BRIEF HISTORY OF BALLET

Ballet refers to both a dance genre and a particular dance-A dance genre is a large category such as ballet, modern, or jazz-Swan Lake or The Rite of Spring are both ballets or dances

Ballet performances blend choreographed movement withmusic and décor, and are performed by dancers trainedprimarily in classical ballet technique.

Indiana University Ballet

Photo by MR Legman

Ballet technique includes the following characteristics:-5 positions of the feet, using “turnout”-use of pointed feet, with emphasis on the feet-toe shoes for women-codified positions of arms and legs-lightness, or pull away from gravity-movements emphasizing balance and elevation

Ballet uses French terminology such as-plié (bend of the knees)-pirouette (turn on one foot)-grand jeté (leap)

Traditional Romantic or Classical ballet is typically doneto orchestral music of the 19th century. The choreographerfollows the rhythm and phrasing of the music, which was created specifically for the ballet by composers such as Peter Tchaikovsky and Serge Prokofiev.

Major ballet companies may have 60-80 members, and are organized hierarchically, with the corps de ballets at the bottom, then coryphees, soloists, and principals at the top. Most ballet companies showcase the works of various choreographers in both traditional and modern styles.

Milwaukee Ballet Company

Ballet first developed in Europe in the Renaissance period.-In Italy and France, dancing masters taught royalty andchoreographed entertainments for the courts-Italian intermezzi (late 1400s) were interludes betweenacts of plays that combined dance, music, and drama-In the 1500 & 1600s, dancing masters began recordingtheir choreography.

Catherine de Medici was a great patron ofthe arts, and commissioned many danceWorks, including Ballet Comique de la Reine, a six-hour dance/drama involving both the Greek gods and the Queen of France!

Renaissance Dance• Renaissance court spectacles were

often ornate• They emphasized geometrical

patterns• They used steps that were taken

from the popular ballroom dances of the day, including the pavane galliard, volta, and others

• Women and men did these dances together in the ballroom, but onstage, the women’s parts were danced by men

• Steps became increasingly complex, and dancing masters asked their pupils to practice them holding onto the backs of chairs for balance; this is how the ballet barre developed

• Dancing became stylish at all Renaissance courts in Europe, including those of Queen Elizabeth I and Henry VIII

Thoinot Arbeau, a French canon in the Roman Catholic church, wrote one of the first dance books, Orchesography, in 1589. It was a collection of the standard social dances of the time, and included correct social behavior and positions of the feet. Clothing was bulky and tight in the torso, restricting movement mostly to the feet.

Over time, ballet became moreprofessionalized.

In the early 1700’s, two women,Marie Camargo and Marie Sallé,broke tradition in the male-dominated field.

-Camargo shortened her skirt to show off her technique. Shewas known for her aerial work.-Sallé was the first femalechoreographer, and alsosimplified her clothing to make dancing easier.

Marie Camargo

Marie Salle

In the late 1700’s, Jean-George Noverrecomposed 150 ballets which emphasizedacting over dance technique. He argued that ballet should be unified works of artin which all aspects of the productioncontribute to the main theme, and that bulky skirts and heeled shoes be elimin-ated. Although none of his choreography survives today, many of his ideas carried over into the Romantic Era.

The Golden Age of RomanticismEarly-Mid 1800’s

Romanticism was a movement involving all the arts, which rebelled against narrow ideas of morality and old artistic forms

• Poet Lord Byron and composer Franz Liszt are two examples of artists from the romantic era

• Two examples of famous romantic ballets are Les Sylphides and Giselle. Giselle was choreographed in 1841 by Jules Perot and Jean Coralli to music by Adolphe Adam. This ballet is still performed extensively today.

• Romantics often dealt with longing for the unattainable• Giselle epitomizes this longing: a young peasant woman falls

in love with a man whom she can never marry, and she dies of a broken heart.

Characteristics of Romantic ballet:-Dancing en pointe-First tutus created-Women became dominant-Sylphs and fairies; supernatural-Ill-fated love

Giselle

Women were also choreographing ballets at this time. -Fanny Cerrito choreographed Gemma, about an evil hypnotist’s attempts to seduce a young woman. -Terese Elssler choreographed La Voliere, about a woman who raises her younger sister among women only.

Dancing En Pointe

• Toe dancing, or dancing en pointe, was invented during the romantic era

• Today, toe shoes are made with reinforced toe boxes that are stiff

• In the 1800’s, ballerinas wore soft slippers without support, but still managed to dance en pointe, due to their training

• Marie Taglioni is the most famous pointe dancer of the era; her style was light and airy

Marie Taglioni in La Sylphide 1832

The Classical Period of Ballet, late 1800’s-Moved from France to Russia-Marius Petipa, Frenchman, arrived in St. Petersburg in 1847 asA dancer, and eventually headed the Imperial Russian Ballet

-Choreographed many ballets with fairy-tale plots using panto-mime and special effects-Emphasized symmetry and classical pas de deux-Most famous ballet is Swan Lake, 1890, to music by Tchaikow-sky

-The Nutcracker is also from this period, by Lev Ivanov-More demanding technical work was created; soloists often addedtheir own steps to show off

Swan Lake

Early 1900’s & The Ballet Russes-Michel Fokine created a new style of ballet which moved awayfrom showy technique and pantomime

-Blended music, décor, and costumes to support a theme-Became a choreographer for famed Ballet Russes-Most famous work is The Firebird, to music by Stravinsky

-The Ballet Russes became known for its modern style using famousvisual artists like Picasso to design sets and costumes-Vaslav Nijinsky choreographed The Rite of Spring to music byStravinsky, causing a riot in Paris in 1913

Le Sacre du Printemps, reconstruction, Florence Dance

Nijinsky inAfternoon ofA Faun

In 1933, GeorgeBalanchine came from Russia to the US to start the first serious ballet company.

Balanchine’s Agon

His style was a breakFrom tradition; he createdplotless ballets and focusedmore on the music than décor.

His costumes often were simple leotards and tights. Althoughhe died in 1983, his company, the New York City Ballet, isone of the most famous in the world today; his ballets are performed internationally.

Review by Dr. Roberta E. Zlokower January 24, 2003Square Dance (1957): Music by Arcangelo Corelli and Antonio Vivaldi, Choreography by George Balanchine, Lighting by Mark Stanley, Performed by Yvonne Borree, Peter Boal, and the Company. This light, but dynamic, piece included the vivacity of Peter Boal, whom I admire more and more on each visit to NYC Ballet. Partnering the elegant Yvonne Borree, he was focused, with a huge presence, amazing leg lifts, and sharp footwork. This choreography, brilliantly conceived by George Balanchine, fused American Folk Dance with Ballet. Balanchine wrote, "The American style of classical dancing, its supple sharpness and richness of metrical invention, its superb preparation for risks, and its high spirits were some of the things I was trying to show in this ballet." (NYCB Notes). The essence of Square Dance moves were extrapolated and embellished for Baroque Italian music. With freshness of spirit, the female dancers performed for the males and vice versa, like a show for each other, not competitive, but rather seductive.

Arthur Mitchell’sDance Theatre of Harlem

-First professional black ballet company-Originally, many thought blacks couldnot do classical ballet, but ArthurMitchell proved them wrong-After performing with Balanchine forSeveral years, he left in 1968 to formDTH

-They perform both traditionaland modern ballets; all theirdancers are classically trainedin their New York studios

International Style in Ballet

• In the mid-20th century, as world travel became more common, audiences and artists alike were exposed to the work of a broad range of artists and companies.

• This resulted in a large sharing of repertoire, where ballet companies from many countries showcase works by internationally famous choreographers such as John Forsythe, George Balanchine, Jiri Kylian, Choo San Goh, Anthony Tudor, Twyla Tharp, and Glen Tetley. This trend continues today.

Australian Ballet in a Glen Tetley work, 2003

Contemporary Choreographers

Twyla Tharp is a moderndancer who has choreographedFor ballet companies and Broadway. Above is MozartClarinet Quintet, K. 581, 2002.

William Forsythe works with pure,abstract movement from the classicalvocabulary, at a very fast pace. Although American, he has spent much of his time in Germany, where artists are government-supported.

Second Detail, 1995

Jiri Kylian

• Jiri Kylian, a Czech, is an independent spirit who choreographs using a ballet basis to which he has added modern elements including the use of the pelvis and torso

• Although his work is abstract, it can be metaphorical and is often very emotional

• He uses quick weight changes, high energy movement, and intricate partnering

Stepping Stones by Jiri Kylian, 1991

Ballet at the End of 20th Century

• According to dance scholar Nancy Reynolds, ballet reached a “high tide” around the world in the period between the 1960’s -1980’s with a lot of innovation

• Ballet at the end of the 20th c flourished in terms of social relevance, audience appreciation, and dancers’ salaries, although it did not maintain the high level of originality of the 60s-80s

• In addition, new technologies allowed extensive documentation of work Alonzo King’s Lines Ballet

Ballet in the 21st Century

• Classics such as Don Quixote and Giselle continue on

• Local, regional, and national companies continue to perform The Nutcracker at Christmas time

• Newer choreographers have more experimental styles, often borrowing from modern and other dance forms

• Ballet in the 21st c has a global reach that shows its importance as a common language across cultures

Letitia Guerrero in the title role of Festival Ballet’s Carmen, choreographed in 2003 by Victor Plotnikov, Providence, RI

IMAGES/BIBLIOGRAPHY1. www.Niu.edu/puaffairs/stepahead/6/images/ballet.jpg2. www.mrlegman.com/images/ballet.jpg3. www.indiana.edu/~bchem/images/ballet.jpg4. arts.state.wi.us/static/tour-aie/dance14.htm5. www.jilliancrider.com/5-wcolours.html6. memory.loc.gov/ammem/dihtml/diessay2.html7. www.streetswing.com/histmain/gif/pavane1.gif (pavane)8. patriot.net/~nachtanz/kreed/Caroso.gif9. www.earthlydelights.com.an/camargo_small.jpg10. http://nelly.johnson.free.fr/Danse/Dsalle.jpg11. www.mastersofballet.com/frafx/noverre.gif12. www.ballettonet/it-rep-giselle.html13. www.peopleplayuk.org.uk/collect... (Taglioni)14. www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~sd3p/lake.jpg15. www.florencedance.org/images/center/mnativo/09.jpg16. www.exploredance.com/pressphotos/squaredance-borree.jpeg17. inkpot.com/classical/debusimages.html18. www.dancetheatreofharlem.com/agon.asp19. Waynewweb.ualr.edu/African%20American%20Theatre/Mitchell.ht20. Radio.weblogs.com/01124…/28.html (Glen Tetley)21. www.artscenter.org/dance.html

IMAGES/BIBLIOGRAPHY CONTINUED

22. www.lyon-passionnement.com/sorties/danse/img/second_detail.jpg23. www.wanthony.com/Article%20Arch... (Jiri Kylian)24. www.linesballet.org (Alonzo King)25. www.ridance.com/fbcarmen.html (Festival Ballet)26. http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/2002-03-13/arts_dance-1.jpg

27. Jack Anderson, Ballet & Modern Dance: A Concise HistoryPrinceton, NJ: Princeton Book Co., 1986

28. Reynolds, Nancy & McCormick, Malcolm, No Fixed Points, New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 2003.