Path: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!4.24.21.218.MISMATCH!newsfeed2.dallas1.level3.net!news.level3.com!panix!not-for-mail
From: Tom <[email protected]>
Newsgroups: alt.arts.ballet,alt.answers,news.answers
Subject: alt.arts.ballet FAQ 2: General Questions
Followup-To: poster
Date: Mon, 2 Aug 2004 13:31:43 +0000 (UTC)
Organization: Global Flat Earth Society
Lines: 783
Approved: [email protected]
Expires: Thu, 30 Sep 2004 23:59:00 GMT
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
NNTP-Posting-Host: panix5.panix.com
X-Trace: reader1.panix.com 1091453503 2996 166.84.1.5 (2 Aug 2004 13:31:43 GMT)
X-Complaints-To: [email protected]
NNTP-Posting-Date: Mon, 2 Aug 2004 13:31:43 +0000 (UTC)
User-Agent: tin/1.4.7-20030322 ("Suggestions") (UNIX) (NetBSD/1.6.2 (i386))
Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu alt.arts.ballet:54046 alt.answers:73675 news.answers:274441

Archive-name: dance/ballet-modern-faq/part2
Posting-frequency: bimonthly
Last-modified: Jul. 21, 2002

================================
Part 2 of seven parts
================================

   Copyright (c) 1995-2004 by Thomas Parsons; all rights reserved.
   This FAQ MAY NOT be posted to any USENET newsgroup, on-line service,
   BBS, or Web page, without the written consent of the author.  This
   FAQ MAY NOT be distributed in part or in full for financial gain.  No
   portion of this FAQ may be included in commercial collections or
   compilations without express permission from the author.

================

Contents:

PART 2: GENERAL QUESTIONS ABOUT BALLET AND MODERN DANCE

   2.1. What is ballet?
   2.2. What is modern dance?
   2.3. What is a ballet class like?
   2.4. What is a barre?
   2.5. Why do dancers take so many classes?
   2.6. Why do dancers wear such funny shoes?
   2.7. Do women really dance on their toes?  Why?
   2.8. Why don't men dance on pointe?
   2.9. Why do dancers stand with their feet turned out?
   2.10. What is a tutu...and why do they call it that?
   2.11. What are all these "positions?"
   2.12. What is "placement?"
   2.13. Why all that French?
   2.14. If a female dancer is called a ballerina, what is a male dancer
          called?
   2.15. What is a "Prima Ballerina Assoluta"?
   2.16. What are: a choreographer, a regisseur, a repetiteur, a ballet
          master, and an artistic director?
   2.17. What are the most popular ballets?
   2.18. Where can I find books about dance?
   2.19. Where can I find dance-related gifts?
   2.20. Where can I find dance videos?
   2.21. Where can I find dance-related clipart?
   2.22. Where can I find recorded music for ballet?

================

2. General questions about ballet and modern dance

       The entries in this section and the next are largely for beginners
and non-dancers.  They may not all be "frequently asked" on the Net, but
they are certainly frequently asked, or wondered about, by beginners in
class or by people who go to ballet or modern dance performances.

       Note: Ballet terminology is largely French (see question 2.11), and
since the 7-bit ASCII code does not include accented characters, we are
resorting to printing the accent just before its vowel; thus assembl'e,
encha^inement, terre-`a-terre.  It looks strange, but omission of the
accents looks stranger and may sometimes lead to confusion.  (If you put
the accent after the vowel, then a plural like assemble's looks like a
possessive.)


2.1. What is ballet?

       There are many definitions; here's one of the earliest:  Ballet is
"the geometrical groupings of people dancing together, accompanied by the
varied harmony of several instruments" (Balthasar de Beaujoyeulx, writing
in 1582).  This definition omits one feature commonly associated with
ballets: they tend to tell stories.  (Beaujoyeulx's own ballet told a
story.)  On the other hand, many modern ballets--for example, many of
Balanchine's--have no explicit plot.  So we might also say, ballet is
dancing done as a theatrical performance--as an art, in fact--frequently
telling a story, and drawing on a tradition of expressive movements dating
back to Beaujoyeulx and probably earlier.

       Ballet normally consists only of dancing and music.  But a few
ballets have been choreographed for performance without music, and some
ballets have included singing or recitation.  Beaujoyeulx's ballet called
for speeches from some of the characters, and the ballets of Jean-Philippe
Rameau (1683-1764), called "ballets" on the title-pages of their scores,
are actually opera-ballets.  But normally it is expected that any story
incorporated in a ballet will be conveyed by dance and mime alone.

       An answer along different lines might be that ballet is the foun-
dation of all of Western theatrical dance.  People aspiring to be modern
dancers or to be dancers in show business are frequently advised to start
with ballet before specializing in these other forms.  Many people in the
rec.arts.dance group also report that a grounding in ballet makes you a
better ballroom dancer.


2.2. What is modern dance?

       Modern dance (sometimes just "modern" for short and also called
"contemporary" in Britain and on the Continent) is the name given to a
dance tradition that arose as a reaction to ballet.  It may have started
as a rebellion against the formalism and conventions of ballet, but it was
probably also a reaction to the sorry state of Western European ballet in
the late 19th century (see question 4.8.4).  It also arose out of a desire
to express things and feelings that were thought appropriate to the new
century, things that, it was felt, the traditional ballet vocabulary
couldn't express.  It rejected many of the conventions of ballet--turnout,
pointed feet, the stated positions, the attempt to defy gravity with leaps
and other steps of elevation, dancing on pointe, the use of ballet shoes,
and so on.

       The two styles have borrowed from each other to the point that the
lines between them are becoming blurred.  For a discussion of whether there
is or still ought to be a distinction between ballet and modern dance at
this late date, see the file modern-vs-ballet.txt or scan the archived
material in the ballet-modern directory, both in the Dancers' Archive.  Tom
Parke <[email protected]>, posting in rec.arts.dance, offered the following
definitions:

       If the dancers are attempting to prove that gravity does not exist,
           then it's ballet.
       If the dancers are attempting to demonstrate that gravity does
           exist and it's a bitch, then it's modern.
       If the dancers are attempting to demonstrate that gravity does
           exist but they'd rather die fighting it than give in to it,
           then it's jazz.


2.3. What is a ballet class like?

       A ballet class is a carefully graded sequence of exercises lasting,
typically, an hour and a half.  The work falls into three parts.  The first
part consists of stretching and warming-up exercises done with the support
of the barre (see question 2.4).  You may spend anywhere from forty minutes
to an hour at the barre.  Then you move to the center of the studio to
work without support.  The second part of class, called _adage_, consists
of slow work in which the emphasis is on sustaining positions and on
balance.  The final part of class, allegro, consists of fast work, mostly
combinations (sequences of steps) with the big jumps and turns that make
ballet such an impressive and dazzling sight.


2.4. What is a barre?

       The barre is a handrail, approximately waist-high, that dancers
use to steady themselves during the first part of a ballet class.  The
barre provides a reference point; it can be used to provide resistance,
as when you press down on it to lengthen the spine; and it is your first
partner.  "Barre" is also a shorthand term for exercises done at the barre;
dancers frequently refer to "doing a barre," for example to warm up just
before performing.


2.5. Why do dancers take so many classes?

       Because dancers must practise under supervision.  In ballet so much
depends on the movements and positions of the dancer.  A pianist, who may
also practise for several hours each day, can monitor his or her playing by
listening; but when dancing you cannot always watch yourself, mirror or no
mirror, and in any case you need constant guidance and correction from an
informed and impartial observer.  So where the pianist can practise alone
each day, the professional dancer must take daily classes.

       For the serious dancer, the first ten years are a time when intense
class is vital.  This is the time when repeated practice gets the steps
"into your muscles"--gets them into your unconscious, so you can do them
without thinking and can link them into combinations at a moment's notice.


2.6. Why do dancers wear such funny shoes?

       Do you mean ordinary ballet shoes or women's pointe shoes?
Ordinary ballet shoes are peculiar in two respects: they have no heels and
paper-thin soles, and the shoes are identical for right and left feet.
They have had no heels since the time of Camargo (about 1720), who had her
shoes made without heels so she could pass her legs from front to back more
easily and so her heels would be right on the floor and provide a more
solid impetus for jumps.  The custom of making separate shoes for left
and right feet in general is only a little more than a century old; this
innovation was somehow never picked up by the makers of ballet shoes.  The
shoes acquire left- or right-footedness through use.

       For pointe shoes, see the next question.


2.7. Do women really dance on their toes?  Why?

       Yes, in ballet they do dance literally on their toes, wearing
special reenforced shoes to help the toes bear the weight of the body.
(The technical term is the French "en pointe," usually Englished as "on
pointe."  Dancing on pointe lends an etherial, weightless appearance to
the performer.  This was part of the romantic image of Woman, and it has
persisted, in one form or another, to this day.  But pointe work also
lengthens the line of the leg, and ballet is a form that favors long
lines.

       Pointe shoes have reenforced toes to provide extra support for
dancers going on pointe.  As you can imagine, the force on the toes is
considerable; the reenforcement distributes this force over the entire tip
of the foot.  Dancers usually add padding of some sort inside the shoe to
cushion their feet further.


2.8. Why don't men dance on pointe?

       Men *do* dance on pointe, on rare occasions.  They may be
deliberately dancing women's roles, as in the Ballet Trockadero.  Some
choreographers have had men wear pointe shoes for special effects; posters
in this group have instanced Sir Frederick Ashton's _The Dream_ (based
on _A Midsummer Night's Dream_), in which a man wears pointe shoes to
represent Bottom's hooves (when he has been turned into a donkey), Mark
Morris's _Hard Nut_, (based on the _Nutcracker_), and some versions of
_Cinderella_ and of _La Fille Mal Gard'ee_.  In addition, some men also
find pointe work good for strengthening the arch of the foot.


2.9. Why do dancers stand with their feet turned out?

       For greater freedom of movement.  Many of the steps in ballet are
done with the leg extended; the kicks we associate with a chorus line are
like this.  For various reasons having to do with the structure of the hip
joint, a dancer can obtain the greatest extension if the leg is rotated
outward, away from its usual position.  This rotation means that you can
move to the side as readily as to the front or back.

       You also frequently need to change the position of the feet, from
right foot in front to left foot in front or vice versa.  One of the most
elementary jumps, called a _changement de pieds_ ("change of the feet";
_changement_ for short), consists of nothing else: jump up and land with
the other foot in front.  These changes must be made very quickly, and
again they can be done most easily if the feet are pointed in opposite
directions.

       This position of the legs is known as turnout, and it is probably
the most conspicuous aspect of balletic posture.  As this description
implies, it is mostly a practical measure, although it may be done for
appearance as well.  In the first ballets, the dancers performed in the
middle of the hall, surrounded on all sides by the audience.  When ballet
moved to the proscenium stage, in the middle of the seventeenth century,
men began to dance turned out.  This has led historians to suggest that
turnout originated because it looked better on stage.  But it may have been
because extension showed to better advantage on the stage and that dancers
turned out for the sake of greater extension.

       Turnout does not begin from the ankles.  You do not force your feet
into that position and let everything from there on up follow.  Turnout
begins at the hip joint, and it is better to be turned out imperfectly from
the hip than to strain the joints at the ankles and knees.  Indeed, few
people can turn out perfectly, with the feet pointing in exactly opposite
directions, unless they have started as children (and sometimes not even
then), and boys are not expected to be as turned out as girls are.

       If you were going to select one thing that sets ballet off from
every other kind of dancing (not a good idea, but suppose you had to) it
would probably be turnout.  Dancers sometimes say that you turn out your
entire body.  Physically, this is impossible--the ribs are firmly attached
to the breastbone, after all--but that describes the way it *feels*.  It is
most visible in the feet, but it originates from the hips, and sometimes
seems to originate from even higher than that.  There's an openness to the
dancer's whole body in ballet.

       For additional information, see the file, why-turnout-in-ballet.txt
in the Dancers' Archive.


2.10 What is a tutu...and why do they call it that?

       A tutu is a light ballet skirt.  There are two general kinds, the
"romantic" tutu, a long, bell-like skirt extending to mid-calf or below,
and the "classical" tutu, a very short, fluffy skirt that stands out almost
horizontally from the dancer's body.  Both kinds are made of many layers of
light material, typically nylon or tarlatan.  (Tarlatan is a very light,
starched, thin muslin.)

       _Tutu_ is a French word, apparently a euphemistic variant of
_cucu,_ which in turn is a baby-talk form of _cul,_ "behind."  The term is
thus a reference, not so much to a garment, as to that which the garment
covers.  This may be more understandable if Kersley and Sinclair are
correct in saying that the tutu was originally the under-skirt.  (According
to Arnold Haskell, however, the modern French term isn't _tutu_ but
_juponage._

       The romantic tutu was introduced by Marie Taglioni in the ballet,
_La Sylphide_ (1832).  The classical tutu dates, probably, from the 1880s.


2.11. What are all these "positions?"

There are positions for the arms, and the feet.  Different schools number
the arm positions differently, but the positions of the feet have been
fixed since the time of Beauchamps (Question 4.5).

       The positions of the feet are as follows:  In first position, the
heels are together.  In second position, the feet are separated so there is
a distance between the heels roughly equal to the length of a foot.  In
third position, one foot is right in front of the other, with the two feet
partly overlapping.  In fourth position, one foot is in front of the other,
but there is a space between the feet.  Fifth position is like third,
except that the overlap is complete.

       If we represent the foot by o---- (where o is the heel), and if the
feet are fully turned out, then we can sketch the positions as follows.
(How well these sketches turn out may depend on how your software handles
strings of blanks.)

       First:  ----oo----              Second: ----o    o----


       Third:      o----               Fifth:      o----
                 ----o                             ----o

                               o----
                   Fourth:

                               ----o

These are the basics, but there are some fine points.  The Cecchetti fifth
is a little less strongly crossed than a Russian fifth, and dancers make a
distinction beween a closed fourth (shown) and an open fourth.


2.12. What is "placement?"

       Placement is, roughly, alignment of the body.  Becoming properly
placed means learning to stand up straight, with hips level and even,
shoulders open but relaxed and centered over the hips, pelvis straight
(neither protruding nor tucked under), back straight, head up, weight
centered evenly between the feet.  This posture is frequently described as
"pulled up," but it is also a relaxed posture; you aren't tensed up like
a soldier standing at attention.  (A teacher once said you should imagine
that you are suspended by a thread attached to the top of your head.  This
suggests both the "pulled-up" and relaxed aspects of good ballet posture.)
And as you dance, you seek to maintain this posture except when the step
requires something different, like the slight forward arch of the spine
that accompanies an arabesque.


2.13. Why all that French?

       The first ballet school was in France, and the terminology was
crystallized there.  Nearly everything in ballet is described by a French
word or phrase.  (You even wish dancers good luck in French.  Actors wish
one another good luck before a performance by saying, "Break a leg!"
Dancers say, "_Merde!_")  The drawback of this is that you must learn the
French names for the steps and movements; but you would have to learn
*some* names in any case, and the advantage is that you can take a ballet
class anywhere in the world and, no matter how unintelligible the rest of
the talk is, the terminology will still be in French and you will
understand it.


2.14  If a female dancer is called a ballerina, what is a male dancer
          called?

       There's no satisfactory answer to this one.  Theoretically, even
though the Italian "ballerina" means simply "female dancer," only a
*principal* female dancer is supposed to be called a ballerina.  If that
restriction were universally observed, then the nearest male equivalent
would be the French premi`er danseur ("first dancer").  But in practice,
people use ballerina to refer to any female ballet dancer, and in that case
all you can say is "dancer" for the male.

       I suppose you could be pedantic and use the Italian masculine form
ballerino, but people probably wouldn't understand you and, worse, are
likely to mis-hear the word as "ballerina," which could lead to endless
confusion.


2.15. What is a "Prima Ballerina Assoluta"?

"Assoluta" is Italian for "absolute"; so if a prima ballerina is the first
(i.e., top-ranking) ballerina then a prima ballerina assoluta is absolutely
the first.

In answer to a query about how many PBA's the world has seen, Robert
Greskovic has the following historical points to add:

The title was first conferred by the Tsar during the late 19th c. for
exemplary ballerinas of the Imperial Theater's ballet troupe.  The last
of that line was the second, Mathilde Kchessinska; the first was Pierina
Legnani, Italian virtuosa extraordinaire of the Russian company.

Since then the Soviet Union that took over after the fall of the imperial
system semi-officially used to the title for one ballerina, Galina
Sergeyevna Ulanova.  So, since it was really an imperial ballet
designation, the one connected with the Soviet era might not actually count.

Britain took up the tradition in 1979 for Margot Fonteyn, who had by then
already retired from her long career as leading ballerina of London's Royal
Ballet.  Fonteyn has thus become, to date, England's only designated "Prima
Ballerina Assoluta."


So, technically there have been only two such honored ballerinas in ballet
history; three if you include the Soviet continuation of the tradition; and
four if you consider the Royal Ballet's borrowing of the title for its own.


2.16. What are: a choreographer, a regisseur, a repetiteur, a ballet
master, and an artistic director?

       A choreographer is a composer of dances.  In practice, the other
terms may be used in different ways by different companies, and their
meanings overlap.  Grant's dictionary (see the Reading List, Section 6.1.5)
defines a regisseur as a stage manager and then expands this by saying that
the regisseur is responsible for rehearsing and staging the company's
ballets.  A repetiteur is one who rehearses ballets.  A ballet master
teaches company class (the class taken regularly by the dancers in the
company) and, according to Grant, rehearses the company's ballets.  An
artistic director makes artistic policy decisions for the company--e.g.,
deciding what new ballets are to be accepted, or assembling programs for a
season.  The artistic director may also be the principal choreographer for
the company.


2.17. What are the most popular ballets?

       Estelle Souche ran an informal poll of alt.arts.ballet in March,
1995, asking people to list their six favorite ballets.  The results of
this poll may or may not be representative of the population as a whole,
but here are the ballets that got two or more votes.  Note that some
ballets, like _Romeo and Juliet,_ exist in more than one version; the
different versions had to be consolidated in tabulating the result.

       _Swan Lake_ (Petipa): 22 votes

       _Romeo and Juliet_ (MacMillan, Cranko, Van Dantzig, Smuin or
others): 17 votes

       _Giselle_ (Perrot-Coralli): 14

       _Serenade_ (Balanchine): 12

       _Don Quixote_ (Petipa): 10

       _Sleeping beauty_ (Petipa): 9
       _The Four Temperaments_ (Balanchine): 9

       _La Sylphide_ (after Taglioni or Bournonville): 5
       _Coppelia_ (after Saint-Leon): 5
       _La Bayad`ere_ (Petipa): 5
       _The Nutcracker_ (Petipa): 5
       _Green Table_ (Jooss): 5
       _Jewels_ (Balanchine): 5
       _Symphony in C_ (Balanchine): 5
       _A Midsummer Night's Dream_ (Ashton): 5

       _Les Sylphides_ (Fokine): 4
       _Concerto Barocco_ (Balanchine): 4
       _Apollo_ (Balanchine): 4
       _Push Comes to Shove_ (Tharp): 4

       _Le Corsaire_ (after Mazilier): 3
       _Agon_ (Balanchine): 3
       _Rodeo_ (Agnes De Mille): 3
       _Diversion of Angels_ (Graham): 3
       _Monotones_ (Ashton): 3
       _Le Jeune Homme et la Mort_ (Roland Petit): 3
       _Revelations_ (Ailey): 3

       _La Fille mal gard'ee_ (after Dauberval): 2
       _L'apres-midi d'un faune_ (Nijinski): 2
       _Rubies_ (Balanchine): 2
       _Who Cares?_ (Balanchine): 2
       _Stars and Stripes_ (Balanchine): 2
       _Rubies_ (Balanchine): 2
       _Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux_  (Balanchine): 2
       _Lilac Garden_ (Antony Tudor): 2
       _Acts of light_ (Graham): 2
       _Clytemnestra_ (Graham): 2
       Dance interlude in _Oklahoma_ (De Mille): 2
       _The Concert_ (Jerome Robbins): 2
       _Taming of the Shrew_ (Cranko): 2
       _Aureole_ (Taylor): 2
       _Hard Nut_ (Morris): 2
       _Gloria_ (Morris): 2
       _Da Mummy, Nyet Mummy_ (Christopher d'Amboise): 2
       _Cinderella_ (various productions): 2


2.18. Where can I find books about dance?


2.18.1. Bookstores

       Some of the larger bookstores may have special sections devoted to
dance.  For example, Barnes & Noble's main store in Manhattan (5th Ave. and
18th Street) has such a section.  Bookstores located near performing-arts
locales may offer dance books.  Otherwise, you will have to resort to
specialty stores.  Here are a few; others will be added in time.

Arts Books
  E-mail: [email protected]
  Web: http://www.arts-books.com
     An on-line dance bookstore.

The Ballet Company
  1887 Broadway
  New York, New York  10023
  (212) 246-6893
  (800) 219-7335
  Fax (212) 246-6899
     Collectibles, books, videos, apparel

Dance Books, Ltd.
  http://www.antiquarian.com/dancebooks/
     An on-line dance bookstore.

The Dance Mart (books and memorabilia)
  Box 994
  Teaneck, N. J.  07666
  (Send them a large stamped envelope and they will send you a catalog.)

Golden Legend, Inc.
  (Member Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America)
  7615 Sunset Boulevard
  Los Angeles, Calif.  90046
  (323) 850-5520
  Fax (323) 850-1524
  e-mail [email protected]

JB Muns
  Fine Arts Books
  1162 Shattuck Ave
  Berkeley, Calif.  94707
  Dance/Music Catalogue #156

Original Music (books and videos, mostly non-Western and "ethnic")
  418 Lasher Road
  Tivoli, N. Y. 12583
  Phone 914-756-2767
  Fax: 914-756-2027
  E-mail [email protected]

Pages - Books of the Dance
  16 Dakin Avenue, Mount Kisco NY 10549
  914-666-8281
  E-mail [email protected]
  Antiquarian book dealers specializing in ballet.

Princeton Books
  POB 57
  Pennington, New Jersey  08534
  (800) 326-7149
  http://www.dancehorizons.com


2.18.2. Libraries

       Among libraries, the best known collection in the United States is
the Dance Collection of the New York Public Library, located at Lincoln
Center.  They have an on-line catalog; to access it,
           telnet nyplgate.nypl.org
and respond to the login prompt with
           nypl
At this writing (Mar., 1996), the on-line catalog is accessible only during
the hours when the library itself is open.

For people on AOL who want to reach the New York Public Library catalog,
Amy Reusch gives this advice:
       Go to Dance Links   (http://www.dancer.com/dance-links/)
       Select Miscellaneous Resources
       Somewhere on the Miscellaneous Resources page (I think under
       "Research"), there's a link to the Dance Collection.  When the
       computer asks you for a log-in, enter
           nypl

       In Washington, D. C., the George Washington University has a Dance
Archive.  For an informational brochure, contact
       Cheryl A. Chouiniere                    Phone:  (202) 994-7549
       Manuscripts Librarian                   Fax:  (202) 994-1340
       The Gelman Library
       The George Washington University        Bitnet:  indmss@gwuvm
       2130 H Street, NW                       Internet:
       Washington, D. C.  20052                    [email protected]



2.19. Where can I find dance-related gifts?

       I know of the following places:

The Ballet Company
  1887 Broadway
  New York, New York  10023
  (212) 246-6893
  Fax (212) 246-6899
     Collectibles, books, videos, apparel

Dance, Etc.
  P. O. Box 724
  Brainerd, Minn.  56401
  (800) 762-3347
  (218) 829-7618
     T-shirts, trinkets, charms, some dancewear

Dance Xtras Store
  <A HREF="www.dancextrastore.com"> www.dancextrastore.com</A>
     An on-line store; gifts, books, videos, stationery, jewelry,
     posters, etc.

Dance Stuff
  135 Lansdowne Court
  Lansdowne, Penn.  19050
  (800) 377-7571
  [email protected]
     T-shirts, posters, figurines, etc.  State whether you're
     school, store, or private individual.

Steve O'Connell Fine Arts
  248 Canterbury Way
  Stevenage, Herts SG1 4DW
  England
  Tel/Fax +44 (0) 1438 367208

Two other sources for posters:

  Triton Gallery, 323 W 45th Street, New York--Phone (212) 765-2472--has
  very large collection of show posters for sale.  I'll bet they have the
  type of posters you are looking for, as well.  --Joel Levine

  Go to the NYCB website.  They sell posters at their gift shop
  (hypertext), including autographed ones.  --Jean Fitzpatrick


2.20. Where can I find dance videos?

       There are two lists put out by the Dance Films Association back in
1986:
       - Modern Dance & Ballet On Film & Video: A Catalog
           ISBN 0-317-41588-3
       - Dance Film and Video Guide
           ISBN 0-87127-171-0

       There are also the following sources.  (Most of this list
contributed by Sandi Kurtz.  Annotations are hers except as noted.)

The Ballet Company
  1887 Broadway
  New York, New York  10023
  (212) 246-6893
  Fax (212) 246-6899
     Collectibles, books, videos, apparel

Corinth Video
  34 Gansevoort Street
  New York N. Y.  10014-1597
  (800) 221-4720
They send out a quarterly newsletter and four-page price list with
approximately 150 ballet tapes and several hundred other tapes of Opera,
Film Classics, and Theater.  (Bob D. Peterson)

Dance Films Association
   (212) 727-0764
   Fax (212) 675-9657.
   Web: www.virtualscape.com/dance_films

Lisa Harris
   2319 N. 45th St. #207
   Seattle WA 98103
   Web: http://www.eskimo.com/~lisa/
Ballet CDs: wholesale and retail

Home Vision
   POB 800
   Concord, Mass.  01742
   (800) 262-8600
Some PBS.

Kultur
   121 Highway 36
   West Long Branch, New Jersey  07764
   (800) 4KULTUR
   (201) 229-2343
   [email protected]
   www.kulturvideo.com
Relationship with the Bolshoi, large lists of Bolshoi rep, mostly ballet.

M.A.D. Degrees Productions
   P. O. Box 2945
   Beverly Hills, Calif.  90213
   (800) 326-4997
   http://www.dance90210.com/catalog.html

New York City Ballet Gift Shop
   New York State theater
   20 Lincoln Center
   New York, New York  10023
   (212) 870-4232
   fax: (212) 870-5693
   e-mail: [email protected]
   web: http://www.nycballet.com/

Princeton Books
   POB 57
   Pennington, New Jersey  08534
   (800) 326-7149
One of the best modern dance lists as well as ballet.

TMS Home Page/Video Catalogue
   http://www.totalmarketing.com/
   Danczarina writes, "They have an extensive Dance section, and provide
   quite a bit of detail about each selection.  (They strike me as being
   to video what Amazon.com is to books.)"

Unlimited Dance Files (Florida)
   PO Box 160335
   Miami, Fla  33116-0335
   (800) 430-4297

Video Artists International
   POB 153, Ansonia Station
   New York, N. Y.  10023
   (800) 338-2566

View Video
   34 E 23rd Street
   New York, N. Y.  10010
   (212) 674-5550


       There is also a ballet CD-ROM available; this shows the execution
of hundreds of ballet steps, with information on correct execution and even
a guide to pronunciation.  It also contains a brief history of ballet and
interviews with a number of professional ballet dancers.  The CD-ROM, which
is available in both Macintosh and Windows versions, is obtainable from

   Performing Arts Video, Inc.
   Ballet CD-ROM
   P. O. Box 193121
   San Francisco, Calif.  94119-3121
   (800) 600-6568
   http://www.pav.org/ballet.htm

At this writing (February, 1997), the price is $49.95 plus $5 for shipping.


2.21. Where can I find dance-related clipart?

       [email protected] writes, "You can download ballet clipart at no
charge from a website at:  www.danceart.com.  They will also take your
photo and computerize it into clipart, also at no charge, which you can
then use for newsletters, personal stationery, etc.  It's pretty cool."

       And bluesy <[email protected]> writes, "I have some nice ballet
clipart for anyone to download.  Check it out!"
http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/Strasse/9676/ballet.html

       Rocio C. Barraza Rivacoba offers free ballet and dance clipart at
Danza Dance Gallery,
http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/1854/dndngall.html


2.22. Where can I find recorded music for ballet?

       If you're looking for pieces for performances (i.e., things like
"Swan Lake" or "Petrouchka," any well-stocked store that carried fine music
should have these.  The only problem is when the music has been adapted
from some other source--for example, Tudor's "Lilac Garden."  You will have
to look in a reference book to find that this was choreographed to
Chausson's Poeme for Cello & Orchestra.

       If you're looking for recordings for class, the search is usually
harder, because these recordings are not generally stocked.  One
possibility:

The Ballet Company
  1887 Broadway
  New York, New York  10023
  (212) 246-6893
  Fax (212) 246-6899

There is also a listing of music for dance class websites in Dance Links'
Miscellaneous Resources section:
http://www.dancer.com/dance-links/misc.htm

================================
Continued in Part 3....
================================


--
--
[email protected]             |  It's easier to apologize afterwards than
                         |   getting something allowed in the first place.
http://www.panix.com/~twp |             --Clifford Stoll

You are viewing proxied material from ftp.icm.edu.pl. The copyright of proxied material belongs to its original authors. Any comments or complaints in relation to proxied material should be directed to the original authors of the content concerned. Please see the disclaimer for more details.