From: reich@nosc.mil (Ronald S. Reich)
Subject: "KITE BALLET"
Date: Thu, 16 Jun 1994 14:14:47 GMT

"KITE BALLET"  what it means to Ron Reich.

     There are 3 primary forms of "KITE BALLET"
          1.   Music  is being played in the background  while  a 
kite/kites is/are being flown.
          2.  The manipulators of kites are challenged to  impro-
vise their performance to try and capture the moods and tempos of 
music that is currently being broadcast.
          3.  An individual takes the time to study a  composures 
work  of  MUSICAL ART and then sets about  creating  an  artistic 
interpretation  of  that  music  by  choreographing  synchronized 
patterns  for  the kite/kites to execute, thereby  capturing  the 
mood and feeling of the music.

     All 3 of these forms have their place in the arena, However, 
if the performace is to be judged and awards are to be presented, 
then  the organizers must indicate which type of Kite  Ballet  is 
appropriate  for  their contest.  You see, different  skills  are 
required for each of the three types.
          For  type 1; this performance would usually be used  as 
entertainment  for the spectators while the performance is  being 
judged on the degrees of difficulty in the routine.  For example, 
background music would be played during the Precision free  style 
competition.   Most  spectators would not  necessarily  know  the 
difference. (until they saw truly choreographed routines.)
          For type 2;  This performance is the test of the fliers 
ability  to quickly get in touch with the music.   The  succesful 
fliers  in  this catagory usually have a  musical  background  or 
listen  to  a  lot of music while they are  doing  their  leisure 
flying.
          For type 3;  This form of performance should be consid-
ered  a form of art.  It takes a considerable amount of  time  to 
create  a theatrical performance that will capture the  mood  and 
feelings  of a piece of music to the point where the  performance 
creates  a  emotional feeling in the observer  that  they  didn't 
expect to feel while watching a kite fly.

     I have had very rewarding results from all 3 catagories  and 
believe that they all have their place.  However, I don't believe 
that  they should be judged against eachother in the same  event.  
My pet pieve is that if a contest clearly states that the  awards 
will  be based on the sum total of two routines,  i.e.  Precision 
and  Ballet, then the two routines should be exactly  that.   Two 
completely  different routines with appropriate  choreography  to 
suit.  I have witnessed team performances in this type of contest 
whereby  the  team flew identical routines and merely  had  music 
playing in the background for their ballet portion.  In my  opin-
ion  I  believe that the team should have been  dicqualified  for 
that  performance because they did not fly two separate  routines 
as the scoring criteria had stated.  That is all water under  the 
bridge  at this time and I only mention it here in hopes that  it 
will  encourage organizers and fliers to advance the sport  to  a 
point  where it will be more challenging to the fliers  and  more 
entertaining to the spectators.

                   Still Learning and Sharing,

                            Ron Reich