LEVEL UP YOUR BALLET NERD STATUS | Ballet White Acts: All You Need To Know

[@keyaunna.]

ladies, i absolutely loved this crash course. as someone who watches ballet REGULARLY, it is so so wonderful to learn about the intricacies of the sport, and how many white acts there actually are. i cannot wait for more crash courses!

[@balletreign]

This made us so happy! We’re glad u liked this video and hope it helps u get the most of ur ballet experiences😁😁✨✨. What crash course do y’all want next? 🤔

[@emanuelebabici]

​@@balletreignalready commented a paragraph, but I'm suggesting a crash course on divertissements! I found them to be such am interesting topic while writing a critical analysis of Manon. In that last case, the fact that the original meaning of divertissement outside of ballet overlaps with the meaning of the term in ballet shows how genius Macmillan really is. Furthermore, divertissements in classical ballets usually showcase folklore and character dances + some of the most iconic pas de deuxs, which are both interesting topics to cover imo😅 Sending so much love on towards you❤

[@ricopoisson]

The switched sides really took me by surprise in the beginning :D

[@balletreign]

never let ‘em know ur next move 🥸🥸

[@shirleypalmer439]

There’s no table😮 this is face to face

[@jeffparnell5805]

My first time seeing a white act was seeing Swan Lake in-person. It made me fall in love with the corps de ballet, the moment they came out in-line. The common saying is to see "something that is greater than the sum of its parts", but what I experienced was beyond that quote. I felt like I connected with each individual dancer, yet seeing the collecive all together at the same time. Just impossible to explain. I think it was so much easier to see and connect with because, like the topic says, it's a white act. It was a pure experience.

[@jeffparnell5805]

White Acts always have a way of making me cry my eyes out 😭.

[@balletreign]

SAME 🥲

[@sharimeline3077]

I got a few tears in my eyes just watching the little snippets in this video. ❤ I'm glad I'm not alone.

[@beentheresawthat3982]

Thank you girls for the topic! Giselle`s 2 act is perfection, Swan Lake`s the most beautiful music, La Bayadere 3d act is genius Petipa at his peak. White acts are quintessential ballet, precursor of 20th century plotless ballets with pure dance reigning

[@balletreign]

Great summary 👍🏻✨. So glad you liked this video! Thanks for watching today 😁😁

[@adamuffoletto7869]

Lol before you said it I was thinking about how much I'd like to see a full pas de deux crash course lol. Go for it!!

[@balletreign]

Haha we’re on the same wavelength 😅 stay tuned 😉😉

[@Z.A.M.1359]

Now I want to learn more about dream scenes!

[@balletreign]

Dream scenes are awesome!! ✨✨

[@mjgbabydragonlet]

The first white act I ever saw was in La Bayadere. I was very young, but it mesmerized me. It was at the Bolshoi. I think the corps really get to shine in the white acts... So I still love them! I love your commentary on ballet in general. So keep them coming!

[@balletreign]

Lucky u! Kingdom of the Shades is truly a work of art ✨✨. Thanks for watching, glad u enjoyed this one!

[@brit1583]

That was great as ever. I love Giselle so much because of the two acts contrasting so much. Those arabesque hops wow me every time. Never thought of snow as a white act but it kind of is. So fast. But also I admire the stillness of the corps which must be so hard and cramp making

[@balletreign]

Shoutout to all the corps members, it’s def the hardest role 🙌🏻 thanks for watching and enjoying! 😁😁

[@Jayjen35]

Before I go find a whole bunch of "Giselle" white acts... how about a tutorial on secondary as in the "village couple" solos in Giselle or the faeries in Sleeping Beauty?

[@isabelaandzico]

Myrtha and the Wilis vibes by Adolphe Adam will always make me emotional 16:26

[@balletreign]

Us too, the whole scene is too good 🥲🥲

[@isabelaandzico]

PLEASE 🙏🏻 do a crash course on the Pas de Trois: Paquita, Swan Lake, 3 shades, precious stones of Sleeping Beauty. The coda of the Paquita PDT is one of the funnest codas to dance. 13:59

[@balletreign]

We love the paquita coda! Such a bop 🎧🎶

[@RomeoNJulietLostTheGame]

So much fun 🤩 please more crash courses 🎉

[@balletreign]

Glad you enjoyed this! What crash course do y’all want to see next? 🤔

[@WhitKnight-mi5tx]

More crash courses, please!

[@balletreign]

Haha ok!! 😁✨ glad u liked this

[@SolElarien]

I need more crash courses and more videos!

[@balletreign]

More coming ur way very soon! 😁😁

[@susanpaul4752]

I know you both have such intense feelings about Swan Lake, BUT Bayadere is IT for me....also, the music for Bayadere , White Act takes the cake! So totally and absolutely gorgeous. Staggering...and no one staggers!!!!!

[@balletreign]

It’s almost impossible to rank them, they’re all so fabulous ✨✨✨

[@mjgbabydragonlet]

I am with you as La Bayadere was my first white act I saw and it is still my favorite.

[@emanuelebabici]

I stand by ballet reign both in saying it's impossible to rank them, AND be so attached to swan lake. Bayadere is beautiful, but if we really HAVE TO compare them I find it more flat overall and less blended within the story. Furthermore, in absence of the final act with the destruction of the temple it almost feels to me that the story doesn't quite come to a proper end, with Solor being married/engaged and at the same time dreaming of Nikiya while under drugs. But I'm going beyond the point, la Bayadere still remains absolutely beautiful and my DVD player knows how many times I've run that disk with Roberto Bolle and Svetlana Zakharova

[@mjgbabydragonlet]

I have that one too!@@emanuelebabici

[@tarantellalarouge7632]

thanks ladies for this crash course. It was too short for me, I would have loved to see a little bit more videos ......

[@balletreign]

Haha glad u liked it 😂😂

[@gehatu6402]

Note: Always take plenty of tissues with you when viewing a White Act- you will need them. My personal highest score is Giselle. By the way, what is the function of the two ballerinas who perform additional (more difficult?) dance passages alongside Myrtha? Are they Myrtha's Ladies-in-waiting?

[@balletreign]

U got it! They’re her personal attendants/ladies in waiting 👍🏻👍🏻

[@felicity1877]

Because we need side soloists always in ballet. Such like the Big Swans. The names in Giselle are Zulme and Moyna (;

[@gehatu6402]

@@balletreign 😊💋👍🌹🌹

[@sharimeline3077]

Giselle is my favorite ballet overall, and the white act, to me, stands above the rest. But I love ghosts and spooky things, so it makes sense.

[@emanuelebabici]

​@@felicity1877that is the real explanation, the role of their character os just an excuse for them to exist in the white act as side soloists😂

[@felicity1877]

What an inspiring thought food! I considered that Raymonda is also quite special, as it's probably the only other example of a girl dreaming herself of her (real) love interest....it's turned upside down-, and one of the last classic ballets.... (my comment vanished two times, I keep this part to retyped...)

[@oxoelfoxo]

i often type on notepad and copy-paste so if YT is acting up i don't have to retype my comments

[@felicity1877]

@@oxoelfoxo I restored and retyped it now. Two times was quite strange. The first time, I copypasted it, actually, But then....

[@Машина-к1ж]

I started watching ballet just one year ago and started with smaller and newer pieces and was like: "Ok that's nice, I like that", but as I saw the white act of La Bayadere I just completely fell in love with this art. I mean I only started one year ago, but I've already watched La Bayadere four times in the opera house and melted everytime, I just loose myself in this pure beauty. And I have to say, it is always worth to buy the more expensive tickets which let you watch the ballet at the height of the stage, because the choreography just looks way more impressive than seen from above.

[@CheyenneSedai]

Love the corps de ballet appreciation.

[@balletreign]

💕💕💕

[@Ohana1-l4y]

I would love to get a crash course to the coda, I’ve never really understood, what is It about and what’s the difference. Thank you so much for this video, know I can show of with that knowledge 😝

[@oxoelfoxo]

could the white acts be one reason a specific body type is desired in ballet? so everyone looks more or less uniform?

[@nanp3757]

I knew nothing of ballet when I started watching your videos. I really enjoy going through your older videos and look forward to the new ones you put out. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and love of ballet.

[@balletreign]

This is awesome!! So glad ur learning and discovering ur inner Ballet Nerd 😄😄 thanks for being here ✨✨

[@emanuelebabici]

Incredibly interesting and well made video! Got a lot of inputs to think about, and I agree that white acts are absolutely magical! I slightly disagree on your definition and classification of white acts tho. From how I studied and heard, the term white act obviously comes from the fact that La Sylphide and the white acts that followed were in white costumes, however the definition has extended to the act that goes into tge surreal world. Because the the romantic era was so constructed around this idea of the surreal/at-the-edge-of-reality sublime, those white acts were the part of the ballet that reflected tge beauty of how the romantics viewed art. For instance, acts like sleeping beauty act 2 or Pharaoh's Daughter underwater kingdom are considered white acts. Don Quixote act 2 scene 2 is on the edge, because while the dryads do behave as the corps does in white acts, there's more interaction and storytelling with tge soloists; my definition includes don Quixote too tho. In general you said that white acts are characterized by slightly overlapping with reality, while for as I see it they are characterised by taking place in the surreal. The best example is solor being under the effects of opium, he doesn't actually meet the shades. Everything else you said on the technical amd choreographical aspects is exact and prestine to me, with the little add that usually white acts feature blue lighting, to again deliver even better the correct vibe. On a different take, despite Nutcracker being a dream, the second act is a divertissement, the part of the ballet where the story stops and there's space for the dancing (such as Swan Lake act 3 or sleeping beauty act 3). And I think the label of divertissement overtakes the one of dream scene or white act. In would be very interesting to see a similar video about divertissements!!

[@AstroBuoyant]

Another very cool course … thanks Ballet Reigns Caused me to realize how much cinema’s Busby Berkeley‘s geometric, kaleidoscopic musical dance numbers’ staging & cinematography were derived from 19th century ballet lexicon. Ballet has been so widely influential on the broader world’s art/culture

[@RandomTheresa]

I absolutely love La Bayadere shades 🩰

[@balletreign]

Same here ✨✨

[@susanpaul4752]

I also place Giselle as #2, and SL as #3...just a bit tired of it and the music as well. Nothing personal, Ladies of the Barre.

[@jennyfreij1885]

Thank you for making me a ballet nerd! I'm obsessed with "four little swans" and would love to hear you talk about it in one of your videos 😊

[@balletreign]

YAY for another Ballet Nerd!! 🥳🥳 we will def talk abt four little swans, such a good piece!

[@StarseedAzri-xl3vm]

I wish they'd do a video of Jewels. Can't find the full ballet on KZbin but the white scenes I could find were beautiful.

[@balletreign]

Thanks for sharing and for the suggestion 😊

[@clemncb]

Would love a crash course about the structure of ballets ! I know there's some kind of order like in the pas de deux where they dance together, then the ballerina, then the danseur, the coda in the end etc ! It would be super super interesting to learn more about it and how to recognize those parts 😍

[@balletreign]

Thanks for ur suggestions! 🙌🏻🙌🏻

[@beatrizaleixo4837]

You should do a crash course on classical music in the context of ballet for us music noobs!! Sometimes I have to look up some terms you say eheheh

[@letlotlosibanda]

Giselle is my most favourite white act. The music? The costumes? The choreography? Absolutely stunning. ❤

[@cynthiat6505]

You both teach so beautifully! I’ve learned so many things from you! Love love love

[@virginia-rosemakeup9697]

Been looking forward to this all week 😂😍 Have my mint tea at the ready 🍵💜

[@Balletsimp]

me too, but with elderberry lemon!

[@balletreign]

Nice choices, @virginia-rosemakeup9697 @Balletsimp ! We’re joining y’all with Thai (E) and Matcha (J) today 😋😋

[@virginia-rosemakeup9697]

@@Balletsimp Ohhhh that sounds amazing!! I'm actually in need of some good tea recommendations if you have any because my usual favourite brand Pukka, just doesn't seem to be as flavourful as they used to, I might go back to making ones from scratch, there's something so special about the grounding ritual of home brewed! 🍵🥰💚💜💚

[@virginia-rosemakeup9697]

@@balletreign Oh delicious! 🥰👌🍵 ....... İ definitely need to have a shop around and add more to the collection for Winter! Beautiful video as always ladies and you're both looking exquisite as always! I adore both of your styles, perfect combination of classy, feminine, cute and ethereal all in one! All the antioxidants in our tea definitely shows in scrumptious glowing skin! 🥰🍵🍵🍵🩰💜❤️💜

[@markbeck8384]

How about a crash course on comedy solos; I can think of several..

[@balletreign]

Ooh that could be fun! Thanks for suggesting 👍🏻

[@curiousman1672]

Always excellent.

[@balletreign]

Tysm 😁😁✨✨

[@Linus644]

Please do more of these! Pas de deux, all you want to talk about, I really want to be able to understand ballet better and you guys help me a lot! Also, can most of the nutcracker be considered a dream scene? Lol

[@marylee8372]

Yes! I love the Crash Course concept! It's really helpful for you to highlight what's happening and what to watch for. Love you guys 💘😘

[@balletreign]

Yay! Glad u liked this and found it helpful😄😄

[@sifanommar2000]

I loved this😍🥰

[@balletreign]

Thank u!! 😁😁

[@marcco44]

thanks you guys.......this is so helpful to the layman!!👏👏👏💖

[@balletreign]

So glad this helped you! 😁😁

[@rosannatufts855]

Arlene Croce raved about Makarova's staging of La Bayadere for ABT, saying Makarova had taken the "sleepy corps the ballet that has skated through Giselle and Swan Lake all these years, and re-energized them from top to bottom." (I'm paraphrasing.)

[@jrprincess23]

Yes please pas de deux!!!! Also went to see Dracula this October and it started with a white act. Hauntingly beautiful. I was so impressed with how possessed they all looked. Like they did not move with free will.

[@balletreign]

Noted on pas de deux, stay tuned! 😊

[@Rianna11111]

Thank you for making dance so accessible to learn. I love learning about the acts! I am outlining a fantasy and original story for the stage (off a poem) and then I began learning about Giselle and everything. Videos like yours help me honor the legacy of the timeless white act! I started as a filmmaker and I'm transitioning to dance cinema and the stage, with the camera an active participant of the choreography.

[@EvilSnips]

I love your guys' videos! It would be so cool if you did one looking at different divertissements which are often based on different cultures/countries and the commonalities and differences between them!

[@DaveCalungsod]

Sorry to tired to keep awake to watch the premiere and yes definitely do another crash course on pas de deux❤

[@balletreign]

No worries! We missed u, but glad u got some rest ☺️☺️

[@kaseystreicher3291]

So glad you included The Snow Scene from The Nutcracker! Great tutorial for the new AND the initiated.

[@balletreign]

Thanks sm, glad u enjoyed! 🫰🏻🫰🏻

[@nooripuss1]

Diamonds in Jewels?

[@balletreign]

👍🏻👍🏻

[@lilliedoubleyou3865]

Girls, thank you for this! "Ballet nerd status" videos seem like a winning idea! Would love to see more in this category.

[@balletreign]

Thanks for ur feedback! We had fun making this one, so hopefully you’ll see more in the near future 😉😉

[@cyrilandshirley]

Not sure if they are still on here, but I have watched videos of the Royal Ballet corps rehearsing the white act from Giselle and the entrance of the shades from Bayadere, and dear God, the sweat and skill and practice that goes into getting these acts perfect is so clear. Go watch them if you haven't already.

[@balletreign]

The corps girls have the hardest job. Props to them for their amazing work! 😁✨

[@oxoelfoxo]

what's the white act in La Bayadere about? i'm familiar with the stories of Swan Lake and Giselle but not LB tho I think you talked about parts of it previously. should probably look for the video or go to Wikipedia

[@annaiuga]

I have seen Swan lake last week, for maybe the 12 time and I can t get enough of it. I love white act. My daughter danced the Shadow s kingdom and I just loved it.

[@balletreign]

Both are timeless ✨ how wonderful that she got to dance such an iconic piece!! 😄😄

[@Isaa14077]

WHERE IS THE CLIP FROM 8:27 FROM I NEED TO WATCH IT FULLY😭

[@balletreign]

Dutch National Ballet’s Giselle ☺️☺️. They are STUNNING 🤩

[@Isaa14077]

@@balletreign Ty😁😁

[@kozlinda]

just out of curiosity...is the La Sylphide choreography the original?

[@balletreign]

Probably not, La Sylphide has been revised many times ☺️✨

[@magdazul5543]

I need more of this courses haha

[@balletreign]

Lol glad u found it helpful! 😁✨

[@andrewpq5149]

Please please pleaseee do you a pas de deux crash course 😩 I would love to learn more from y'all

[@balletreign]

Thanks for watching and for your request. We’d definitely love to share more about that in a future video. Stay tuned:)

[@niemask]

❤

[@balletreign]

Thanks so much for your support!! ❤️Much love from 🇺🇸

[@markbeck8384]

Or maybe comedy features would be broader?

[@isabelaandzico]

Can we even watch Don Quixote’s Dream Scene without Evgenia Obraztsova as Cupid 💘? She IS Cupid. 5:10

[@balletreign]

FACTS

[@NapoleonIII1]

Dear girls, what about Les Sylphides, it is also a beautiful white ballet..

[@janesteinberg2713]

Please do a break down of the pas de dux In a Blanc scene eg swan lake Giselle etc

[@平-i4f]

What is the version at 0:57

[@balletreign]

American Ballet Theatre’s La Bayadere ☺️✨

[@PalacinkyPDX]

Solor be trippin'!

[@balletreign]

Trippin HARD 😅😅

[@marionbayley1351]

So is the Land of the Shades a ‘dress scene’ or a ‘white act’? It appears to be both.

[@RomeoNJulietLostTheGame]

Maybe a crash course of codas 😊

[@divineguidanceable]

Oooh question; Is Serenade a single white act? Or does a white act need context of story?

[@tomgillen9312]

Ladies, I like white acts, except in most cases for the male protagonist - James in La Sylphide, Albrecht in Giselle, Solor in La Bayadere and Siegfried in Swan Lake. Due to their failings their actions lead to the death of the female protagonist, who is generally innocent or to the tragic ending (the Soviet version of Swan Lake from the 1950s is an exception). Albrecht is the worst. I feel that the end of the second act of Giselle is the saddest scene in all ballet. In the 1877 version of Swan Lake because Odette won’t forgive Siegfried he rips the crown off of her head resulting in her death and in the 1895 they both commit suicide. My favorite white acts include the second act (second scene of the first act) of Swan Lake, the entrance of the Shades in La Sylphide and the Dance of the Snowflakes in The Nutcracker. I consider that to be more of a White Act than a Dream Act. Also I would consider Les Sylphides to be a White Act. Six of the seven White Acts, including the Dance of the Nuns. occur at night, La Sylphide occurs in the morning and considering the Snowflakes to be snow fairies they all involve supernatural beings - Wiles (Viles), Sylphides, Swan Maidens, Snow Fairies, Shades (Ghosts) and the Ghosts of departed Nuns. In the 1877 version of Swan Lake all of the Swans are Swan maidens including Odette. Ann Hutchinson Guest has reconstructed the choreography for The Ballet of the Nuns and I have her book describing it. I wish that someone would mount a performance of this without the opera part. My suggestion for a future “Crash Course” video would be on Pas de Deux. Tom,

[@stephaniecruvant9130]

Minute 1:31, Lauren Anderson Houston Ballet? 2:38, Alina Cojacoru? I need to stop this & just watch...

[@naomimckay]

corps work>>>>>>

[@balletreign]

💕💕💕

[@violetmogusu8272]

Whoever reads this Jesus loves you ❤❤

[@tiffcat1100]

French blanc, you don’t pronounce the end c ❤

[@shirleypalmer439]

I thought the big three would be snowflakes Gisele and the swans

[@isabelaandzico]

I’d add to the difference panel the level of difficulty to the corps de ballet. As professional ballerinas we all do some corps work and Swan Lake, Giselle and Shades are absolutely incredibly hard for me corps and I’m grateful for the endurance it’s given me!🩰💪🏻 9:52

[@sianavassileva403]

really like the idea of crash courses, looking forward to stepping up my game 🦢🦢

[@balletreign]

Glad u like these!! A true ballet nerd 😁😁