Why is ballet so "popular"?

It's just everytime i do dance searches one of the first thing coming up is ballet and when i go through dance section on yahoo answers BALLET lol so back to the question what makes ballet so popular?

Why is ballet so "popular"?comedy club

i guess because its very common and really it was the first type of dance that a school was opened for and really the first type of dance that was really popular its also the base of all technique even for other styles of dance and it was the only type of dance for quite a while

Why is ballet so "popular"?sheet music opera theater

ballet is so popular because it is a beautiful type of dance, and incredibly interesting to watch. the dancers are graceful and fluid, and can do amazing things with their bodies.

i guess people just love watching these ballet dancers move their bodies so beautifully, and then they take lessons to be able to do the same thing.
Ballet as Opera are high art forms. It takes a tremendous amount of skill to perform ballet. One needs complete control of one's body to make all of the necessary steps, tip toe, and body curves. It's a lot more difficult than regular nightclub dancing.
It is? I mean I dont see a ballet video on VH1 often or at the MTV video awards.

"Dimebag" would have eaten that question alive. Now tap is sexy.
because of the amount of panzies that overrun the world.
it's classic, it's beautiful. it has history. people who can do ballet have much respect cus it take's serious body control and serious body strength. to be able to move your body with grace while keeping form is perfection. it take's alot of hard work hour's and hour's pure dedication is needed. in the end you have captured the heart of the audiance cus you have strung all it take's and made it into a form. so if you can do that you'll be concidered amazing. that's why it's soooo popular.
Ballet is the form for every type of dance no matter which type of dance ballet is the key foundation for that type of dance. For me I have been doing ballet since I was 2 years old I know and just three years ago I switched over to Musical Theater and felt that I enjoy it much better there is singing and dancing and acting and I am very great at it so my switch was for the best others might stick with ballet but if you do straight ballet I personaly feel you should always have another type of dance style that you know.

I know ballet, tap, musical theater, jazz, mordern and hip hop so I can almost do it all.(Not to be all snooty about it) But ballet is the key foundation for any type of dance.
I know that ballet is incorporated in lot of school activities and people don't know when they join. Like the color guard and winter guard. When I joined I didn't know that ballet was widely used and now I love it.
Because Ballet is a beautiful form of dance, it takes a lot of strength, and coordination. It's a very old form of dance and one of the most popular. I have been doing ballet since I was 4 years old and I'm now 25. I was a dedicated student up until my teen years, I just went back to it, a year ago.

It's such a prestigious art. I don't think I can think of anything more beautiful and graceful.
My answer might be slightly biased, but hey. Ballet is a type of dance that people like because most can't do it, and the dancers dress in somewhat immodest uniforms. I mean, don't get me wrong; I'm a dancer too, so I wear outfits like that. But still. People tend to think that ballet is beautiful because of the combination of soft music, and of the words of the dance. Ballet is more of a language dance then any other type. Tap is good for a beat, and jazz is good exercise. Hip-hop...eh...Well, hip-hop's just weird, but ANYWHO! Ballet is popular because some dance studios like their students to be flexible, and most girls like being able to say that they're a ballerina. xP Give me a pair of taps ANY day.

~Hope I helped,

Tap Happy
Selene, I will take a guess that you have never yet watched a live ballet. When you do, you will be in awe, really.

I was a professional ballerina when I was younger 鈥?you have to retire very young; that's how much it takes out of your body.

A study once showed that ballet dancers, even girls, are far more powerful than pro football players! It takes years of back-breaking work to be able to learn ballet.

It's not just a matter of being able to follow the steps %26amp; get really good at it. You actually have to contort your body into abnormal positions, stretch the muscles into outrageous lengths, and strengthen the muscles until they are as rigid as trees 鈥?all this to end up looking as if you are light as a feather, floating up there on the stage.

It is an amazing contradiction. The dancers do look as if what they are doing is effortless; but, in reality they are sweating and working out harder than you can imagine. Also, some of the things they do look like complete impossibilities, and while you watch, you find yourself holding your breath, wondering if they can do it.

There is also the beauty of it, along with the music, the romance, how it touches your emotions. Literally every little girl who sees a piece of a ballet live wants to be a ballerina. In New York, every year, American Ballet Theater (ABT) auditions about 5,000 little girls for only 6 spots in The Nutcracker. That's not my favorite ballet; Swan Lake is, but I saw The Nutcracker Suite at Radio City when I was 5, and just that small piece of the ballet made me want to be a ballerina.

Ballet is not only beautiful, but when you take classes, you end up in the best shape of your life. Instead of just jogging or working out in a gym (ho-hum), you get a full-body work-out while immersing yourself in a world of imagination. You actually get to know every single muscle in your body. It not only gets you into great shape, but makes you move like an elegant, beautiful person, even in jeans %26amp; a belly shirt.

I suggest you either go to a real ballet (not a school recital) or take a beginner's class for a while. I bet you will fall in love with it.
because ballet helps you with all forms of dance [posture, strength, flexibility, etc.] but i don't particularly like the style just to do as it bores me. i like jazz, hip hop, and modern much more but ballet has helped me with all of them.
ballet is so popular because

one, every other form of dance was influenced by ballet

ex. jazz, tap, contemporary, etc.

two it is very beautiful, and is enjoyable to watch.

i have been a ballet dancer for over 10 years, and i think ballet is classy and sophisticated, and it takes a great deal of work to master.

yes breakers stand on their hands...we stand on our toes. and not all of them, only the first two toes, so it would seem that it is harder to balance your weight on 4 toes instead a long flat surface like your hands that can grip the floor.

and ballet dancers dont "spin" (anyone can spin) we turn. you have to keep your core rock hard, and hold the position for as long as possible, so you can turn many times, you also have to make sure you have enough force when you push off the ground, and that you spot so you dont get dizzy and fall over, and you have to have your arms in the right position, because if they are flapping everywhere you wont be able to turn.

see my point? im not trying to be rude, but it seams that if you have ever seen a live ballet, like you say you have, that common sense would tell you the answer to this question and you wouldnt have to waste 5 points on it. it is very hard to watch a ballet and not appreciate the grace with which they move and the poise that the dancers have. it is very hard to make something look easy and effortless.
Dance is prominent throughout history. Traditions of narrative dance evolved in China, India, Indonesia and Ancient Greece. Theatrical dance was well-established in the wider arena of ancient Greek theatre. When the Roman Empire conquered Greece, it assimilated Greek dance and theatre with their art and culture. While dance continued to be important throughout the Middle Ages, in spite of occasional suppression by the Church, the art of ballet did not emerge until the late 1400s in Italy. Italy began the ballet tradition, but it was the French that enabled it to blossom. Incorporating aspects of Italian ballet, French ballet gained prominence and influenced the dance genre internationally. To this day, the majority of ballet vocabulary originates from French.

In the last century, the United States also developed its own ballet traditions, most notably with choreographer George Balanchine. Although interest in contemporary dance has expanded to include modern dance, jazz, flamenco and other forms, ballet has endured the test of time and is still taught and performed.

Ballet was always a major part in the romantic period.

If you ever see a ballet...you will notice quite a few of them are about love.

Giselle, La Fil Mal Gradee, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Romeo %26amp; Juliet, Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote - just to name a few.