Defining Ballet: How the Culture Shapes the Expression of Art

honors thesisCollege of Fine ArtsDanceJennifer WeberBallet is truly its own entity in the dance world. With its strict pedagogy and rich history, its evolution to modernity has taken a winding path. As ballet has transitioned into the new millennium, there has been consistent chatter about how to classify ballet. There are those who hold steadfast to the belief that ballet can only be truly ballet if it is practiced in its purest pedagogical form, and some who believe ballet can exist outside that narrow constraint. In some nations, such as Russia, ballet has been preserved as a conservative art. There is one method for training, standardized through state-funded ballet schools with a selective process that ensures the students have the facility to reach superior technical aptitude. Within America, ballet diverges from this definition. By employing several training methods, America illustrates a more fluid approach to ballet. Most American students dance at homegrown studios and are not turned away due to natural incapability, such as anatomical limitations. However, for those seeking a stricter approach to training, there are a few elite schools within the country that function at a high caliber. This research discusses how ballet operates on opposite ends of the spectrum of both professional training versus recreational training technique, contrasting Russia and the United States in an effort to explore how each approach can seemingly be classified as ballet from two disparate viewpoints. Further, this work aims to demonstrate how ballet is flexible, meaning it satisfies different needs depending on the location in which it is practiced. Through examining culture, this research illustrates how ballet rose and developed differently within Russia and the United States to enrich and provide meaning to each population