Socioeconomic
· Based on:
o Income
o Education level
o Occupation
o Social status in community (contacts and group associations)
Soviet Union
o Membership was vital
o Path to career advancement
o Wealth
o Determined social status
o Three social classes
§ Nomenklatura (ruling class)
· Party officials
· Personnel in the government
· Roomy apartments
· Country houses
· Access to special schools, stores and medical facilities
§ Proletariat (middle class)
· Cramp apartment complexes
· Waited in line for food and other necessities
· Little opportunity for relief
§ Agricultural workers (lower class)
· Received least pay
· Lease possibility for social advancement
· Least representation in CPSU
Post Soviet Union
o Create a civilized society
o Restore the family
o Nomenklatura becomes nonexistent but some are still around
o Economy based on capitalism
o Gap between richest and poorest starts to grow
Jean Baptist Lande
o Taught his students ballet and showed their performance to Empress Anna
o She was impressed and then Lande started the Imperial Ballet School in 1738
Imperial Ballet School
o It was common for children to start ballet at a young age
o Most of the time their parents were ballet dancers
Anna Pavlova
§ Her father was thought to be Jewish
§ Rejected at age six from Imperial Ballet School
§ Told to return at age 15
§ Came back at age ten and got into Imperial Ballet School
Vatslav Nijinsky
§ Joined the Imperial Ballet School at age 11
§ Represented himself as Pole
Ballet
o Ballet was an art form that received special treatment from the government
o Authorities paid great attention and provided ballet and dancers with governmental grants
o Ballet was first used for wedding festivities
o Three kinds of ballet
o Classical ballet
§ Most formal
§ Unique features and technique
· Pointe work and turn out of the legs, high extensions, graceful, and flowing
o Neoclassical ballet
§ Dance at more extreme tempos
§ Focus on structure
§ Between classical and today’s contemporary ballet
o Contemporary ballet
§ Influenced by classical ballet and modern dance
§ Greater range of movement
· Floor work and turn in of the legs
17th Century
o Peter the Great
§ Personal interest in dancing at his court by bringing in Western Dance
§ He took part in the dances
§ Used prisoners from Swedish wars to teach his courtiers
18th Century
o Nobles
§ Lived far from the capital
§ Needed to entertain themselves somehow
o Set up ballets that were composed of serfs who has been trained at the Imperial Ballet School
o Private theatres opened for high society