Ballet Stories
The Traditional Tales
Ballet stories are brought to life by the dancers on stage in a performance at the theatre. Together with the music and costumes, the traditional tales bring magic to the stage.
Swan Lake Ballet is a legendary ballet full of expressive dancing, dramatic action and blissful movement. It is a great classic that is performed around the world.
The classic ballets are set to magical myths and fairy tales.
The stories are full of love, fantasy and expression.
The dancers have to carry the story, as well as interpret the role.
It takes great skill to act on stage, whislt still mastering the difficult technique of ballet.
Here are five of the greatest stories in ballet -
(there are of course many more!)
The dancing action can move very fast on stage in the ballet, so if you already understand the story you will appreciate the performance even more.
In classical performances, you will see the highlight of the production is not always just the dancing. It is the magic of the sets, the beauty in costumes and the amazement in the music.
The story is also what creates the magic in a performance and propels the dance to be the way it is. The dancer's use actions and mimes throughout to communicate with the audience, and so that the story can be portrayed from beginning to end.
The classical mime plays a significant part in ballet, and through gestures and movements of the body, the words are expressed with the story line being further revealed.
Even though no words are spoken, dance becomes the language for the audience. When you watch a ballet, you will be transformed into a world of movement and energy.
For dancers to convey the story, they have to completely believe in their character. It goes so much deeper than just dancing the steps and going through the motions, each dancer has to transform into their character and become that person.
"Nutcracker" painted by © Olivia Holland
The music is a huge part of every ballet and the dancing has to be in sync with the orchestra. The conductor carefully watches the dancers and they work together to produce a perfect performance.
A ballet peformance can be an unforgettable experience. The magnificent feeling can really only be felt in that moment and at the real presence of the theatre.
Look here to see classical ballet dances from the classical period!
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What Other Visitors Have Said
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Ballet Stories - Sleeping Beauty Fairy Names
Ballet Stories - Sleeping Beauty Fairy Names
Hi Odette,
A few weeks ago I was casted as one of the faries in sleeping beauty. Now I do know that the …
Ballet Stories - Magic flute
Ballet Stories - Magic flute
One of the less known story ballets is "Magic flute" by Bèjart (Mozart's music). Béjart reduced costumes to simple ballet …
Ballet Stories - My favourite story ballet: Onegin
Ballet Stories - My favourite story ballet: Onegin
Hi Odette, you say, the majority of ballets are set to stories....I would say, the majority of famous …
Ballet Stories - My Favorite Ballet!!
Ballet Stories - My Favorite Ballet!!
I just figured you would like to hear this! My favorite role is Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty because you get …
My Favorite Ballet Stories
Ballet Stories - My Favorites
Hi Odette, I really want to dance in Giselle and The Haunted ballroom. I Love there stories. Oh, and I also want to dance …
Ballet Stories - Ballet is Magic
Ballet Stories - Ballet is Magic
Swan lake, Romeo and juliet, Giselle, Firebird ballet. I love ballet. Ballet has love and dying, when I was younger …
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