When did ballet dancing begin?

Ballerina

Ballet is a special kind of dancing in which the dancers perform gracefully leaps and glides and often dances on their toes.

Ballet as we see it today had its beginnings in the royal courts of Italy nearly 500 years ago.  It developed as a kind of entertainment from the steps of the elegant court dances of the day.

However, there were no toe slippers such as a ballerina wears today.  And dancing of this kind was not called “ballet” until almost 100 years later.

Over the years many people have added new steps and improvement to the ballet.  The ballet often tells a story, but there is no singing or speaking.  The story is told by the movements of the dancers.

The dancing is done to music and is combined with beautiful costumes and scenery to entertain the audience. Ballet is not easy to learn.  It takes years of careful training and a great deal of practice to become a good ballet dancer.-Dick Rogers

Philippine Classical Music (5 of 6)

The works of Japanese composers like Kozyak Yamada were performed in special concerts. However, Japanese music left no imprint on the style and content of Philippine music.

Post-war/Contemporary Period (1946 to date)

After independence in 1946, Philippine music showed a marked growth in cultural consciousness and nationalism. Music schools increased from the pre-war 12 to 33, offering Bachelor of Music courses in piano, voice, strings and wind instruments, music theory, composition and music education. Some schools offer course for the Master of Music degree.

The League of Filipino Composers was established in 1955with 11 charter members. Filipino composers continued writing major works using western idioms with conventional traditions utilizing folk themes and legends. The concerto, symphony, symphonic poem, overture, suite, opera, choral, chamber, art song, ballet and incidental music were written during this period.

Contemporary composers utilized percussive dissonance, polyrhythm, atonality, music concrete, electronic music, synthesis of East/West in fresher modes, producing works of distinct cultural personality.

The ethnomusicologist/composer Jose Maceda whose exposure to Asian music and Filipino tribal music has produced an embodiment of his advanced thinking combining sounds with 20th century techniques in his avant-garde compositions.

Pioneering on the synthesis of East/West idioms, this writer has utilized ethnic Filipino/Asian instruments in her works. The younger group of composers led by Ramon P. Santos and Francisco P. Feliciano and followers like Ruben Federizon have pursued Asian environmental orientation, producing avant-garde works like Santos’ Singaw for jew’s harp, takumbo, gongs, violin, and Tinig for voices and percussions; Federizon’s Gabag-an for voices and ethnic instruments, and Tinig ng Lupa (Song of the Earth).