Famous Ballets

When I was a little girl, my mother bought me a book of some of the most famous ballets ever performed. Along with descriptions of said performances, there were also photos and watercolor illustrations in the book. I would spend hour after hour reading each and every little picture caption and footnote, absolutely enthralled with these famous ballets. Sadly, the book has long since vanished, but I can still remember at least bits and pieces of the text. One of the most visually appealing ballets that I can remember was Giselle. Giselle was a young peasant girl who becomes engaged to a nobleman who (unknown to her) already has a fiancee. When she learns this, she dies of a broken heart. The second act of the ballet depicts her as a ghost along with the other women who have been buried in the forest where her body lies, and is known as the "white act", because all the dancers are dressed in white.

Tchaikovsky's first ballet, Swan Lake, is also considered a classic in the world of dance. A young woman named Odette, who has been cursed by an evil sorcerer (she must become a swan during daylight hours and can only transform back into a human at night), becomes distraught when after learning that the prince she loved (who was supposed to help her break the spell) has proposed to another woman. She throws herself into a lake and dies. The prince, realizing his grave error, also throws himself into the lake and drowns. Swan Lake is traditionally performed in four acts. This is perhaps one of the most tragic and beautiful ballets of all time in the world of dance.

Benefits of Dance

We all know (hopefully) that dance of any form is beneficial to our health. But in what ways, exactly? The first, and most widely understood health benefit we can receive from dance is increased flexibility. Studies have shown that individuals with a greater range of flexibility were typically free of lower back pain and had better posture than those who did not. The reason for this is that stretching encourages muscle relaxation, leading to far less tension and tightness in our backs. The second reason that dance is so wonderful for us is that it builds up strength. Dancers must train their muscles to resist the pull of their body weight, especially in jazz and ballet classes,  where leg muscles are heavily relied upon in jumps and leaps. Most dancers have also been found to have greater endurance, meaning that their muscles do not tire extremely easily, and larger lung capacity than the general population. Have high cholesterol or diabetes? Try dancing. It's been proven that even just taking one or two classes a week can cause a significant drop in cholesterol and help balance blood sugar levels in diabetics. Dancing is also good for our social lives and mental well-being. Taking dance classes is an excellent way to make new friends and socialize, but it is also a lesson in social interaction. You must learn to get along with others ad help those in need of assistance, as well as share the dance floor with others. All in all, dancing of any form is beneficial to the health in many ways, and shall hopefully continue in the future to be a notable form of exercise.