Ballet information?

Question

I'm currently writing a story about a male ballet dancer, and I need detailed information on techniques, warm-ups, choreography, repertoire, etc. Anything that is specific about danseurs.
NEwayz...

Answer 1

I'm sure you can get lots and lots of details from reading the postings on "The Men's Forum" that is part of "Ballet Talk for Dancers": http://dancers.invisionzone.com/index.php?

Answer 2

I danced for some years and enjoyed it very much. However, there isn't EVEN time or space to really go into that here. Diana D's recommendations are excellent. Let me add to her list a movie that isn't about a male ballet dancer, but rather a modern jazz dancer/choreographer - and it shows a LOT of the same basic elements ballet dancers also experience. It's "All That Jazz" with Bob Fosse. It's also really entertaining.

Just one more note - pay attention to the constant training and classes all professional ballet dancers must take ... and the things that dancers fear and suffer ....

Answer 3

Look for a dance studio in your area that has a teacher who has a Bachelor or Masters degree in dance. Tell them what you need and ask them to sit with you and answer some questions. That I think would be a great way to find out. Plus the teacher may let you watch the dancers as they warm up and do techniques and routines so you can better understand what it's all about.

Answer 4

www.artoballet.com is really good stuff about ballet. I have been a dancer for a long time, and most of the ballet moves in french, so if you see anything that looks hard to pronounce, try finding something or someone to say it for you.

Answer 5

Here are a few books for you to read:

PRODIGAL SON by Edward Villella (very famous male dancer)

ERIK BRUHN by John Gruen (very famous male dancer)

Read about Alvin Ailey, George Balanchine, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Maurice Bejart, Jacques D'Ambroise, Rudolf Nureyev, or Waslaw Nijinsky.

There is also a book called A MALE DANCER but I don't remember who wrote it.

Answer 6

okay heres what i would do i would call the nearst dance studio and explain to them that i am doin a paper on a male dancer and that i was wondering if sometime soon i could come into the studio and watch a class. and if the owner said no i would ask if there was any websites in which i could get any info from if then they say no go on your fave search site and chek it out,
Dancecrazed

Answer 7

Your local library will have plenty of books--start reading. And perhaps take some classes as well so you can understand first hand what a dancer experiences. A book can't totally describe that.

Answer 8

Go to a dance studio and take a ballet class jeeeeeeeez!

Answer 9

This site has videos of ballet steps: http://www.abt.org/education/dictionary/index.html

Ballet class usually begins with plies, then tendue, jetes/degages, fondue, frappe, developes, then grand battements. The idea is to warm up the body before doing big movements.

Repitoire is also found: http://www.abt.org/education/library.asp

Answer 10

ok ballet is tremendous yet you may want to do tap and jazz to! those are my admired nicely you most likely wont get calluses because youll be in a newbie classification and they wont artwork you that problematic yet when/once you get on pointe...whew youll get calluses, yet calluses are good they "preserve" your ft style of make your ft stronger in a way calluses are area of ballet and they are good!!!! pointe is truly painful... yet very relaxing and valuable... with any success youll stay in ballet lengthy adequate to bypass on pointe... dedicate! hair in bun, purple tights some studios enable you position on black, black leotard...i like dancing!