CHAPTER 5 BALLET

1
CHAPTER 5 - BALLET

• I. Introduction
• A. Ballet History dates back to the 15th Century
  in Italy, a popular dance form for fun and
  celebration. Eventually the dance form became a
  way to entertain the families of Nobility.
• B. Catherine deMedici (1519-1589), royalty of
  Italy arrived in France and paved the way for
  dance to develop from the 16th century to the
  present

2

• 1. Catherine came from Italy to France to
  marry into the ruling family of Henri
  Duc dOrleans, who would become the King of
  France
• 2. Brought her dancing masters
• 3. She introduced a new type of
  entertainment to the public, later to
• be known as the Court Ballet

3
II. EARLY BALLET MOVEMENTS

• A. BALLETS IN THE 16TH CENTURY WERE DIFFERENT
  FROM TODAY 1. COURT BALLETS - DAZZLING
  SPECTACLES 2. SOMETIMES CONSISTED OF ONLY
  SIMPLE FLOOR PATTERNS, POSES DESIGNED TO BE
  SEEN FROM ABOVE RATHER THAN FROM THE FRONT OR
  THE SIDE 3. ELABORATE COSTUMING WAS
  USED - COSTUMES GREATLY RESTRICTED THE
  PERFORMERS MOVEMENTS 4. THE EVENTS
  LASTED 5 OR 6 HOURS LONG AND INCLUDED
  EXTRAVAGANT FOOD, MUSIC AND OTHER THEATRICAL
  INTERLUDES.

4
BALLET COMIQUE DE LA REINE
5
B. THE COURT BALLETS ITS MAKERS

• - THE COURT BALLET REACHED ITS CLIMAX DURING THE
  REIGN (16431715) OF LOUIS XIV, WHOSE TITLE THE
  "SUN KING" - DERIVED FROM A ROLE HE DANCED IN A
  BALLET. MANY OF THE BALLETS PRESENTED AT HIS
  COURT WERE CREATED BY CHOREOGRAPHER PIERRE
  BEAUCHAMP, WHO SAID TO HAVE IDENTIFIED THE FIVE
  POSITIONS OF THE FEET. IN 1961 LOUIS XIV
  ESTABLISHED THE ACADEMIE ROYALE DE DANSE, A
  PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR DANCING EXPERTS. HE
  HIMSELF STOPPED DANCING IN 1670 AND HIS COURTIERS
  FOLLOWED HIS EXAMPLE.BY THEN THE COURT BALLET
  WAS ALREADY GIVING WAY TO PROFESSIONAL DANCING.
  AT FIRST ALL THE DANCERS WERE MEN, AND MEN IN
  MASKS DANCED WOMEN ROLES. THE FIRST FEMALE
  DANCERS TO PERFORM PROFESSIONALLY AT A THEATER
  PRODUCTION APPEARED (1681) IN A BALLET CALLED LE
  TRIOMPHE DE LAMOUR (THE TRIUMPH OF LOVE).

6

• Court Ballets performed by for members of
  nobility
• Most prominent Louis XIV (referred to as Sun
  King) a. commissioned many ballets
  (1643-1715)
• AKA money bags b. he performed in
  the ballets
• (steps named after him) c. granted
  permission for and funded The Royal
  Academy of Dance in France, later known as
  Paris Opera

7
C. PROSCENIUM STAGE CREATED AT THE END OF THE
16TH CENTURY

• 1. SEPARATED AUDIENCE FROM THE PERFORMERS2.
  BALLETS TOOK ON MORE SERIOUS THEATRICAL
  QUALITY3. DANCERS BEGAN TO USE TURNED-OUT
  POSITIONS4. SET VOCABULARY OF MOVEMENTS WAS
  DEVELOPED A. POSITIONS OF THE FEET B.
  POSITIONS OF THE ARMS/HEAD C. LOCOMOTOR /
  NON-LOCOMOTOR MOVEMENTS
• 5. RIGOROUS TECHNIQUE REQUIRED DANCERS TO
  TRAIN HOURS TO BE PROFICIENT
  6. BY 17TH CENTURY BALLET WAS RECOGNIZED AS A
  VIABLE ART FORM

8
La Sylphide
Giselle
9
III. CLASSICAL BALLET (LATE 1800S) A.
CLASSICAL BALLET CHARACTERISTICS 1. PROSCENIUM
STAGE 2. SPECTACULAR SCENERY 3. ELABORATE
COSTUMES 4. STORYLINE IS USUALLY A
FAIRY- TALE OR FABLE B. MARIUS PETIPA
(1818-1910) 1. CHOREOGRAPHED THE
SLEEPING BEAUTY IN 1890 2.
CHOREOGRAPHED SWAN LAKE WITH LEV IVANOV
1885
10
C. MIKAIL FOKINE, THE FIRST CHOREOGRAPHER, AND
DIAGHILEV OF THE BALLET RUSSE SHARED AESTHETIC
THAT PUSHED THE BOUNDARIES AND INTRODUCED A
NEW DANCE 1. DID NOT USE PANTOMIME LIKE
CLASSICAL OR ROMANTIC BALLETS 2. CORPS DE
BALLET SHOULD BE MORE INVOLVED IN THE BALLET
CHOREOGRAPHY 3. COLLABORATION ALL PARTS
TO THE BALLET PRESENTED EQUALLY MOVEMENT,
COSTUMES AND SET 4. FOKINES CHOREOGRAPHY
HELPED HEIGHTEN STATUS OF MALE DANCER
11
The Father of Contemporary Ballet George
Balanchine
12
BALANCHINE AND THE NEW YORK CITY BALLET 1.
PRESENTED DUETS 2. KNOWN FOR HIS PLOTLESS
BALLETS WHOSE FOCUS IS CONNECTION OF MOVEMENT TO
MUSIC RATHER THAN STORYLINE A. CONCERTO BACCO
(1941) B. AGON ( 1957) 3. CHOREOGRAPHED SOME
NARRATIVE BALLETS A. PRODIGAL SON ( 1929 AD
REVISED IN 1950)THREE GREAT AMERICAN BALLET
COMPANIES WERE FOUNDED IN NEW YORK CITY IN THE
1940S, AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE AND THE NEW YORK
CITY BALLET. THE LATTER DREW MANY OF ITS DANCERS
FROM THE SCHOOL OF AMERICAN BALLET ESTABLISHED BY
BALANCHINE AND KIRSTEIN IN 1934. 1. NYCB 2.
ABT 3. DANCE THEATRE OF HARLEM (1ST BALLET
COMPANY MADE UP OF MOSTLY BLACK DANCERS)
13

• VII. TODAYS CONTEMPORARY CHOREOGRAPHERS
• A. MARICE BEJART, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF THE BEJART
  BALLET
• 1. RECOGNIZED FOR HIS WITTY AND OFTEN
  FLAMBOYANT DANCES 2. DRAWS INSPIRATIONS FROM
  VARIOUS CULTURES 3. BLURS GENDER
  IDENTITIES 4. ANGULAR YET ELEGANT MOVEMENT
• B. JIRI KYLIÁN OF NEDERLANDS DANS THEATER (1959
  )
• 1. TURNED AWAY FROM LYRICAL WORKS TO
  ABSTRACT AND OFTEN SURREALISTIC BALLETS.
  2. RESTRUCTURED THE COMPANY IN THE 80S TO
  HAVE THREE SEPARATE PERFORMANCE GROUPS
  TOURING AT THE SAME TIME!

14
Afternoon of a Faun
Choreography Vaslav Nijinksy Soloist Rudolph
Nuryev Music Claude Debusy
Stravinsky Violin Concerto
Choreography George Balanchine Dancers Members
of New York City Ballet Music by Igor Stravinsky