Ballet Vs. Lyrical Essay, Research Paper
Ballet vs. Lyrical
Lyrical and ballet are both extremely common yet incredibly different types of dance.
They both differ from each other for numerous reasons. Before ballerinas begin their extensive class, the instructor warms the dancer?s muscles up at the barre. A barre is a long wooden horizontal rail attached to the wall and is approximately the height of the dancer?s rib cage. When the dancer is at the barre, they practice such combinations as plies, ton dues, devlapes, frappes, and grand batemas, just to name a few. In lyrical, the student is required to warm up on their own in the center of the floor with no set combinations at the barre. Lyrical doesn?t follow most of the challenging terms that ballet instructor?s use. Jette, split leap, boure, pass?, and calypso are just a few terms that both ballet and lyrical teacher?s use to instruct a class.
Ballet has a set of five positions that are used commonly at the barre, across the floor, or in the center of the room. First position is when the feet are turned out and the heels touch, second position can be done by simply taking your feet from first position and moving them outwards to the sides a little further than shoulder width. In order to do third position, the ballerina must then take either her right or left heel and place it in the middle of the opposite foot to form a ?T?. Fourth position is simply done by placing the foot that is turned out in third and pushing it forward so it creates the illusion of an open ?T? shape. Fifth position is the most complicated position to work from. Take the right foot and turn it out so the toes are facing the wall to the right side of you, then simply drag the left foot directly behind it so both feet touch, but the left foot is turned out facing the wall to the left side of you. In ballet, these five positions are somehow incorporated into every move that is done. Lyrical, on the other hand is not quite as demanding term wise as ballet. Sometimes lyrical is called ?the lazy man?s ballet? because of all the free flowing moves and careless movement of the feet.
Another difference between ballet and lyrical is the type of shoe each form is to use. In ballet, dancers use the classical pink slipper in either canvas or leather. However, lyrical dancers use a small strappy caramel colored sandal that only fully covers the ball of the foot. The sandal flatters the slenderness of the ankle and the natural arch in the dancer?s foot, which can almost never be seen in a ballet slipper.
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Lyrical may be compared to ballet almost ninety-five percent of the time, but they are also very similar in many ways. In both ballet and lyrical, flowing arm movements and fingers are both common to these forms of dance. While dancing, it is important to use your arms enough to tell a story to the audience. For example, when the dancer sways their arms back and forth and move them gently all around, it tells the audience that they are cheerful and pleased with what is being done. But if the dancer moves their arms around in fury and has emotional facial expressions, this may show the audience the anger or hurt that the individual is encountering. It is usually quite simple to tell what part a dancer is acting out and what his or her feelings and emotions are. Lyricists and ballerinas have a good perception on how to use superior facial expressions to allow the audience to become more aware of what is happening in the story line.
Another fine example of how lyrical and ballet are alike is both forms go across the floor to practice certain combinations. Although the combinations are different, going across the floor is a great way to work on technique and condition for class. It is particularly important for both lyrical and ballet to feel the music when they dance. Allowing this to happen makes the dancer look as if she isn?t even trying and that this is a piece of cake for her. When you feel and understand the music, dancing becomes less stressful because you are focusing your mind on the music and when this occurs, your mind becomes clear of all problems and worries. Movement is less jerky, which is important for both forms since they are commonly to slow songs.
Another factor that is necessary to dance both ballet and lyrical is to dance from the heart, not the body. Most dancers when they dance do it because others enjoy watching. In my opinion, they are not true dancers. When it comes from the heart, it truly shows in the final performance.
Lyrical and ballet are both extremely common yet incredibly different types of dance.