Review for second test
Chapters 5-9 have examined both the history of dance in Europe and in America. The influence of the Italians by Catherine de Medici bringing the Italian Ballet to France is important in the development of dance in France. The French danced and maintained the refinement of manners and style but the Italians were more athletic in their approach to dance as a means of displaying virtuosi in the technique and training became was a passion while in France before the influence of the Italians, it was a past time or something of an amusement for nobility. This advanced to the level of dancing on ones toes and the eventually development of the pointe shoe, which as a reminder, it was first considered cheating to put wooden support in shoes and then became the standard in order to achieve the technique of thirty-two pîrouettes, which again, became the standard.
Meanwhile, in America, the development of tap dancing began with the Africans having been transported to America as slaves and the immigration of the Irish to the East Coast of America. In our next chapters, we will see the development of dance in America and the break away from the European influence due to World War II and the need for America to rely upon its own creative resources. This was already happening in the seventeenth century in America with the development of tap dancing and the influence of the African people will also
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be seen in the development of jazz dancing which will also be discussed in our next chapters.
European ballet set the tone for the mainstream and the standard by the establishment of technique and books, first of manners, etiquette and the codification of positions and steps. This remains to be true to current day and it was not until the development of the American form of modern dance which did the same that America was able to claim as its own an art form of dance to equal ballet. Also what is important to examine in looking ahead to the 19th and 20th centuries, is the government funding in the Soviet Union and also the control over the choice of the dances performed. Many performing artist in the dance world seek artistic freedom beyond what is available to them in the companies maintained by the Imperial Ballet or, in the case of Europe, what was a court amusement.
Returning then to the examination of the development of the pointe shoe in Europe as a result of necessity to provide support while dancing and turning on ones toes. The African slaves in America developed a more complex and syncopated rhythms to communicate with their families after the infamous Slave Act of 1740 prohibited the use of drums and other instruments to prevent communication with one another. The point shoe changed the form of ballet as the
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requirement for centering ones body was different. The syncopated rhythms of the black people were combined with the clogging steps of the Irish and the introduction of metal taps producing a different sound resulted in tap dancing. In Europe, during the romantic period, audiences attended the ballet for escape from their humdrum lives in the factories due to the advancement of technology. In America, during this time, the syncopated rhythms of the Africans arose out of a need to communicate with their families. The integration of the black people and the Irish living together in the Old Brewery led to passing the time dancing and sharing music and dance steps and giving birth to tap dancing.
Our direction has been and will continue to be the influence of society and culture on the development of dance. In these last chapters, we have seen the advancement of technology created mass production and factories leading to a different lifestyle. The next century brings technology into the home in the form of washing machines and television and the creation of more leisure time.
Also, as Catherine de Medici brought the Italian Ballet with her when she married French royalty, she promoted dance as a vigorous endeavor for both the heir to the throne as well as nobility. Her strategy in this was to keep them busy while she could rule the country, as so, for her, it was based in political reasoning.
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This technique continued to be used by her successors as a way to maintain control over political decisions.
During this time, we also see that Marius Petipas ballets are the first to be saved and our still performed today as classics. The Cake Walk, developed by the African slaves in the homes of the American plantation owners is also a dance which has survived and is documented historically. What we have discussed this semester to this point, is dance first being part of the community with everyone involved, to dance as entertainment and then as escape during the romantic period in Europe. In America, while the plantation owners mimicked the courtly graces of Europeans, African slaves developed a method of communication with their families comprised of rhythms which eventually became the basis of tap dancing.
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