Ballet
... during the Renaissance that society started to focus on the individual rather than the whole. As a result, it was during this time that the male and female dancers became an "ideal" man and woman, as they are today. After about 1735 England started paying a lot more attention to ballet. As Ballet entered the nineteenth century, it entered a transitional phase, the pre-romantic phase. During the pre-romantic era, male dancers reached their peak. It was during the pre-romantic era that ballerinas first started dancing on the very tips of their toes, or en pointe. The lady who is traditionally credited with being the first dancer to dance en pointe is the Italian Marie Taglioni and it is known that she was en pointe when she was eighteen years old. With the reasonably new skill of dancing en pointe improving, the ladies ruled the Romantic era. Today dance can be seen everywhere, being performed by men and women. Dance can also be seen in many different forms, not only in ballet, but also types as tap and jazz. It is done as a sport and has great entertainment value. Today in dance, academies are formed to pass on the fundamentals and traditions of classical dance. During a young dancer's formal training, positions and techniques such as en pointe become part of a dancer's vocabulary, allowing them to communicate with other dancers in a common language of movement. There are many different movement and positions that one must perfect to basically do anything. There are a set number of movements centered around five feet positions: first position--heels together, toes pointing out; second position--heels apart, toes pointing out; third position--heel-to-arch, feet touching; fourth position--heel to arch, one foot in front of the other and fifth position--toe to heel, feet touching. These feet positions were actually inspired by the graceful movements of fencers. These movements do not change, they simply mix and match into combinations. In other forms of dance, such as jazz, new movements can be made up all the time. Feet are the most important thing in ballet. The arch of the foot is supposed to be so curved that when it is in a pointe shoe. A pointe shoe is just a ballet slipper that has glue-stiffened toes. The shoe makes a dramatic line over the toes. Toes are also supposed to be square, not narrowed. This is sometimes hard on a dancer. If you do not have good feet then the training will be harder for the individual and more painful for their feet. A dancer’s body should be long, straight and very lean, that is why it is important for a dancer to eat healthy. When dancers raise their arms and take ballet positions, their bodies create lines and images that more voluptuous figures could not. A ballerina's hair is strictly regimented. Typically it is pulled back in a tight bun. With dancing there is no question that a very important factor is a good teacher. It is important to know that the things one is learning are done the right way. It can be quite discouraging to have to learn things over again that were not taught correctly. Certain basic rules should be taught to the ballet student on the very first day, such as posture. The ballet student should stand up straight, head upright, spine vertical, shoulders down, and no slumping, sagging or bulging. The next thing a young ballet student should learn is how to “turn out”. The turn out is the most difficult part of early training. Turn out is generally thought of as turning the feet so that the toes are pointed to the outside instead of to the front. But it is not just the feet that have to turn out. The turn out must start from the hips. If the ballet student does not turn out from the hips this can give them much trouble in the future. Basic principle...