Dear Reader,
The history of ballet begins around 1500 in Italy. Terms like "ballet" and "ball" stem from the Italian word "ballare" which means to dance. When Catherine de Medici of Italy married the French King Henry II she introduced early dance styles into court life in France.
History credits Madmoiselle De Lafontaine (1665-1738) as the first professional ballerina. Collaborating with composer and dancer Jean-Baptiste Lully, De Lafontaine played a pivotal role in opening the Paris Opera Ballet.
Ballet is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of dance with it own vocabulary.
The core principles of ballet techniques focus on balance, co-ordination, strength and poise. Every exercise and step builds on these, creating a strong and capable dance.
*
From John Ruskin April 2nd 1885 in Lancashire
......Quite lovely spring day. All the working time in wood without greatcoat. Fullest gush of streams with the night's rain I ever saw. Now....lovely sleet showers with melting sunshine.
From Dorothy Wordsworth April 6th 1798 in Somerset
Walked a short distance up the lesser Combe with an intention of going to the source of the brook, but the evening closing in, cold prevented us. The Spring still advancing very slowly. The horse-chestnuts budding, and the hedgerows beginning to look green, but nothing fully expanded.
From Gilbert White April 11th 1790 in Oxford
Thames very full and beautiful, after so much dry weather; wheat looks well; meadows dry and scorched; road very dusty.
*
IF, when young
I had had a good figure
long legs and ample bust
I would have worn
riding boots and breeches
and a silk shirt
I would have been a
ballet dancer, twirling
and whirling about the
stage, on tiptoe in satin shoes
I would have sung
in a sweet and gentle voice
inducing emotion
from the audience
I would have played the guitar
belted out Beatles songs
gone clubbing
danced my heart out
I would have cooked
beautiful sponge cakes
made Greek salads
of nutmeg and honey
But, If truth were told,
I am short, plump, and old,
and happy now to be
alive, well, and simply me.
*
With very best wishes, Patricia
From Gilbert White April 11th 1790 in Oxford
Thames very full and beautiful, after so much dry weather; wheat looks well; meadows dry, and scorched; roads very dusty.
*