Coming to Clear Lake!
BY: RACHEL WUMKES
The definition of ‘dance’ is to move one’s feet, body or both rhythmically in a pattern of steps. Most of the time, this is done to the beat of music playing.
Dance has been used for exercise, to gain skill for a career, and to express emotions. Sometimes, you just feel the music move you and feel like dancing!
Me? I dance when I’m stuck. Writer’s block is a horrific feeling. That blank page staring straight at you, mocking you. Then, when you do finally type something, it’s not good and must be deleted.
So, I dance.
When the words inside my brain are stopped in their tracks, and I just can’t find a way to get them to flow. Dancing does the trick.
Every time.
These days, learning the art of various dance techniques begins at an early age, and has been blown out of proportion thanks to many reality TV shows. In fact, when I turned to the Google to find a few examples, I was shocked. Right there in front of me was a list of 101 dance competition shows. Some for adults, some for kids, some strictly centered around the dance moms.
Ballet is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century.
It later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. Today, ballet has become a widespread and highly technical form of dance.
Many little girls have their first encounter with ballet through music boxes. When opened, these intricate masterpieces play a soft melody as a ballerina in a twinkling dress spins around and around. While little girls are often mesmerized with poufy tutus, wearing tights and having their hair pulled tight into a bun, the art of ballet itself is so much more.
It takes extreme dedication and discipline to master this type of dance. Often at the expense of the dancer’s bodies and feet. Fun fact: Ballerinas can wear out 2-3 pairs of ballet shoes every week!
This year, Ballet Des Moines is hitting the road with a full company of professional dancers to six locations in Iowa.
They will share their world-class arts and education programming directly with Clear Lake during their Thursdays on Main appearance on July 28th.
Their performance in the bandshell at City Park will include excerpts from Ballet Des Moines’ GRAVITY season, highlighting a diverse range of programming including this spring’s world premier Of Gravity and Light, a pas de deux from Swan Lake, and Flight, a joy-filled contemporary ballet from Artistic Director Tom Mattingly.
This tour was made possible by Principal Foundation and the Iowa Arts Council. The show exemplifies how music and movement can make abstract concepts more human and accessible to audiences of all ages.
Ballet Des Moines CEO Blaire Massa has worked with community leaders to determine tour locations to create a strong sense of collaboration specific to the interest and values of each community. “We’ve worked diligently for the past several months to ensure we are delivering on our community engagement, outreach, and education initiatives – to expand access to the arts, while wielding creativity and expression as a tool to expand learning, build confidence, and forge community connections,” says Massa.
We are BEYOND excited to bring them to Clear Lake and give the community the opportunity to see these incredible dancers in their element.
Be sure to mark your calendar for July 28th – Thursdays on Main – at 6pm in the bandshell in City Park. Click here for full event details on Facebook and to share with friends!