2 3 Ballet Webb: December 2016

Saturday, December 31, 2016

Happy New Year’s Eve






Happy New Year’s Eve

The event we know today as the celebration of New Year’s Eve in Times Square began in 1904. 1904 was the year the intersection of Broadway and Seventh Avenue (previously called Long Acre Square) was renamed Times Square, because the New York Times newspaper headquarters were built there.

It was newspaper owner Adolph Ochs idea to celebrate New Year’s Eve with a big party. So, in 1904 he shot fireworks from the top of the building, and continued to do so each year until 1907 when the city banned fireworks. That’s when the idea of the “ball drop” came in. It was inspired by “time balls”. Time balls were used in the 1800s to assist ship captains in telling time and precisely setting their instruments while out at sea. 

The first ball weighed 700 pounds and contained 100 light bulbs. Today, the ball weights 17 times that and features 32,000 LEDs. The New Year’s Eve ball has been dropped every year since 1907, except in 1942 and 1943 because of “dimout” restrictions due to WWII.

Are you wondering what dance-related things happened in history the same year as the first ball drop in NYC? Here are a few:

- In 1907, Nikolai Legat staged a revival of Les Saisons at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre.
- Michel Fokine created Chopiniana to music composed by Chopin. It premiered February 23, 1907 at the Maryinsky Theatre and starred Anna Pavlova, Vera Fokina and Anatole Oboukhoff.
- Anna Pavlova premiered Dying Swan on December 22, 1907, choreographed for her by Michel Fokine, music by Leon Saint-Saens for Carnival of Animals.
- Lincoln Kirstein is born on May 4, 1907 in Rochester, New York.
- Nijinsky became a soloist at the Maryinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg.

Have a safe and happy New Year’s Eve everyone!

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:
History Factoid #140:
“ The first New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square was held in 1904.”

Link of the Day:

Quote of the Day:
“Tonight’s December thirty-first,
Something is about to burst.
The clock is crouching, dark and small,
Like a time bomb in the hall.
Hark, it's midnight, children dear.
Duck! Here comes another year!”
Ogden Nash

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Friday, December 30, 2016

Fun Friday Rock and Roll





Fun Friday Rock and Roll

Sometimes the difficulty in pointe work isn’t when dancers are on pointe, but when they are on flat (the whole foot). That’s due to the thickness of the sole of a pointe shoe, which is different than that of a ballet shoe. Very different! This is just one of the surprises students confront when they take their first pointe class.

It’s normal to feel a bit of rock and roll when trying to balance on the whole foot. Over time, dancers learn to recognize and accommodate this fact. While excessive movement in the ankle is to be avoided, a bit of movement is going to happen. Watch any dancer doing Giselle’s 2nd act adage variation and you’ll see the slight movement in the support ankle I’m talking about.

So don’t worry about a slight bit of rock and roll. It happens.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:
Ballet Secret #23c:
“ The sole of a pointe shoe is thick, and this must be recognized.”

Link of the Day:

Quote of the Day:
‎”Though nobody can go back and make a new beginning... Anyone can start over and make a new ending.”
Chico Xavier

            Help expand the knowledge base!
 Leave a comment about any instructions, ideas, or images that worked best for you!

My latest book is a coloring book! It is available on Amazon.

Want to know more about me? Read my interview at Ballet Connections:

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Thursday, December 29, 2016

Throwback Thursday and Stanislava Belinskaya





Throwback Thursday and Stanislava Belinskaya

The Nutcracker ballet premiered on Sunday, the 18th of December in St. Petersburg, Russian. The role of Clara (Marie) was danced by twelve year old Stanislava Belinskaya (see above photo). She was a student at the Imperial School. Apparently, Tchaikovsky was pleased with the ballet for he wrote that its splendors wearied his eyes. However, at this time, The Nutcracker achieved only modest success. The use of so many children wasn’t received well by audiences and critics used to seeing children perform only minor roles.

I have found little about Stanislava Belinskaya. She seems to have made her mark in dance history with only a few mentions and a couple of photographs because she was the first Clara. She was a friend and fellow classmate of Anna Pavlova and is mentioned in several of Pavlova’s biographies. But details about Stanislava’a life are sketchy at best. A private listing on Ancestry.com mentions a Julia Stanislava Belinskaya who was born in 1804  in Russia – perhaps an ancestor.

One reference http://balletalert.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/12201-ballerinasdanseurs-who-met-tragic-ends-in-real-life/&page=3 states that Stanislava Belinskaya went insane shortly after her professional career started, due to the constant pressure and expectations placed on her.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:
Dance History Factoid #139:
“ The role of Clara in Nutcracker was first danced by Stanislava Belinskaya.”

Link of the Day:

Quote of the Day:

“The way of success is the way of continuous pursuit of knowledge.”
Napoleon Hill

                Help expand the knowledge base!
 Leave a comment about any instructions, ideas, or images that worked best for you!

My latest book is a coloring book! It is available on Amazon.
Want to know more about me? Read my interview at Ballet Connections:

Or "Like" me on my Facebook Author Page:

Or visit my Pinterest page: