Whether you want to participate in ballet or just watch it, the ballet experience can excite and inspire you. Ballet is among the most beautiful forms of expression ever devised: an exquisite mix of sight and sound, stunning, aesthetics, and awesome technique.
Ballet For Dummies is for anyone who wants to enjoy all that the dance forms offers – as an onlooker who wants to get a leg up on the forms you’re likely to see or as an exercise enthusiast who understands that the practice of ballet can help you gain:
* More strength
* Greater flexibility
* Better body alignment
* Confidence in movement
* Comfort through stress reduction
* Infinite grace – for life
From covering the basics of classical ballet to sharing safe and sensible ways to try your hand (and toes) at moving through the actual dance steps, this expert reference shows you how to:
* Build your appreciation for ballet from the ground up.
* Choose the best practice space and equipment.
* Warm up to your leap into the movements.
* Locate musical options for each exercise.
* Look for certain lifts in a stage performance.
* Tell a story with gestures.
* Picture a day in the life of a professional ballet dancer.
* Identify best-loved classic and contemporary ballets.
* Speak the language of ballet.
Today you can find a ballet company in almost every major city on earth. Many companies have their own ballet schools – some for training future professionals, and others for interested amateurs. As you fine-tune your classical ballet technique – or even if you just like to read about it – you’ll become better equipped to fully appreciate the great choreography and many styles of the dance. Ballet For Dummies raises the curtain on a world of beauty, grace, poise, and possibility!
P.S. If you think this book seems familiar, you’re probably right. The Dummies team updated the cover and design to give the book a fresh feel, but the content is the same as the previous release of Ballet For Dummies (9780764525681).
Table of Content
Introduction 1
Part 1: Ballet Dancing from the Top 7
Chapter 1: Curtain Up! Welcome to the Ballet 9
Chapter 2: Stocking the Tools of the Trade 17
Chapter 3: Getting Toasty: Warming Up Your Body 31
Chapter 4: Leaping into Ballet Basics 47
Chapter 5: Music, Maestro! 63
Part 2: Belly Up to the Barre 73
Chapter 6: Basic Barre-Tending 75
Chapter 7: Stepping It Up at the Barre 97
Chapter 8: Getting a Leg Up 115
Part 3: Center Floor, Anyone? 137
Chapter 9: Getting to Center Floor 139
Chapter 10: Ballet’s Tasmanian Devil: The Pirouette 155
Chapter 11: Linking It Together: The Steps Between the Steps 173
Chapter 12: Ground Control to Ballet Dancer 187
Chapter 13: Getting More Air Time 205
Part 4: Living the Ballet Life 219
Chapter 14: Partners Aren’t Just for Square Dancing 221
Chapter 15: Exploring Choreography 235
Chapter 16: What the Heck Are They Saying? The Art of Ballet Mime 249
Chapter 17: Watching Ballet in Action 267
Part 5: The Part of Tens 281
Chapter 18: The Ten Most Commonly Used Ballet Steps 283
Chapter 19: Ten Best-Loved Classical Ballets 287
Chapter 20: Ten Great ‘Contemporary’ Ballets 295
Chapter 21: The Ten Best Ballet Terms for Cocktail Parties 303
Chapter 22: Ten Fascinating Facts about Professional Ballet Dancers 307
Glossary of Ballet Terms 315
Index 323
About the author
Scott Speck has conducted hundreds of ballet performances throughout the United States and Europe. He is Music Director of the Joffrey Ballet, Artistic Director of the Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra, and former Conductor of the San Francisco Ballet. Evelyn Cisneros danced for the San Francisco Ballet for 23 years and is the Artistic Director of the National Dance Institute of New Mexico in Albuquerque.
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