"Harmony and Contrast"

[Old Fashioned]

"Harmony and contrast: all beauty comes from these two things." -Vatel

When I watched the movie awhile ago, I couldn't stop thinking about this one line. I was coming up with things in my mind that have harmony and contrast, especially in ballet. What ballets and dancers do you think show these qualities?

[dirac]

Interesting question. You might be able to argue that any good ballet in proper classical style shows both qualities.

[Alexandra]

I'd agree. allegro/adagio, ante-masque/masque (the idea of showing devils before Queen's entree, all the better to show the goodness of the Queen).

I definitely think that harmony is a tenet of classicism. There's such an emphasis on allegro and ENERGY!!! today it's hard to think of dancers who have much opportunity to show harmony. In the past, it was one of the glories of the Danish school; they had an almost animalistic quality of utter stillness. Fonteyn had it, and so (taking this on faith and video) did Diana Adams. By harmony, I mean harmony of limb and line.

[dirac]

It's true, we don't seem to see much in the way of "harmonious calm" these days. I wonder if it's out of fear of eliciting that dread reaction – "I don't get it. They're not doing anything."