A Close study of ballet exercises from the aspect of folk dances

Tez (Yüksek Lisans) -- İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi, Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, 1994Thesis (M.A.) -- İstanbul Technical University, Institute of Social Sciences, 1994Bu çalışmada dünya halk oyunları arasında ezgi, ritim ve farklı karakterlerde uygulama alanı bulan figür zenginliği ile haklı bir yer edinen Türk Halk Oyunlarının eğitiminde, bale egzersizlerinin gerekli ve tamamlayıcı bir unsur olduğu ortaya konulmuştur. Akademik platformda verilecek eğitimde verimin arttırılması performansın yükseltilmesi ile mümkün olabileceği, bunun da kondisyonel ve koordinatif özelliklerin geliştirilmesi doğrultusunda gerçekleşeceği belirtilmiştir. Türk Halk Oyunları kapsamında kullanılan genel temel hareketler tespit edilmiş, yine temel hareketleri kap sayan bale egzersizleri içine belli oranda bu temel hare ketleri katarak farklı vücut kullanımları verilmeğe çalışılmıştır. Bu çalışma, Türk Halk Oyunlarına yaraşır bir bale müfredatının oluşturulmasında ilk adım olarak ve bundan sonra yapılacak bu konudaki çalışmalara yardımcı olmak ı- amacıyla yapılmıştır.Turkish folk dances are live examples of our rich national culture which express our feelings of sorrow or joy with sections from life. When we study folk dances in the frame of traditionality we find the most interes ting part as the person's "dancing for himself". People usually dance at wedding ceremonies or diffe rent celebrations with all their natural improvisations in an unmannerly style feeling no worry to be admired. On the other hand, ballet which was born five hund red years ago in big noble halls in Italy was in the form of a "celebration" as the birth or a wedding ceremony of a noble used tobe coloured with ballet expositions. So it would be quite unnecessary for us to mention about the audience here. As we can realise, ballet and folk dancing were in a very "prive or personal form" whereas today ballet is studied from a scientific aspect and has taken its place among other stage arts, Turkish Folk Dances which deserve to take their place among other stage arts have not been mentioned about in sufficent amount yet. Turkish Folk Dances which are the extents of Turkish Cul ture, have played important role between people as an important communication factor and brought them together spritually and sensitively. When we looked into the dan ces generally, it is noticed that geographic features and social structures of different regions, the traditions of the people in these regions and Anatolia which has been the cradle of many civilisations for centuries have effec ted the dance forms a great deal. It is a necessity for a dancer to use his body within the needs of that folk dance consciously by using different techniques. Turkish Folk Dances which deserve a natural fame in the international platform with their rythm, melody and various dance styles enable the body to be used coarsely in some parts. In order to obtain the best results and do the dance figures well, the joints and muscles of the body should be prepared and warmed up for the performance. Dancers should have a certain performance before any puplic display is started. This performance, can be obtained with the development of coordinative features and keep-fit exercises. If the points mentioned above are not developed well enough, it will cause a low - performance for the dancer and having technique skills will not be sufficient because a dancer who does not have any performance will spend more effort, and his strength will be shorter and he will soon feel a general weariness, so no matter how good the dancer is, it will be difficult for him to expose his skills. As a result, ballet which is taught as a basic training, should be taken account even if folk dances are taught because ballet exercises are condition - forming and coordinative exercises. Ballet training diciplines a human brain and body and teaches one how to spend his energy in a controlled way and consciously, softly and esthetically. Apart from all these, a person who does ballet training knows his own body and has the technigue to use his body. A folk - dancer should also learn the necessary techniques to use his body as well as a ballet dancer and be able to use every part of it consciously. There are basic arm and leg positions in balet exer cises. These exercises begin, at the bar with basic or VII classic figures to warm the body. Then the other exerci^- ses to balance the body begin in the middle of the room. Most of these exercises are done at the bar but others are done in the middle of the room. What is aimed with all these exercises is, to warm up all the muscles of the body, developing control, coor dination, balance while getting ready for the stage and making the dance look effortless. These exercises which are done in an hour and a half, are the basic figures of the ballet dancing. All the figures are the same but they are used with different combinations and this makes the brain work, develops sense and prevents monotony. At the end of the lesson, when the body is warmed up, different limbering exercises can be done to stretch various muscle groups and especially to strengthen the problem muscles. If the basic ballet exercises are diverged a little from their classic line and associated with the basic figures of the Turkish Folk Dances then are taught to. the scholars, better results will be unavoidable. We can never deny the importance of the conditional and coordinative features, but our aim is not to exhibit these skills figuratively but to bring up the importance of their coordinative and conditional features. Folk dances, according to their regions can be divided into groups like girls' dances and boys' dances or mixed group dances. It should never be forgotten that the dancers themselves have different coordinative features as well as the dances. If regular and continuous exercise programmes are given, the difference between the dancers will be minimised. Ballet exercises will be very useful at this very VIII point. Some basic figures from classic ballet exercises add a lot to some of the folk dances, especially to arms and legs. Body - positions which are the necessity of the ballet - dance are not necessary for some folk dances. For example, stretching the body is a necessity for the ballet whereas in "Halay Dance" and "Men's Horon" dance, some parts of the body are free and natural. So we can say two diffent usages of the body is mentioned here. Meanwhile we know that the body gains elasticity with ballet dancing. This elasticity will be useful in some folk dances like Azeri Dances and Men's figures of these dances. Ballet exercises enable the body to adopt some repeated actions. In time, the body begins to do these movements instinctively. So the dancer can easily adopt the body coordinates which have been gained from ballet exercises to folk dances without spending much effort and time. In our thesis, we have come to a result that private training and applications which are done for ballet - training are also necessary for folk dancing when staging or doing any kind of academic work. Stage performance is related to all these exercises which have been done until then. Performances which are well - prepared after many rehersals and have high standarts technically and artisti cally will certainly have better quality. - It can be possible for a folk dancer to have a good performance only if he develops good condition and coordinative features. - If these features of classic ballet are used in Turkish Folk Dances, the quality will rise positively IX both in performance and training. - The highest profit for the body, in the direction of the target is not only related to the quality of the exercises but also to the application of these exercises in the best way. - Some of the folk dances in "Turkish Folk Dance repertoire" have different characters so they need the body tobe used differently. As a result, the scholars must be taught free and conscious body movements while doing exercises. - Turkish Folk Dances, which are studied on the parts of the body should be associated with the ballet exercises in the given programmeYüksek LisansM.A