Ballet Dance Wear

Another shift to another area of the performing arts as they are and how they might apply to the costuming business.  The theme for the next two weeks or so will be about ballet and ballet dance wear.

There is an enormous amount of information in print, on DVD and via ebooks, about ballet positions, ballet movements and ballet techniques. Although, the era was marked by few of the greatest ballet performances, like the Romeo and Juliet by Prokofiev and Lavrovsky, the Flames of Paris-the ballet version of the Pushkin poem, The Fountain of Bakhchisarai-composed by Boris Asafiev and choreographed by Rostislav Zakharov, and the Cinderella by Prokofiev. This is the reason why today George Balanchine is known as the father of neoclassical ballet. If you’re a beginner, you’ll need a pair of soft ballet shoes which are available in leather, canvas or satin. Leather is slightly more expensive but recommended by most dancers due to the fact that it is harder wearing that satin or canvas. The dance leotard is an equally important element of your ballet dance costume.

Full sole ballet shoes have a sole which covers the length of the shoe from the ball of the foot to the heel to offer the required support for beginners. A split sole on the other hand has a break in the middle and is used by more advanced dancers who require greater flexibility of the foot. It also accentuates the dancer’s physique and the architecture of their movement which is highly important for ballet, as well as many other styles of dance. The ballet tutu is the most recognisable and iconic of all types of dance costume.

The most iconic is the pancake shaped Classical Tutu which is made of very short stiff layers of netting that extend straight out from the hips in a pancake shape. A second type of Classical Tutu is bell shaped and has a short, stiff skirt made with layers of netting with a slight bell shape. Going even earlier in ballet history, there are excellent drawings of ballet stars, ballet classes, and ballet masters.

Ballet photography goes way back to the late 19th century and has preserved precious images of early ballerinas and premier danseurs. It’s fantastic that now we can view productions from ballet companies all around the world on DVD. For ballet fans who are not in a major city that is visited regularly by ballet companies, this is especially handy. But between classes there is opportunity to understand class lessons better, or study to figure out why certain ballet positions or movements may be difficult.

The Cecchetti method of ballet, the Royal Academy of Dancing and the Vaganova method are the three best known methods of teaching ballet. Most major full time professional ballet schools combine these styles, not necessarily by using all three grading systems, but by employing staff and guest teachers who have a well rounded training themselves. The Auguste Bournonville choreographic tradition shows up a lot in the Cecchetti grades, as just one example of how classical choreography has become embedded in training.

If you are training to dance simply for your own enjoyment, you may or may not like the pressure of ballet exams – yet, it is part of the discipline in most schools. If you are taking ballet for weight loss and you are on the right diet, you won’t be disappointed. Dance injuries are usually the result of sloppy technique or too much muscle tension. Work as accurately as you can, and if you are having trouble with a ballet position or movement, do not be shy.

For one thing, repeatedly practicing a ballet movement incorrectly will lead to increased muscle tension. If you are a curious student and want to know the ins and outs of the mechanics of ballet movements, and what would be anatomically correct, get one of the ballet books written on functional anatomy. Not everything in ballet is anatomically correct, and details about that is good for you to know. You will find that the male ballet costume will consist of a pair of ballet tights or a full unitard, these are usually made of Lycra. This part of the costume is easy to change, and you will find this is the one piece of the costume that changes the most through the dance recital.

You will find that even the famous dance shows, like the nutcracker, will make use of this sort of costume. This has been the tradition from when the male dancer first started doing ballet, and it does not seem to be changing anytime soon. The female costume has been around for longer than the male version, and it has not changed much since. If you are looking for a men’s ballet costume for your show you may want to look at dance recital costumes from Capezio or Bloch.