CafeDiem Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 I recently ran across the Calvert elective... A Child's Introduction to Art: Architecture... which looks great (at least online - we haven't received it yet) and my son is really looking forward to doing next year. Does anyone know of anything similar at a middle school-ish level on the history of dance? It can have a ballet focus or be more broad ranging in dance forms. My daughter lives and breathes dance and would love to know more about the styles, famous dancers, etc. We already have the books A Child's Introduction to Ballet: The Stories, Music, and Magic of Classical Dance and DK's Dance so something a bit more academic would be nice for an elective. I can't seem to find anything that isn't a college level text. I've also debated doing the Beautiful Feet History of Classical Music with her if I can't find something specific to dance. Has anyone used it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dewdropfairy Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 You're not likely to find something with a comprehensive history of dance written on that level. Apollo's Angels is a great history of ballet; but is better geared to adults/bright High School students. http://www.amazon.com/Apollos-Angels-A-History-Ballet/dp/0812968743/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t This book will have some of what you are looking for, but is primarily a training book first, with one or two page histories about famous dancers/figures and major companies. It offers coverage on the major schools of ballet, how to execute most major steps (with loads of pictures of great dancers performing them) and information on modern ballet training (pointe shoes, foot care, injury prevention, summer intensives, etc.) http://www.amazon.com/Ballet-Companion-Eliza-Gaynor-Minden/dp/074326407X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1397586571&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Ballet+Companion You could use the latter as a jumping off point to a parent designed course and delve into a bit more detail on Balanchine, Pavlova, Taglioni, Fonteyn and Nureyev (etc.) and others mentioned in the history sidebars. It also includes a historical timeline which would be a great place to pluck further topics from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dewdropfairy Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 Having said that about Apollo's Angels, as a ballet obsessed 12/13 year old I read anything about ballet I could get my hands on... I would have read that in a heartbeat and not been daunted by it being over 600 pages. I also read a great many books about ballet that my parents would have been horrified if they'd realized the content. (Hello, Gelsey Kirkland autobiography!) So, know your audience. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dewdropfairy Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 I flipped through the second book I listed and it has about 25 of those history sidebars, ranging in size from 1-3 pages. So the book does offer a fair bit of ballet history, what it doesn't have is any kind of cohesion tying the events and people/places together, with the exception of the timeline. So it doesn't read like a history, it reads more like a series of Wikipedia entries. But the content is good and it has great pictures to go along with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CafeDiem Posted April 16, 2014 Author Share Posted April 16, 2014 Thanks for the suggests. I'm going to see if our library has Apollo's Angels. I imagine we will have an entire dance shelf or two in our home library before too long. I came across this book History of Dance: An Interactive Arts Approach in my searches. It is for high school/college level... although after flipping through it online, I think I could tone it down and use it as a starting point for a curriculum. Frankly the writing prompts/instruction looks great for a younger age. I am also trying to compile a list of must watch dvds for her. http://dancetimepublications.com/ had quite a few that look interesting. I wish Netflix or Amazon Prime had some of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dewdropfairy Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 There are a few great ballet documentaries on Netflix as well, including Ballets Russes and Bringing Back Balanchine, and both were pivotal companies/figures to the development of ballet in the US. There's one called Margot about Margot Fonteyn, (her life was as fascinating as her dancing) but it has been a while since I've seen it and I'm struggling to remember if content was appropriate for middle schoolers. First Position is a great documentary about modern ballet competitions in the US, though not what you are looking for in terms of history of dance. Ballerina is a fascinating look at modern ballerinas in Russia as well. There are some really great performance DVDs on Netflix. Let me know if you are looking for any recommendations there, they have some stellar performances by great dancers past and present. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CafeDiem Posted April 17, 2014 Author Share Posted April 17, 2014 I would love a list of "must see performances"... especially ones available on Netflix. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dewdropfairy Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 I would love a list of "must see performances"... especially ones available on Netflix. :) Can do- do you have disc capability or just streaming? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CafeDiem Posted April 17, 2014 Author Share Posted April 17, 2014 Just streaming atm. We weren't using the disc service enough... although if I had enough things I wanted to check out we might re-add the service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jg_puppy Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 There are a few great ballet documentaries on Netflix as well, including Ballets Russes and Bringing Back Balanchine, and both were pivotal companies/figures to the development of ballet in the US. There's one called Margot about Margot Fonteyn, (her life was as fascinating as her dancing) but it has been a while since I've seen it and I'm struggling to remember if content was appropriate for middle schoolers. First Position is a great documentary about modern ballet competitions in the US, though not what you are looking for in terms of history of dance. Ballerina is a fascinating look at modern ballerinas in Russia as well. There are some really great performance DVDs on Netflix. Let me know if you are looking for any recommendations there, they have some stellar performances by great dancers past and present. I have an almost 14 year old ballet dancer as well. I would be interested in any of your recommendations as well. We have both Netflix streaming as well as DVDs. Janet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dewdropfairy Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 Here's a list of the best performances I have found on Netflix, in no particular order with the title exactly as it is found on Netflix. You'll see some of the top companies/dancers in the world this way. Unfortunately, they don't have a great selection of Russian companies and you don't want to miss the Bolshoi and Mariinsky (used to be known as Kirov), but there are incredible videos of both companies on YouTube. A simple search there will get you lost down rabbit trails for hours. I tend to recommend more modern DVD versions. They have a lot of great older performances of stars past, but some of the magic tends to get lost on modern audiences weaned on HD programming. :) That said, Baryshnikov and Cynthia Gregory are in the ABT at the Met and for the older girl I would recommend Fonteyn and Nureyev's Romeo and Juliet (the latter is not currently available on Netflix- library, perhaps?) This list features some of the best companies in the world, including PNB, ABT, NYCB, Paris Opera, and Royal Ballet. Just make sure you add some Russian stuff in there. :) Felix Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night's Dream (Balanchine's full length MSND; he didn't make a lot of full-length ballets, but this one sparkles) American Ballet Theatre: The Dream (Sir Frederick Ashton's one act version of MSND, both versions are worth a watch) American Ballet Theatre in Swan Lake George Balanchine's The Nutcracker The Royal Ballet: The Sleeping Beauty Balanchine: Jewels Joyaux American Ballet Theatre at the Met (Includes Les Sylphides and Paquita, among a few others) Adolphe Adam: Giselle For the older girl I would recommend an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet; Nureyev/Fonteyn's if you can get your hands on it; Alessandra Ferri's and Wayne Eagling's if not. For 11 year old I would definitely recommend mom view this one first before deciding as the subject matter is definitely more mature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dewdropfairy Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 Most of the list is disc only, I believe. It didn't appear they have a great selection on Netflix streaming. I think maybe only First Position and some other documentaries are available to stream. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucyfan70 Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 My daughters would love this...what credit would you give for high school...a fine art credit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dewdropfairy Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 My daughters would love this...what credit would you give for high school...a fine art credit? Yes, fine arts. Ballet degrees at colleges are B.F.A. Or M.F.A.'s and typically operate out of the same departments as music, opera, theatre, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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