, the it
is most likely a modern dance work.
Having said this, I can think of exceptions to every point I have made….. many choreographers who fall between the cracks. They might use a ballet base with modern /contemporary dynamics, or use a classical ballet form, but exaggerrate it to create a post classical style, or use classically trained dancers in a work that uses both modern and classical techniques, or combine modern dancers with ballet dancers in the same work.
Explanation:
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