Character Dance as a Bridge Between Ballet and a Global Dance Community
Abstract:
The layers of global dance are complex: these can include folk, ethnic, national, spiritual, and vernacular dance forms. With broad dissemination and blurred lines of these forms developing in the 21st century, it is essential to approach the representation of cultures with authenticity and respect. Character dance has the unique position of presenting global dance perspectives in a ballet lens, while also utilizing balletic elements within the study of global dance perspectives. Just as ballet has clear technical constructs for the patterning of movement, character dance offers clarity in the codification of global dance forms.
From the establishment of classical ballet repertoire in the 19th century to the development of character dance pedagogy in the 20th century, transformations in technology, transportation, politics, culture, and society have impacted the accessibility, communication, and veracity of global dance forms in the 21st century. This paper seeks to analyze three primary pathways on this bridge: How does character dance support classical ballet training in the 21st century? How could character dance serve as a foundation for cross-cultural communication and community engagement with ballet? How can character dance be utilized more effectively and authentically by choreographers, re-stagers, and repetiteurs? These pedagogical, cultural, social, and artistic considerations may offer the opportunity to redefine ballet’s broad community connections. My research explores practical solutions and possible applications, along with pitfalls and challenges, to develop a framework for reconnection, restoration, and collaboration between classical ballet repertoire and global dance forms.