The Differences Between American, French, Russian, and English Ballet Styles -
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 พ.ย. 2017
- *Disclaimer: This video (and the ones that follow in this series) is geared towards people who do not yet have a strong understanding of ballet as an art. If you have an advanced understanding of ballet, it may seem that I am speaking too generally or not doing the subject justice. I hope that helps you to appreciate this series for what it is!
Anyway, I didn't make this very clear in the video, so I wanted to mention that my goal was to merely express the differences in aesthetics and what each style emphasizes rather than to go in depth about each training method. That would have taken MUCH more time haha. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed this and that you'll stay tuned for future episodes in my #BalletforDummies series. Let me know what else you'd like me to address in the realm of "Ballet 101" topics! Keep in mind that this series in not meant to address how to become a better dancer, but how to understand the in and outs of the art form instead. I can't wait to read your questions and comments!
Links to blog posts on The Whole Dancer and Minimal and Simple blogs (in that order):
www.thewholedancer.com/twin-ta...
minimalsimpleblog.wordpress.c...
Video examples of the different styles:
French: • Sleeping Beauty ballet...
Russian: • Video
English: • Video
American: • New York City Ballet: ...
Thanks for watching! If you're interested in financially supporting this channel and the messages I'm passionate about spreading, check out my page on Patreon here: www.patreon.com/user?u=5678010 - ภาพยนตร์และแอนิเมชัน
I had Vaganova (Russian) training from age 12-17 after a major back injury forced me to restart ballet from scratch. I would actually disagree with characterizing the Russian aesthetic as "extreme." The training is very structured with incredible attention to placement, epaulement, and biomechanics. Hips and shoulders stay square almost all the time, unlike in Balanchine method, which throws any sense of placement out the window! Also, in Vaganova training, young students do every movement *painfully* slowly and learn to accompany every arm/hand movement with a corresponding change in head/neck position. These two features build incredible strength and control that builds a graceful expressiveness as students mature.
Tikovka Thank you so much for your comment! Of course I was speaking very generally in this video, but I do understand and appreciate your perspective. I suppose the reason the style seems extreme to some people is because of the strict approach and the emphasis on very high legs, exaggerated epaulement, maximum rotation, etc. I love and appreciate the Russian style, so if this video was more geared towards those who are very familiar with ballet, I would have certainly done it more justice!
True! I also have Vaganova style training and I consider it to be te most beautiful of all, although I also like the cleanliness of English style and the way it makes the movements stand out. Russian method demands a trio from the first lesson: feet-arms-head. All of them in perfect syncronicity. The feet cannot move alone, the hands have to follow the rhythm of the feet, the head has to follow the arms. This results in that theatrical style we mostly see at Bolshoi and a little bit more refined at Mariinsky. It is also extremely beautiful and expressive because the emphasis is on the arms, long, round, expressive arms that follow each step. Russians have very beautiful port de bras. English and American styles focus more on the core and the feet, which makes them look "acrobatic". The extremes you all see at Russian ballet dancers comes from the selection they make, the religion ballet is in Russia and the hard years of training. Russians are very proud with that. Many Western principals can do those tricks, but they do not have that show off attitude, because they are taught to focus on something else. And still, all styles are beautiful in their own way, a very good dancer remains a very good dancer and is perceived like that no matter the style.
Tikovka it's funny because when I first think Russian technique I think "slow" and "less injuries than american." I am trained in Balachine method and am American but I LOOOOOOVE russian technique
The last paragraph sounds a lot like RAD majors in the UK.
You are correct in your statement.Thank you for clarity.
video starts at 3:57
THANKS
ty
Also the Russian are super dramatic and theatrical. They emphasise a lot on the drama and acting on stage. My fav is French, and perhaps the épaulament in Russian technique :) I believe American has also become somewhat acrobatic, many jumps and lots of turns, less elegant but more spectacular perhaps- what I value the most about American is the diversity and strength of its dancers. When I started ballet, I started in the Cuban ballet technique, then moved on to RAD most of my life, and then Russian. Russian by far the most demanding, but the RAD helped me to break down each step technically.
Yes, yes! I love your explanations, and I totally agree. If you don’t mind, I pinned your comment so others can read it!
TwinTalksBallet My pleasure! I'm 32 and I don't dance anymore - I was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome which makes me have body aches and other comorbidities:( but I'm still quite passionate about it!
nanushka I study Russian ballet and have been since I was little therefore Russian ballet is not the style that is more theatrical and emotional Russian ballet is classical and original.
Morgan Mullins which one would you say is more theatrical then? with theatrical I mean dramatic. Actually this comes back to Les Ballet Russes of Diaghilev, you may wanna look into that. While I wasn't all my life in Russian, I've studied it for a long time and I have plenty of books, etc. History of dance was quite resourceful when I was a ballet teacher:) Of course Russian ballet is very classic and original, never suggested otherwise :) but what I meant is that they emphasise a lot in their acting and the emotional charge into every piece- Actually in Vaganova school they have to take a great deal of acting classes. I think this makes them outstanding as watching a ballet without dancers interpreting their role, it doesn't say anything to me.
@@nanushka I agree. And I have another vision too. The Russian style is more dramatic, theatrical but they keep it balanced and they talk a lot with the arms and hands. As Stanislavsky said: “the fingers are the eyes of the body”, and they have a great use of it. What I see in other companies (not making a generalization) is that they don’t have a big study of it. Some performances are over the top, too hollywoody and exaggerated in the sense of being too characterized. In a lot of them I see rehearsal, as you rehearse the emotions, mechanize them. Also you can tell when they have to dance character dances, which involves a lot of technique and style too. It’s not just simply putting the hands on the waist to be Spanish or in the head to play a Hungarian (Raymonda). But that’s my view of it.
My summary from the video:
France: elegance, precision, impeccable footwork, focus on purity of line. Shares Russian aesthetic.
Russian: chosen for body type, much more strict and uniform, beautiful and adagio qualities, extremes - higher jumps more flexible.
English - strength technique, clean pure strong dancers, free of exagération and excess mannerisms, value technique.
American - less precise with arm movements, more free, more focus on energy performance and excitement, dynamic, individualistic.
French: Ravenclaw
English: Gryffindor
American: Hufflepuff
Russian: Slytherin
Rei Blair omg yes!
hahaha amazing
im in american and a slytherin soooo
What about Italian, Cecchetti?
Yes!!! So true!
Could you do a video / videos about actual ballets? Like, what the plot is, where it came from, who originally choreographed it etc. That'd be really interesting to see!
i think it's also worth mentioning that while russian ballet definitely requires ur legs up to your ears, there is no way on gods earth that ur legs are going anywhere without pErfEct placement - it's not that you just whip ur leg up and sacrifice the placement if that makes sense
maddie moo having worked with a former principal of the Mariinksy Ballet Theatre id strongly disagree with this. He considers the leg up to your as quite, “vulgar”. Russian ballet while very impressive is also very refined...
I’ve been training with the Russian style for a few months now and I think that the technique is supposed to make you more flexible. That’s probably why it “requires” things that will challenge you if you’re not to a certain ability. And the “perfect” placement should only be built up, not forced. You will need perfect placement if you’re a professional, but as a student, perfect placement will help you achieve the ideal look and moves. Also in these five months I’ve been training, I’ve noticed that I’m 10x more flexible and I actually have muscle.
My preference: Russian > French > English > American ballet. I love svetlana zakharova and sylvie guillem. Theres such a big difference when i watch russian ballerinas. Their technique always captures my attention. However i always see people criticize their emotions just because they have amazing technique. This isnt true! I used to dance professionally and it takes great dedication and the love for dance to get great technique. I dislike American ballet because i find it less graceful. People may argue that Russian ballet uses to much technique and is athletic. But technique is part of ballet! Its the emotions and the ability to covey the story that makes it an art and not a sport. I dont want to watch just a story without ballet technique and i also dont want to watch just ballet technique without a story. Ive seen several american and russian ballets and i still find more genuine emotion and better technique in russian ballerinas. This is just my opinion though... :)
I would have to disagree and say Americans portray the story more. The entire point of American ballet is to be exuberant and have endless emotion while still being technical and elegant. It is more dynamic and unique rather than more uniform and the same three facial expressions portrayed by Russian dancers.
@@MelMeltalks31and I would disagree with you. American technique is just not up to par with Russian technique I'm sorry. Russian ballet set the standard has set the standard for centuries, and every school has been influenced in some way by Russian technique. In addition, the point is that Russians act at performances without being overly dramatic. The American style available can be too hyperbolic, overdramatized, over-exaggerated in the sense that it's inauthentic
I don't know if I would agree about Russians being all about the biggest jump, highest extension. If I had to generalize I would say they are more about accuracy and precise precise placement over doing the biggest whatever.
American ballet is more about that than anything IMO.
This is the first video of yours that I've seen, and I'm glad that I discovered you. I appreciate the time, energy and passion that you shared with us. For those who are just getting into ballet, or for parents trying to determine what style (if they have the option) to send their child to train in, or for friends who want to have a deeper understand the style of ballet that your studying; this is a great video for those folks. It would be a touch helpful if while you were talking about each style, to have a small clip of each style, with what you're sharing done as a voice over - - just a thought, not a criticism. Thank you for taking the time to include links for each style, in your message. You're wonderful!
The teacher I've trained with since I was 12 went through the vaganova school and danced with mariinsky for 12 years and I've also taken classes with teachers from the royal ballet and I feel that the English prefer a cleaner simpler line. However with what I have experienced Russian training doesn't even expect a line that isn't clean as u get older because it should be second nature and after that point they expect height and only the best. So in a way it's more a lot more demanding.
Great job explaining this! Most of it I knew already, but I liked hearing it in your words and also very much enjoyed how much your love of ballet came across. I’m a huge ballet nerd too. Nothing like geeking out over dance!
It would have been better with actual film to illustrate the different styles.
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Thank you for making the video. I've been searching for information on this topic and I found your video just at the right time. It's a big help. I hope you can make more videos and discussion about different ballet styles.
This was interesting to hear! I grew up dancing the RAD curriculum and it's interesting to see how that is put into context relation to the other styles. Thank you for a great video :-)
you answered my questions very well because I could not put my finger on the Paris Opera Ballet and what makes them so differnet, which is so fabulous, now I can reallly pinpoint the differences
Very good choice of videos, depicting the different styles of each choreographer! For the next rainy day, perhaps another interesting exercise would be to find footage of 4 dancers trained in the 4 different methods, but doing the same piece of choreography!! For example the Royal Ballet doing Balanchine or ABT doing an Ashton piece. Also, I do think Bournonville deserves a wee mention... Love your videos.
Thank you! I totally had the same thought about showing the same piece for the best comparison, but I ended up choosing a variety so that the viewers wouldn’t get tired of watching them! I also agree that I should have given a little mention to Bournonville as it is a historically prevalent style, but I left it out since I felt that outside of Bournonville technique and choreography, it is harder to see a distinction between Danish dancers and other Western Europeans. I wish I had time to address it and go through more National styles!
Such a good reply... And on re-reading my post to you, I see that the example I gave doesn't actually illustrate the suggestion I was making at all (which is SO silly of me - I blame an extra early start today) but instead represents yet another activity for your next rainy day!!!! Whereas really I don't know how you find the time to dedicate to your channel, as it is. Agree with your Bournonville point - I thought quite a few Americans would be interested though, because James' coda from La Sylphide is so often featured as a boys' solo in all those competitions lots of Americans (not you though, I know) like doing!!
Anyway for the fairies variation in sleeping beauty the only video on youtube I've found from the royal ballet is from possibly the 90's...nope late 70's so the quality isn't the greatest but I've found it th-cam.com/video/S8kj260hvCk/w-d-xo.html
Thank you for this video, it was very helpful!! I'm writing a research midterm paper on the evolution of ballet for my Intro to World Dance class and this video definitely helped give me some useful info!
This is very interesting. I was trained in RAD and I definitely agree with how you described it. Technique and cleanliness was super important.
Thanks for posting! Really interesting.
Your videos are very informative and fun to watch, but sometimes you can be a little long winded. Not trying to hate, but I think a shorter video, that's concentrated with info rather that fluff, would really help out your videos. 🙂
sometimes? =D
I adore ballet, but only know what I do from observing (specifically NYC Ballet). This was really helpful!
Were you just in Colorado? I saw the Oklahoma City Ballet perform the Nutcracker in Colorado Springs recently and you guys are amazing!!
This was enjoyable ..... I feel it is very important to understand that a company schools approach to technique is at heart driven by their repertoire . Example royal ballet Macmillan Ashton ballets require the skill of a surgeon and are very understated brilliant dancers ... nycb speed speed speed.. Russian big big ... there is an interesting documentary on irk mukamdov moving from Bolshevik to royal ballet and how he adapted .
Good job
Thank you, this helped a lot :)
Thanx! I always wanted to know this!
Four minutes of intro before the video actually starts - ain’t nobody got time for that
I like all her videos, usually begin to watch 4minutes after video starts.
I wanted to make a ballet movement and it gave me a cramp
I'm not even a dancer but loved the video :D it was super interesting!
Your Russian and English style links are no longer available for viewing. I appreciate your clear, concise explanation of the different styles. I'd been watching quite a few Russian style vids lately, mainly since I found Joy Womack's videos. Wanted to know more about the different styles and this was helpful. Although I have to say, from the video links you posted, I couldn't really tell any difference between the French and American styles. Not from these performances anyway. Also wondering if there's a specific trend in Asian ballet? If they tend to prefer one of these established styles or if they are somehow developing their own? Thanks ahead of time...
From my experience, most Asian countries use RAD, or English technique. This is true for China, Japan, and S. Korea, but I’m not as sure on the south eastern Asian countries. I would have to do some research, but I assume they also use RAD. I taught ballet in China and lived in Korea for a year and half too. I did a lot of research about the studios there because I wanted to teach ballet in Korea and Japan as well, but never got the opportunity to. Hope this helps!
@@nicoledadivas4925 Interesting. Thanks for the info . . .
I would say while PNB and NYCB are Balanchine companies, Houston is more classical, and San Fran is more classical/french
I consider SFB to be more on the neo-Balanchine side, but I agree that Houston is more classical. In hindsight, I’m not sure why I mentioned that specifically, though I think they do bring a fresh, “American” sort of energy to their classically based style.
Ballet West is also quite Balanchine, at least watching Wendy Somes trying to produce Cinderalla on them certainly made them look it. I only really know PNB and NYCB as there is so much NYCB and PNB was my local school/company when I lived in the US. It sure was fun as a British trained dancer taking open class there.
Very good observation.I totally agree with you.
Yes Keegan.
Hi! The English and Russian video links no longer work, can you tell us what the Ballets are?
I value that you made this video and I am really interested in the topic.
But I didn't think your explanation was structured enough.
Maybe next time you could write a script in which you make bulletpoints of what you want to mention. Then you could structure them into Main-Points, Sub-Points and Sub-Sub-Points, depending on how important their information is.
I just love the English style. The theatricality and expression embedded into training creates dancers who are also exceptional movement/character actors. It makes for fabulous comedy and emotional performances. Then it would be Russian > French > Balanchine.
The English study RAD, Chechetti isn’t english is Italian! Completely different style
Silly me, you are right! I didn’t go into that enough. Cecchetti did have a big influence on the British style to my knowledge, but he is in fact Italian and did far more work in Russia. Thanks for catching that slip up.
I believe you're right that the RAD is inspired by the cecchetti, according to the royal ballet
true, but not that long ago the royal did rad and cecchetti and many more schools here do cecchetti so it's still worth a mention 😊
Yep went to northern Ballet school in the uk and we study both, we take exams in both
Also ex northern ballet school, I never studied cecchetti method, but I got the impression that the result is the same and it's the method of doing the training that is different. RAD has a syllabus, but on any given day you can go to class and the teacher will pick a selection of stuff to do, but Cecchetti had a plan for each day and how to develop. Back when I was dancing the royal ballet junior school did not take any exams, we had the former head girl in our elementary (now intermediate I think) class on a Saturday, which is where she had to start as she had no qualifications. That created a bit of a fuss in the newspapers as she'd been there 5 years and then not allowed to progress to the upper school but also no qualifications, so I wonder if they have changed things.
I'm not an expert at all and had a little ballet at age 4. The little I have seen of French style is that it is very expressive, maybe the right word is lyrical. For crystalline and breathtaking precision would look for Russian. Would like some links for more French, couldn't seem to find it
Excelent presentation, sadly English and Russian samples are not available, due to copyright issues.
Would you one day talk about what makes the Cuban style stand out?
I'm sorry to bug, but is there a link for that Minimal and Simple bog? Google is being of no help (which I'm sure means I misspelled something). Is "Riley" Rayleigh from OKCB?
Great to see a new vlog. :)
Ah thank you so much for bringing that mistake to my attention! I just spent a silly amount of time choosing video examples for the different styles that I completely forgot the other links. I just fixed it. Rylee is a dancer at UNCSA I believe, so I've never had the privilege of meeting her in person. Thanks for your kind comment!
Alastair Macaulay when writing for the NYTimes had also included Bournonville and Royal Danes as another major style. Kind of like chamber music compared to symphonies. A lot of petit allegro, jumps that go up instead of traveling.
Italian! Ballet
Could you give some introduction to Danish Ballet Style and Italian Ballet Style? thanks so much
I wonder how the french/russians stay so thin, I'm sadly bulky and I don't like the type of lines I like slimmer lines.
I strongly disagree with the way you convey Russian ballet as extreme.... I don't think Russian dancers value tricks over percission, and that the English lower arabesque is a stylistic.choice. English and Russian ballet dancers have the same physical potential, in both schooling dancers are carefully selected and chosen for their facilities. How ever, maybe it occurred to you that there's something in the Russian technique - they way they use their turn out, coordination, and hip placement - makes their legs go higher or look higher and longer?
Discrediting the Russian technique and saying it is just tricks or they prefer to lift their legs high, is plain wrong.... They have such a deep understanding of the art form, such a profound technique of working with the turnout and arms... It's not that they prefer tricks, is that they can do impressive tricks, due to their incredible technique! You can tdo it with out being clean and having it look that good!
Could you talk about the bournonville method next please
My dance studio uses the French style of ballet! :D
English I think is the most common. In Canada we learn English too
Brief considerdation to Danish style especially Bournonville is relevant as British and Balanchine evolved from this.
Yeah the danish style is definitely my favorite
Thank you, could you please update the video links?
What about the Danish (Bournville) method
I was looking for this comment
Its so beautiful and is so overlooked
I'm a big fan of ballet. Not of babble, if you please. I actually DID throw in the towel after exactly 3 min. just to use the 30 seconds my patience left me to write this. Try to be a little more to the point next time, and prepare your text beforehand. It does wonders for the quality of the attention you'll be likely to grab, assuming that's your aim...
Hi youve not included Italian Cecchetti
My favorite choices would have to be Russian >American >english>french I prefer theatrics and personality to really enjoy the ballet that I am watching.
What about the Danish style
ABT...IS FOR TAECHERS?
CAN YOUMAKE A SIMPLE BALLET TRAINING, BEG, ALL FROM 6TH POSITION....FEET PARALLEL....
Books ?ballet books?
What Meg Amy said.
What about Cuban style? :D
If I'm not mistaken they are heavily influenced by Russian Technique (Vaganova method)
And Brazilians too
I love Cuban!!!
Unfortunately the Balanchine Technique has a higher percentage of injuries
What about German style?
Emma Wilding it doesn't really exist
Also tge Cuban and Cecchetti/Italian style
Love English most
HISTORY..
Tricks? I think in the performance Russians value drama the most. They say ballet theater where they service, not dance. Just saying. As far as precisions and clean lines it’s expected as given.
1:55
English is RAD, Cecchetti is Italian! Absolutely no hate, just a bit confused.
How does ABT relate to this? Is ABT considered "american" style?
Beach Bums American style is known being associated with Balanchine style, which is NYC Ballets styles. I think ABT teaches more of a style that is neutral between all the styles.
sylvie guillem .trust me look at her
Could you do about an hour on walking to the bus stop? It will be so interesting.
you need illustrations- verbal descriptions of dancers are half the story
I love american ballet, it just makes me happy, I also can see how this dancer has been raised within it and how much she loves it. But regarding the read on russian technique, it's just so VERY VERY wrong, mistaken, disapointing coming from a professional ballet dancer
Russian
Blimey, wait until you get over your cold. Not enjoyable with your nose stuff, however interesting and othewise pleasant your speech is.
Keep in mind that the way Russian ballet is described here mostly applies to modern dancers. In the 1900s, the dancers were far less worried about how high the leg could go. They looked more like how you describe English dancers. IMO they all danced much better back then.
Bla bla bla, show examples!
Boring.
Do you even do ballet
@@jyotigupta9319 Not now - I'm 65 :) But I can certainly judge the quality of a video and this one doesn't keep one's interest as it is so poorly delivered.
Rosie Douglas then go research on your own
Rosie Douglas that’s literally a compilation of awesome information... you don’t understand
Why did u watch then no need to be rude boomer