Ballet Poetry

[Allegro]

For a project at school, I have to come up with some good poetry regarding dance. It could be by an established author, or it could be some originals by friends...

So does anybody know of any good poems regarding dance, or where I could find some?

Or, if there is a poet out there who would like to personal message one of theirs to me, I would be eternally grateful!!!

Thanks!

~Allegro

[dirac]

I could give you names and titles and then make you work, but there's a quick and dirty solution for you, thanks to NYCB. A volume called "Tributes" came out a few years ago, and it contains, among other things, poems in part or entirety by Balanchine fans among the poet ranks. Kenneth Koch, Frank O'Hara, Ron Padgett, and Robert Lowell are the ones I can think of offhand who are represented. James Merrill, too. Elise Paschen, Maria Tallchief's daughter, is a poet and I think one of hers is also there. Hope this helps.

[Nanatchka]

You could also look at an Oxford Book of Quotations or a Bartlett's (your library should have both) and in the index, find "Dance." This will lead you to Milton's L'Allegro (Trip it lightly as you go, on the light fantastic toe) T S Eliot's Four Quartets (At the still point of the turning world, there is the dance) And WB Yeats's Among School Children (Oh body swayed to music, oh brightening glance, How can I tell the dancer from the dance?), among many other poems. Be sure you look these up yourself (!!!!!!!!), because I am quoting off the top of my head. (I won't do your homework for you, but I'll help you do it yourself. Speaking of which, why don't you try writing a poem about dancing yourself? You could write about how it feels to do it, or how it feels to watch it. )

[Mel Johnson]

And what of Grainger's Index to Poetry?

[Allegro]

THank you all for your help.

Nanatchka, thank you for your suggestions. I am going to look for those poems in our library...

And yes, I will have to write some poems for the project. THat is a required element, but I also have to have 8 poems on my subject by other authors. BUt just looking through my school's library, I have found a few poems already. There is a very pretty sonnet by Emily DIckinson that was about dance... I am having fun doing this project!

Thanks again!

Allegro

[Mme. Hermine]

My favorite by Alexander Pope:

(not really about dance but about writing with a dance reference)

"True ease in writing comes from art, not chance,

As those move easiest who have learn'd to dance."

[hesterlover1]

I have one dance poem that I wrote last year for a creative writing class...with all these other choices by *real* authors, I don't know if you'd still like to see it, but if you do just let me know--PM me or something. That sounds like a fun project--I'd like to do that instead of my 15 page research paper... :rolleyes: Hope this helps!

[Dolphingirl]

There is a wonderful poem, in my opinion, by Naomi Shihab Nye, which is entitled "Boy and Mom at the Nutcracker Ballet". It's a very sweet poem which is sort of a conversation between a young boy and his mother at the ballet. I really like it, especially the ending (which isn't at all ballet related), when the boy asks his mom if she has any more pistachios in her purse:) But it's a really nice poem, and I hope you look into it, Allegro, for your project. It sounds like a lot of fun!