My Love For Ballet

"The purpose of art is higher than art. What we are really interested in are masterpieces of humanity." -Alonzo King-

Bonjour all!

I am very gracious that examinations have finished so now the summer break awaits! Endless opportunities awaits.

This post is dedicated to my love of ballet. Ever since I was a little girl, I have been fascinated and awe-struck by this world.

From the pink tutu, the ballet shoes, to their form and the ability to successfully conjure up a rush of emotions through the art of dance, it has captured me all the more.

In my lifetime, I've brushed with ballet when I was younger, even taking a dance class during high school where there would be a period of sessions doing ballet- they were the ones I looked very much forward to, and with great enthusiasm.

To hold such fine discipline and to feel with the music, especially with Debussy's "Clair de Lune", Gustav Mahler's "Symphony No. 5", Tchaikovsky or Léo Delibes, while attempting to do aspects as a good turn-out or a pirouette- I never complained once.

Whenever I hear each of those pieces on my playlist in my ipod, I think back to those days and other ballerina inspirations.

It was through this life experience that ballet has a soft spot in my heart.

Ballet has this sort of ethereal grace and timeless elegance, which forever remains a source of endless daydream.

Some of my favorite ballets would be Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Opus 19/The Dreamer, and The Nutcracker for the holiday season.

I have some personal favorite ballerinas whom I adore, although I love them all- all are very talented and remarkable in their own right :

Margot Fonteyn- She is regarded as one of the greatest classical ballet dancer of all time.

Yao Wei

Olga Spessivtzeva - A beautiful romantic dancer, with a very moving life story as well as being a remarkable Giselle.

From the National Ballet of Canada- our very own Heather Ogden (Principal Dancer)

Guillaume Cote (Principal Dancer) -Both Guillaume and Heather are a real life couple, which I find endearing - love and ballet...one complements the other.

Stephanie Hutchinson (First Soloist)

I love how they are able to travel all around the world and perform in such majestic, historic, and beautiful places as La Scala and the Opera Garnier, where someday I hope to walk through those very doors.

There are also other films and books that I love which reflects the essence of ballet.

Daisy in the film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

I enjoyed this film very much, especially as the short story itself by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a favorite of mine. I found the ballet scenes to have a lingering impression on me afterwards, even the music Alexandre Desplat composed for those scenes brought a sort of magical quality to it. On an added note, I loved Cate Blanchett as Daisy- the film itself in general was beautiful.

The Bloomsbury Ballerina- a great read on Lydia Lopokova, who was the wife to the famous economist John Maynard Keynes. I love how they make such a great pair- the ballerina and the economist.

Another great read based on this Prima Ballerina Assoluta's life. There was also a recent BBC movie on her life, played by Anne-Marie Duff, which is recommended if anyone wish to know more about her.

And that's all for now, ciao!

Note: Images from the National Ballet of Canada are via their website: www.national.ballet.ca some other images were via Tumblr