Barre (ballet)

A barre (French pronunciation: ​[baʁ]) is a stationary handrail that provides support for people during various types of exercise. Barres are used extensively in ballet training and warm up exercises, where such exercises are commonly referred to as barre work. In a ballet class, barre may also refer to the part of the class that involves barre work. Barres are also used for warm up exercises in other types of dance, as well as in general fitness programs.

Construction

The design of a barre—which includes both the handrail and its support mechanism—depends on whether the barre is to be portable or permanently located. A permanent barre typically consists of a handrail that is mounted to and supported by a wall, whereas a portable barre consists of a handrail mounted onto a rigid or adjustable, free-standing supporting structure. Some barres have two parallel handrails at different heights to accommodate people of differing heights. Barre handrails and supports are typically made of metal, wood, plastic, or a combination of these materials.

Ballet

Ballet /ˈbæleɪ/ (French: [balɛ]) is a type of performance dance that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread, highly technical form of dance with its own vocabulary based on French terminology. It has been globally influential and has defined the foundational techniques used in many other dance genres. Becoming a ballet dancer requires years of training. Ballet has been taught in various schools around the world, which have historically incorporated their own cultures to evolve the art.

Ballet may also refer to a ballet dance work, which consists of the choreography and music for a ballet production. A well-known example of this is The Nutcracker, a two-act ballet that was originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a music score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Ballets are choreographed and performed by trained artists. Many classical ballets are performed with classical music accompaniment and use elaborate costumes and staging, though there are exceptions to this. Most notably, American choreographer George Balanchine is known for his plotless neoclassical ballets which are often performed in simple leotards and tights without scenery.

Ballet (film)

Ballet is a 1995 American documentary film directed by Frederick Wiseman. It portrays rehearsals, choreography, performances, business transactions, and other day-to-day life of the American Ballet Theatre. Much of the footage dates from the 1992 season. It also includes scenes from the company's European tour, namely in Greece and Copenhagen.

Appearances are made by Susan Jaffe, Julie Kent, Julio Bocca, Angel Corella, Amanda McKerrow, Alessandra Ferri and others. Various ballet masters and choreographers also appear, including Kevin McKenzie, ABT's artistic director, Ulysses Dove, Irina Kolpakova, Natalia Makarova and Agnes de Mille. Business transactions by then-director Jane Hermann are also included.

The film is currently released to the public by Wiseman's distribution company, Zipporah Films

References

Ballet (music)

Ballet as a music form progressed from simply a complement to dance, to a concrete compositional form that often had as much value as the dance that went along with it. The dance form, originating in France during the 17th century, began as a theatrical dance. It was not until the 19th century that ballet gained status as a “classical” form. In ballet, the terms ‘classical’ and ‘romantic’ are chronologically reversed from musical usage. Thus, the 19th century classical period in ballet coincided with the 19th century Romantic era in Music. Ballet music composers from the 17th–19th centuries, including the likes of Jean-Baptiste Lully and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, were predominantly in France and Russia. Yet with the increased international notoriety seen in Tchaikovsky’s lifetime, ballet music composition and ballet in general spread across the western world.

History

Until about the second half of the 19th century the role of music in ballet was secondary, with the main emphasis on dance, while music was simply a compilation of danceable tunes. Writing "ballet music" used to be a job for musical craftsmen, rather than for masters. For example, critics of the Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky mentioned his writing of ballet music as something demeaning.

Barre

Barre or Barré may refer to:

People

Places

Other uses

See also

Barre (name)

Barre or Barré is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include:

Surname:

Barré (automobile)

Barré was a French automobile manufacturer established by Gaston Barré at Niort. Some sources give the starting date for the business as 1900, although Barré’s first automobile was presented in December 1899 at the Paris Motor Show. Production ended in 1930.

Gaston Barré

Barré was born in Cholet on 25 June 1864, but in 1888 relocated to nearby Parthenay, where he worked as a gunsmith. Six years later he moved again, establishing himself in 1894 at Niort in the rue Ricard Il, as a manufacturer and renter of cycles. France was in the middle of a massive cycling boom, and business was good. Barré relocated his business several times, but now always staying in Niort. As he amassed his fortune he decided that the future lay not with cycles but with the automobile.

Automobile production

The first car, powered by a Gaillardet engine, was exhibited in December 1899.

Several aspects of Barré’s business distinguish it from the large number of automobile manufacturers being established in France at this time. He created one of the first after-sales service centres, and also integrated into his business model a driving school. Another respect in which Barré anticipated the future of automobile manufacturing was the extent to which his cars were developed as an assemblage of components manufactured by and purchased from specialist outside suppliers. During the first decade of the twentieth century the manufacturer used engines from Aster, Buchet and De Dion-Bouton. Rather than tooling up to machine and assemble his own axles and gears, Barré also bought in these principal components from companies already equipped to produce them. There were even instances when he bought in a chassis from a competitor auto-maker.