...To what extend the need of being perfect leads man to its own destruction? Perfection seen through the film “The Black Swan”. Claudia Patricia Villacís Galarza IB Code: 001421-054 Words: 3980 Abstract The research question of this extended essay is: To what extend the need of being perfect leads man to its own destruction? It is an analysis of perfection through the film The Black Swan. In the film the main character, Nina, is an obsessed ballerina who at the end destroyed her own life. I began the essay trying to prove that her obsession with being perfect is what leaded her to her destruction and death, but after analyzing the movie it all turned around. I based my investigation in reviews of the film, different type of articles; such as from doctors who give their opinion about Nina’s behavior. These ones in particular where the most important for the answer of my research question, because these doctors have analyzed the mental condition of Nina and together with my own opinion it helped me to come to a conclusion. I also focused on the opinion of various dancers about the film, because they are the ones that understand the world of ballet more than anyone else. At last there were also interviews with the director to explain why he decided to make this movie and what he was trying to prove through it. The movie was, of course my principal source, I applied the whole investigation in the analysis of the movie. Then after having read all that information and having...
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... Date of Evaluation: 02/01/2015 Date of Birth: 01/01/1992 Age: 23 years, 1 month PURPOSE FOR EVALUATION: Nina Sayer is a 23 year old, single, white female. She is the lead ballerina in a prestigious New York Ballet Company. She has been under an intense amount of stress due to the pressures of her job and her demands from her ballet director. She suffers from hallucinations and paranoid delusions. She describes her delusions and hallucinations as bizarre and sometimes violent. She has trouble recognizing what is real and what are her delusions and hallucinations. After struggling to get the role as the white swan in Swan lake, she is extremely paranoid and afraid that someone is trying to take her lead role in the ballet. She focuses this paranoia on a particular ballerina named Lily. She is extremely thin and shows signs of an eating disorder. She uses purging as a way to control her weight. Nina also has scars on her shoulders from self- mutilation. She seems very shy, reserved and almost childlike, but has moments of being very dark and reckless. This dichotomy in her personality causes her great distress. She feels she is under extreme pressure to be perfect for her mother and others. This obsession with perfection and her feeling of losing control is a major factor in her psychotic breakdown. BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Educational: The educational level of Nina Sayer is unknown. Social/ Emotional: Nina has no friends and has difficulty...
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...von Laban’s systematization of “quality in movement”: Space: indirect, direct Time: sustained, quick Weight: strong, light Flow: free, bound Acc. to Laban, all human movement exhibits constellations of these factors that form identifiable textures or qualities of movement. 1 2. The characteristic use of the parts of the body with their symbolic associations. Solar plexus (Duncan), lower abdomen and pelvis as an isolable area (Graham), fixed/vertical torso (ballet). Pelvis: sexual, primitive instincts and desires Chest: emotions and feelings Head: intellect, rationality, process of thinking 3. Characteristic use of “performance space”. (a three dimensional spatial grid symbolically defines the space) i.e. movements that occur in the air (jumps & lifts) or gestures towards upper space – mostly associated with the pure, heavenly, etc. movements on the flor –associations with more earthly existence. 2 THEATRE DANCE From Aristocratic Entertainments (1300-1600) to Court Spectacles (1530s-1640s) to French Court Ballet – “The Sun King” Dancing (1650-1700s) French nobility “dancing” in the entertainments and spectacles to show off their power and dignity. Spectacles organized by courts, dukedoms, etc. quickly became competitive, one court trying to display greater power and wealth than another. Idealisation of aristocratic power became the new impetus for dance. Court entertainments were prepared with great care. They were 4-5 hours elaborate programs consisting of unconnected...
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...For dance, these injuries could be just as life threatening as those from contact sports, even though no one is constantly running after them. With this being said, there are many precautions in place to prevent these injuries. Why aren't there less people with no dance-related injuries? This study discovered the causes behind dance-related injuries. High school seniors and undergraduate students were participants of a one-on-one interview discussing their dance history, specifically the events that correlated with their past and current injuries. Two dancers have never experienced a dance-related injury and...
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...the Aronofsky’s film we are introduced to the life of a dancer whether it’s real or not, whether real ballet dancers are really this obsessive and go thru this extreme [Dance, the stress]who knows!!!. But, no matter if it’s real or not, no matter what roles they take part of, their approach to their assigned roles has to dominate their thoughts at some time. Aronofsky displays a reality of today’s society of a double personality disorder, it does not necessarily have to be an exorcism where some demonic, evil creature takes completely over your body, but a regular everyday average person that suffer from this disorder. The Black Swan displays hidden realities of the world of entertainment and its high stakes. The rigorous, extraordinary amount of time of that profession. The discipline, the aching bodies, joints, bruises, injuries. A continuous struggle for the unattainable perfection. The constant pursuit while deep down in a dancer’s mind knowing and accepting that he/she will never truly find it. It showed us that a dancer is never really secured or at rest. The constant worried of who may take their role, who may be better or play the role better. So, how can a dancer perform her/his best, staying focused and able to maintain a standard, when they are constantly measuring life changes against their profession? A dancer is married in a sense to his/her career, a prisoner of his/her own accord, a pursuit of perfection. Black Swan also displays the mentally unstable mind,...
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...Contemporary dance company in Australia The ease of movement promoted by contemporary dance technique means that is it accessible for beginners as well as allowing experienced dancers to push new boundaries of body movement. Partners can improvise using the natural movement of the body, characterized by weight exchange, fluid movement and touch . 'Contemporary dance' has different meanings in different places. Different terms are used: modern dance, post-modern dance, 'new' dance, experimental dance, dance improvisation and contact improvisation as well as other terms in different languages. It is not contemporary artists and companies working in the fields of classical ballet, modern ballet, jazz dance, show dance or other forms of popular dance. Contempraroy is one of the most biggest dance company and it included lots of people that work for them some of them are : Desire Choreography Lisa Wilson Music by Matt Cornell and Paul Charlier Music edited by Matt Cornell Cast Emily Amisano, Juliette Barton, Lachlan Bell, Thomas Bradley, Richard Cilli, Janessa Dufty, Bernhard Knauer Fanatic Concept Sam Haren, Steve Mayhew, Larissa McGowan Choreography Larissa McGowan Dramaturg Sam Haren Sound Construction Steve Mayhew Cast Natalie Allen, Bernhard Knauer/Chris Aubrey, Thomas Bradley Yield Choreography by Emily Amisano Music by Fourtet, Seekae, Gold Panda Music mixed by Grayson James Cast Lachlan Bell, Juliette Barton, Richard Cilli, Janessa Dufty Dream Lucid ...
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...new wind of confidence in herself, she began frequenting parties and dancing for the party go-ers there. This is where her need to be on a stage began. Sonya and her sister would hip-hop for large parties. They went to as many parties as they could and would capture the crowds. And so, Sonya fell in love with dance. With no formal training or dance classes, Sonya had no choice but to take her first dance class in college. Although she did not get into a traditional four year college right away, Sonya did not let this keep away from pursuing dance. She attempted to join dance studios to gain proper training and was denied by over 9. Instead, she took it upon herself to take dance classes at Ford Community College. While there she studied ballet, modern, contemporary, jazz and more. She went on to transfer to Wayne State University where she took her very first formal dance training class at age 18. . In addition to her college classes, Sonya was a member of Counter Groove dance Full Circle dance companies. Sonya graduated from Wayne State University in 2002 with a major in dance. Sonya credits Wayne State University for encouraging her creativity and individuality. Her uniqueness is expressed through her bold look, she has shiny and partially shaved black hair, tattoos and piercings, not the...
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...publications and channels. However, on June 16, 1961, the Art of Ballet was on the front page of newspapers all around the world because that was the day that Rudolf Nureyev defected from the Soviet Union . His dramatic departure to the West, in essence, created its own Cold War crisis and turned him into a celebrity overnight. This, however, was just the beginning. Nureyev, a Russian dancer known for his ground breaking contributions to the world of ballet, spent the remainder of his life tearing down barriers and reinventing male ballet technique. What he brought to dance was a new role for men. No longer would men be just the frame holding or accentuating the picture of the female as the centerpiece. Nureyev continually worked to challenge the techniques of modern ballet dance by updating the most sacred of classics. He even made history by partnering with a woman twice his age, prima ballerina abssoluta, Margot Fonteyn. Due to his outspoken nature and willingness to taunt the rules of Soviet Communism, Rudolf Nureyev was convicted, in absentia, of treason (assigned traitor number 50,888) against the state under Soviet article N43 in April of 1962 . The intent of this paper is to take a deeper look into the complex and colorful life of Rudolf Nureyev: a man who pushed the limits during a time in the Soviet Union when the limits were not supposed to be pushed and a man who forever changed the world of ballet. In order to gain a better understanding of the man who challenged...
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...by producing less information on the task because full concentration allows the work to be enhanced and more specific in details. People, who constantly get distracted from their task, waste more time on a task and the quality of their work lessens. According to the Association for Psychological Science, performers (dancers) need to learn and rehearse their parts many times to gain perfection, which require concentration in order to complete a well-rounded performance (Santa Cruz). Dancers need to be very specific with every movement they do to keep up with the rhythm in harmony. Distractions may get in the way of practicing because dancers may forget or get confused on different movement they need to do. Also, ballet dancers prevent distractions by using a technique called spotting, which provides a fixed focus to prevent dizziness (Wong, Sam). Basically, ballet dancers stare at a specific point while spinning because focusing on one point will prevent distractions and confusions in the brain. Being distracted will hinder dancers’ performance and will not allow them to perfect all the steps and movement in the right order (Bergland, Christopher). Not only dancers, but also people in general perform better by marking (focusing) and practicing meticulously, which are more efficient than practicing with interruptions. Mostly teenagers, get distracted easily and disengaged from the activities. For example, teenagers multitask in school by doing many activities at a time. Students...
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...Catherine Powers Professor Mary Fahey English 1B 18 September 2013 Harrison Bergeron: Total Equality is Not Equal to Perfection Harrison Bergeron, a story written by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., is set in year 2081 when multiples constitutional amendments have been made to ensure that every single U.S. citizen is entirely equal under the law: nobody is more attractive, more intelligent, or stronger in physical capabilities than anybody else. The theme made clear in this satire is that total equality is not an ideal worth striving for, but a mistaken goal that is dangerous in both execution and outcome. The U.S. government in this story moves to ensure that no one citizen is in any way superior to another. One aspect of this is in physical aspects: nobody is allowed to be exceptionally attractive, nor are they allowed to be stronger or quicker. Masks are worn over excessively good-looking faces, and bags stuffed with lead balls are worn around the necks of the exceptionally strong so as to slow them down and weaken them. When a news bulletin comes on the television and a ballerina is made to deliver the news, Vonnegut tells us that this ballerina had to have been the best out of all the dancers because “her handicap bags were as big as those worn by two-hundred-pound men” (233). Ballerinas have always been generally petite women in such that they are skinny and perhaps not as tall as other girls or women. Two-hundred-pound men would crush a ballerina with their strength. In the futuristic...
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...calming purples, pinks, and blues that matched the performers’ outfits to a tee. It reminded me of royalty. Each performer had gorgeous outfits for every act, and I must say, the designer did a fabulous job. I also liked how the musicians were not very visible to the audience. For me, it helped with paying attention to what was actually being played and performed. I can remember in past plays, I would always watch the musicians, and it would take away my attention from the performers. During this play, I had my focus on the dancers and it was much easier to listen for certain musical instruments instead of looking for what was being played. Doing this actually helped me realize exactly how much I have learned in this class, especially the different types of instruments and what type of sounds they produce. The whole performance from the dancers to the music and lighting blended together like sugar and Honey Nut Cheerios; in other words, perfection. The lighting of the stage matched the musical performance amazingly as well. It was as if when there was a solo, such as the piano, the lights beamed with brightness on the performer; making it very easy to fall into the rhythm of the music. If the music was played at a slower rhythm, the lights were dim as well; making the stage attractive and deep. When the music was performed in...
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...In The Black Swan, Nina's biggest dilemma that she comes across is her ballet instructors constant strain for her to perfect her role of the swan queen, and to do so, he claims that she must let go of her apparent frigid, innocent, and weak personality. The instructor encourages this, saying things such as “ the only person standing in your way is you. Let go, lose yourself.”(The Black Swan, 2010). This is similar to Hamlet’s way of trying to convince Ophelia to let go of that same aspect of innocence, and be more of a sexual being towards him. Both of the women display extreme obedience, they will do anything for the men in their lives because they strive for the approval of these men. Ophelia is under the command of her father until she is married to another man, so she finds herself with no choice. Nina praises her ballet director so much to the point that every single thing that he suggests she will strive to be. However, most of the time it is through him manipulating her with tactics such as making her jealous or making her feel like she is not worthy enough for the role, and telling her to “stop being so fucking weak.”(The Black Swan, 2010) whenit is apparent that she...
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...Mao's Last Dancer Li Cunxin Dedication To the two special women in my life—my mother and my wife Mao’s Last Dancer A Wedding Qingdao, 1946 On the day of her marriage, a young girl sits alone in her village home. It is autumn, a beautiful October morning. The country air is cool but fresh. The young girl hears happy music approaching her house. She is only eighteen, and she is nervous, frightened. She knows that many marriage introducers simply take money and tell lies. Some women from her village marry men who don't have all their functional body parts. Those women have to spend the rest of their lives looking after their husbands. Wife beating is common. Divorce is out of the question. Divorced women are humiliated, despised, suffering worse than an animals fate. She knows some women hang themselves instead and she prays this is not going to be her fate. She prays to a kind and merciful god that her future husband will have two legs, two arms, two eyes and two ears. She prays that his body parts are normal and functional. She worries that he will not be kind-hearted and will not like her. But most of all she &+x worries about her unbound feet. Bound feet are still in fashion. Little girls as young as five or six have to tuck four toes under the big toe and squeeze them hard to stop the growth. It is extremely painful, and the girls have to change the cloth bandages and wash their feet daily to avoid infection. The tighter the feet are bound the smaller the feet will...
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...business was spiraling at a furious rate, from circuses, minstrel shows, amusement parks, burlesque and vaudeville. "Burlesque moved from several lavishly staged spectacles in respectable theaters to 'leg shows' "(Leroy. A., 2006) Igniting the growth of the striptease through leg shows was English immigrant Laura Keene. She opened up a theatre on Broadway, seeking to appeal to women. Trying to keep her theater alive in the 1860, she identified the potential in male audiences. She released a Broadway show called ‘The seven sisters’ this incorporated “short-petticoated ladies”, legs in flesh colored tights and plunging necklines. This created a craze in town, men loving it and tickets sold out in no time. Soon followed similar theater and ballet plays were...
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...Don DeLillo’s book, White Noise, tells the story of Jack Gladney and his family. Throughout the book, Jack takes on a professional, fictional persona resembling that of Hitler, being the Chairman of Hitler Studies at the College-on-the-Hill (DeLillo 4). Jack turns his professional persona into this fictional character, something he could transform himself into, as if he was filling a Hitler mold. Jack relies on this Hitler-esque persona to sustain his own personal identity and self-worth, although in his mind, this fake persona is only subsidiary to his own personality. Jack struggles with ascertaining the importance of himself as compared to the importance of his own made-up persona and this notion of fabricated reality becoming more important that actual reality is offered throughout White Noise. While in his role of Chairman of Hitler Studies, he refers to himself as J.A.K. Gladney and dresses in sweeping, dramatic robes while teaching. Jack also takes into consideration the advice of the chancellor, “He wanted me to “grow out” into Hitler. He himself was tall, paunchy, ruddy, jowly, big-footed and dull. A formidable combination. I had the advantages of substantial height, big hands, big feet, but badly needed bulk” (DeLillo 16). This impression of J.A.K. Gladney differed greatly from Jack’s own character, and the fact that he does not know German only adds to the plasticity of his fabricated self. The idea of false reality overtaking actual reality is shown by Jack and...
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