Reading on Dance

The reading for this Monday was long but I really enjoyed it. I remembered some of the names and terms such as Martha Graham’s name and some of the ballet terms. I found it interesting that dance went through little reformations just like the fine arts did. I guess everything if life goes through a change at some point though. It is in are nature to want something better or just to rebel and create something new. Ballet is still a hard dance style for me to watch but this chapter helped me a lot with naming the simple dance moves that are involved in ballet. I do find it interesting because it is so orderly and such a disciplined dance style. I am still amazed when the dancer gets up on their toes for a good five seconds. You can just see all the little muscles in their leg flexing to stay perfectly still to create the long beautiful lines that are represented so well in ballet. I also enjoyed reading about the other styles that soon followed. The way I look at these other styles are that they are just another way to express yourself. Some people may be able to do that with ballet but others can’t and so they decided to create their own style and way of expression. I love the part when Isadora Duncan is with her teacher and he asks her to stand on her toes she asks why and he says, “Because it is beautiful.” Isadora said it was ugly and against nature and decided to leave the class. This is a great example of how someone just disagrees with one form of expression and creates their own. There is so much more in this chapter but these are a few of my favorite parts.