Ballet History
Jules Perrot
a dancer and choreographer who later became ballet master of the Imperial Ballet in St. Petersburg • He created some of the most famous ballets of the 19th century such as La Esmeralda and Giselle • Lover of Grisi • One of the few male dancers to make an impact during the Romantic Era
Choreographie
described Beauchamp-Feuillet notation (translated to English and published in 1706) o The manual details a notation system that indicated the placement of the feet and six basic leg movements o The system is based on tract drawings that trace the pattern of dance o Description of the art of French/European ballet o Had characters, figures, and illustrative signs to create a dance notation comparable to that of music o Origin of the term • Khora = Greek for dance; Grapher = German for write → the one who writes dances
"Ballet de Cour" (court ballet),
emerged from these creative advances • "Ballet de cour" is the name given to ballets performed in the 16th and 17th centuries at court • Lully is considered the most important composer for these ballets
World of Art
o A group of artists and art connoisseurs launched World of Art, a journal that focuses on progressive ideas of literary, plastic, and performing arts o Together, these artists plus Fokine, would become part of a Diaghilev-run ballet enterprise that would give the art a new prominence and seriousness in the 20th century
Les Ballet Russes
o An itinerant ballet company based in Paris that performed between 1909 and 1929 throughout Europe and on tours to North and South America o The company never performed in Russia o It was originally conceived by impresario Sergei Diaghilev - it proved to be quite another matter next to the inbred limitations of their Parisian counterparts o The first ballet Russes season emphasized works of strong Russian or at least Slavic character • Each had choreography, all or in part, by Michael Fokine o The Ballets Russes is regarded as the most influential ballet company of the 20th century, in part because it promoted ground-breaking artistic collaborations among young choreographers, composers, designers, and dancers
La Fille Mal Gardee
o One of the most enduring and popular words of the modern ballet repertoire o Created in 1791 o A comic ballet presented in two acts o Inspired by Pierre-Antoine Baudouin's painting o Ballet was revolutionary because its main character was middle class and contemporary, not lofty and mythical ➢ Could create characters full of dramatic action and interest ➢ Helped establish a move away from the realm of gods and goddesses toward that of down-to-earth everyday life
The Four Temperaments
o Structured as three musical themes and four variations o The names of the four medieval humors, or personality types—Melancholic, Sanguinic, Phlegmatic, and Choleric—identified the musical variations o Balanchine's innovative choreography heeded all the drama he heard in the music and steered clear of any literal, subject-matter references suggested by the words o Kirstein's art world connections enabled him to get fancy costumes for the dancers, but it obscured the Choreography o The costumes were eventually discarded in favor of what could be described as practice costumes
La Sylphide
o The first ballet where dancing en pointe had an aesthetic rationale and was not only an acrobatic stunt o With its theme of impulse and instinct over intellect and societal duty, its setting within untamed nature, and its distinct costuming for the ballerina and her corps de ballet, La Sylphide established a pervasive formula for future ballet o The white, tiered, bell-shaped skirt falling from the boned bodice Taglioni's costumes at once became synonymous with La Taglioni and eventually with any and all notions of Romantic Ballet o Taglioni's Sylphide skirt became the prototype for the Romantic tutu o Established the formula for future Romantic ballets
Ballet-Comique de la Reine
regarded by scholars as the first authentic ballet • Ballet Comique de la Reine was created for the wedding celebration of Queen Louise's sister • This was the first piece to include poetry, music, design, and dance to create a story line (theatrical form of dance) • The ballet was inspired by the enchantress, Circe, from Homer's Odyssey ➢ Her era gave rise to the use of the term "ballet," theatrical form of dance, "court ballet," ballroom style
Jean Coralli
was a French dancer and choreographer and later held the position of the first ballet master of the Paris Opera Ballet • Best known for the creation of Giselle in 1841
Ballet Blanc
➢ "White ballet" ➢ In 1850, Petipa re-choreographed the dances from Act 2 of Giselle - the scene of women in white dresses recycles a similar one from La Sylphide all of which led to a taste for a genre known eventually as ballet-blanc ➢ A ballet in the romantic style deriving from the 19th century ➢ Often considered the pure classical form of ballet ➢ Term refers to scenes in which the ballerina and the female corps de ballet all wore white ➢ Stood apart from the body of the narrative ballet as a piece of resistance dominated by the ballerina and her female corps de ballet ➢ Ex. The second acts of La Sylphide and Giselle
Auguste Bournonville
➢ A Danish ballet master and choreographer that led the Danish Ballet ➢ He revitalized and lead Denmark's ballet into a Romantic golden age all on his own ➢ He trained with his father and Auguste Vestris ➢ He got a contract to dance with the Ballet troupe at the Paris Opera ➢ He became a gracious and expert partner to La Taglioni ➢ Re-choreographed La Sylphide o His version starred Danish 16-year-old ballerina, Lucille Grahn o Claimed he gave the Danes their first idea of female virtuosity o His version is the one that is still performed today ➢ He initiated a unique style in ballet known as the Bournonville School o Accentuated male dance prowess as much as, or even more than, female ➢ He was choreographer for the Royal Danish Ballet o Created more than 50 ballets there ➢ Only a limited number of his works have survived
Gaetan Vestris
➢ A French ballet dancer ➢ Studied dance with Louis Durpré at the Royal Academy in Paris ➢ Later joined the Paris Opera and served as a dancing master to Louis XIV ➢ Vestris was the first dancer to discard the mask and to use his face in mime ➢ Became renowned for his elegance and his standard setting presentation of roles ➢ Known el "le beau Vestris" ➢ Handsome dancer with comely legs ➢ Fathered a son at 33 with a 17-year-old ballerina - named Auguste ➢ He retired in 1776 to Jean Georges Noverre
Louis Dupre
➢ A French ballet dancer, ballet master, and ballet teacher ➢ He made his first debuts at the Academie Royale de Musique in 1714 and became its ballet master in 1739 ➢ His students included: Marie-Anne de Camargo, Gaetan Vestris, and Jean-Georges Noverre ➢ In his time he was called "le Grand Dupre" and "the g-d of dance" ➢ Recognized for his measured steps, rounded arms, and other skills
Marius Petipa
➢ A French ballet dancer, teacher, and choreographer ➢ Played a crucial role in leading Russian ballet to preeminence in the late 19th century ➢ Helped formulate what all the world would come to call Classical Ballet ➢ He's considered to be the most influential ballet master and choreographer of ballet ➢ Created over 50 ballets ➢ Recreated ballets such as Swan Lake and Giselle
Pierre Beauchamp
➢ A French choreographer, dancer, and composer ➢ He was appointed "superintendent of the king's ballet's" (director) of the Academie Royale de Danse in 1671 ➢ He was also a ballet master at the Academie Royale de Musique ➢ He gave dance lessons to King Louis for 22 years ➢ He sits atop most genealogies of ballet's master teachers ➢ By the beginning of the 18th century he was given credit for codifying the now standard five positions of the feet, universally accepted as ballet's basic starter alphabet ➢ Arranged dances for interludes
Raoul Auger Feuillet
➢ A French dance notator, publisher, and choreographer ➢ Most well-known for his Choreographie, ou l'art de decrier la dance, which described Beauchamp-Feuillet notation (translated to English and published in 1706)
Jean Dauberval
➢ A French dancer and ballet master ➢ Created characters full of dramatic action ➢ Trained at the Paris Opera under Jean-Georges Noverre ➢ Appointed premiur danseur of the ballet of the Acedmie Royale de Musique in 1763 and in 1771 he was named ballet master ➢ In 1791, he created the ballet, La Fille Mal Gardee
Marie Salle
➢ A French dancer and choreographer known for her expressive performances ➢ She was the first notable female choreographer and the first woman to choreograph a ballet in which she also danced ➢ She integrated music, costumes, and dance styles of her ballets with their themes, thereby anticipating the reforms by choreographer Jean-Georges Noverre in the late 18th century ➢ She argued that costumes should reflect and represent character o This engendered a sense of realism and allowed for greater physical freedom among the female dancers, allowing them more opportunities without the restrictions of unwieldy and elaborate clothing on stage ➢ She rebelled against the traditional costume and accepted gender norms of the era ➢ Rival of Marie-Anne de Cupis ➢ Known for strength in expressive pantomime as well as dance-step skill (worked with a partner) ➢ Known for thin muslin draperies ➢ Unlike Camargo's costume preference, which helped evolve the ballerina's "uniform", Salle's undressed look was devised for the particular purpose of dressing a particular ballet
Marie-Anne de Cupis de Camargo
➢ A French/Belgian dancer - known as La Camargo ➢ She was the first dancer to wear slippers instead of heeled shoes and to wear the short calf-length ballet skirt and modern ballet tights ➢ Rival of Marie Salle ➢ Exemplified the more pure form of ballet ➢ Focused on physical intricacies of dance steps ➢ Her specialty became little jumping steps, and steps in which the feet and lower legs delicately closed to cross each other or to beat together
Leonide Massine
➢ A Russian choreographer and ballet dancer ➢ Another young dancer favorite of Diaghilev's ➢ The next principal choreographer of Diaghilev's Ballets Russes after Nijinsky left ➢ Massine became the preeminent male star and took over Nijinsky's roles after he left ➢ Massine made works that showcased his ability to create characters and/or caricatures by way of gestural dance language ➢ His most historically memorable ballet was Parade ➢ Like Nijinsky, he was also was fired for having a romance with a female dancer
Igor Stravinsky
➢ A Russian composer, pianist, and conductor ➢ Considered to be one of the most important and influential composers of the 20th century ➢ He was a young, virtually unknown composer when Diaghilev recruited him to create works for the Ballets Russes ➢ The Firebird was his first project ➢ He first achieved international fame with three ballets commissioned by the impresario Sergei Diaghilev and first performed by Diaghilev's Ballet Russes: The Firebird, Petrouchka, and The Rite of Spring ➢ These transformed the way in which subsequent composers thought about rhythmic structure, and were largely responsible for Stravinsky's reputation as a musical revolutionary who pushed the boundaries of musical design
Firebird
➢ A ballet and orchestral concert work by Stravinsky ➢ Written for Diaghilev's Ballets Russes company with choreography by Michel Fokine ➢ Both Firebird and Petrouchka were based on Russian folklore o Each had a specially commissioned score by Igor Stravinsky, then a little known composer ➢ Firebird marked Stravinsky's first-ever composition for ballet ➢ Pavlova was supposed to dance the lead, but she didn't like Stravinsky's newer music so Diaghilev replaced her with Karsavina and Paris adored the result ➢ Firebird's colorful, swirling sights and sounds framed a darting, birdlike ballerina who comes to the aid of a Russian prince and his princess bride ➢ The ballet is based on Russian folk tales of the magical glowing bird that can be both a blessing a curse to its owner
Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring)
➢ A ballet and orchestral work by Stravinsky and choreographed by Nijinsky for Ballets Russes ➢ This was Nijinsky's third ballet (this was a post-Fokine work) ➢ Unlike his earlier ballets, it featured no role for Nijinsky, himself ➢ Stands as a harbinger of so-called modern ballet, or as formative work in the anti-ballet form, generally known as modern dance ➢ Sacre caused a huge response from the audience - the aim of both Stravinsky and Nijinsky was to evoke scenes of pagan Russia culminating in the sacrificial dance of a chosen female virgin - the result struck many in the tradition-bound public as an affront to the eye and the ear ➢ Avant-garde nature of the music and choreography caused a sensation and a near-riot in the audience ➢ The music achieved equal if not greater recognition as a concert piece and is widely considered to be one of the most influential works of the 20th century
New York City Ballet
➢ A ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein ➢ The beauty of Balanchine's bare-bones classical ballet profoundly struck Morton Baum, head of NYV's City Center Theatre. His enthusiastic reaction to Balanchine's distinct vision of American Ballet led him to invite Ballet Society to work with the NYC Opera as a city institution and in 1948, New York City Ballet was born ➢ NYCB stressed the ongoing creation of brand-new or newly furbished ballets ➢ Balanchine programmed his seasons for his evolving ensemble troupe, not a particular star as the ABT did ➢ Balanchine remade his Russian ballet for American tastes and worked almost exclusively with dancers from his school ➢ It was the only theatre to acquire a permanent home in NYC where it could regularly perform before culture-conscious New Yorkers
Parade
➢ A ballet composed for Ballets Russes ➢ Sets were designed by Picasso ➢ Choreographed by Massine ➢ Showed Massin's ability to create characters by way of gestural dancing ➢ The title refers to a display of circus-like acts that take place in a traveling fair's theatre ➢ Proclaimed "realist ballet" ➢ Had an abrasive "everydayness" all through it
Marie Taglioni
➢ A famous Romantic ballerina ➢ One of the most celebrated ballerinas of romantic ballet ➢ Taught by her father, Filippo ➢ Rose to fame when she danced in La Sylphide, the ballet her father created for her ➢ She was the first ballerina on point ➢ Was very light and aerial
George Balanchine
➢ After the Russian Revolution, few of the Ballets Russes Russians wanted to return to their homeland ➢ Balanchine and a few other dancer friends made their way westward and caught Diaghilev's eye ➢ Diaghilev renamed Balanchine, who then had a Russian sounding name ➢ Balanchine told Diaghilev he could choreograph and proved himself ➢ He was invited to NY in 1933, by Kirstein and together they founded the School of American Ballet and the New York City Ballet ➢ Moved to America in 1934 ➢ Styled as the father of American ballet, he took the standards and technique from his education at the Imperial Ballet School and fused it with other schools of movement ➢ Expressed music with dance and worked extensively with leading composers such as Igor Stravinsky ➢ Had his own style with plotless ballet o For Balanchine, music acted as poetic inspiration, not as unbending slave driver ➢ His aim was to keep the honored traditions of classical dancing fresh and contemporary - ballet would become American by integrating itself into American life while being danced by American dancers ➢ Believed "ballet is woman"
Isadora Duncan
➢ American dance innovator and self proclaimed enemy of ballet ➢ Hated ballet and revolutionized Fokine's choreography of The Swan o Pavlova's signature role - a dying swan in feathery tutu o Video of performance is still famous today - one of the most valued tapes of ballet
Pierina Legnani
➢ An Italian ballerina ➢ Considered one of the greatest ballerinas of all time ➢ Under the direction of Petipa, she originated in numerous roles in ballets such as 'Cinderella' and 'Swan Lake' ➢ With her formidable dance strengths and her popularity with both the Petersburg public and with Petipa, Legnani dominated the imperial ballet's stage in the 1890s ➢ She was given the title of prima ballerina assoluta
Filippo Taglioni
➢ An Italian dancer and choreographer ➢ A personal teacher to his daughter, Marie Taglioni ➢ Created rigorous training regiments for Marie o Holding positions for 100 counts, two hour long intervals of conditioning exercises, etc... ➢ Designed special ballets to show off his daughter
Carlo Blasis
➢ An Italian dancer, choreographer and dance theoretician ➢ Well known for his rigorous, long dance classes ➢ Insisted his students learn theories and definitions of dance steps ➢ The first to publish an analysis on the ballet techniques ➢ Formalized his teaching style by publishing manuals describing the methods and fine points of dancing ➢ Defined the term attitude - referred to the graceful position for a pirouette as being modeled on the attitude of the famous 16th century statue of Mercury
Catherine de Medici
➢ An Italian noblewomen who was Queen of France from 1547-1599 - the wife of king Henry II ➢ She was a big patron of the arts ➢ Her era gave rise to the term "ballet" ➢ Called "a great creative artist in festivals" ➢ Once she was in control of the royal purse, she launched a program of artistic patronage that lasted three decades ➢ Catherine gradually introduced changes to the traditional entertainments o She increased the prominence of dance
Romantic Ballet
➢ An era in ballet in which the ideas of romanticism in art and literature influenced the creation of ballets (mid 19th century-1870) ➢ Primarily at the Threatre de l'Acadamie Royale de Musique of the Paris Opera Ballet and Her Majesty's Theatre in London ➢ Era is considered to have begun with the 1827 debut in Paris of Marie Taglioni in La Sylphide ➢ Romantic ballet furthered the development of point work and affected peoples' perception of the ballerina o Saw her as virtually floating, poised only on the top of a toe o Idea of weightlessness captured in ballets such as Sylphide and Giselle ➢ The invention of gas lighting enabled gradual changes and enhanced the mysteriousness of many ballets with its softer gleam ➢ Illusion became more diverse with wires and trap doors being widely used ➢ The romantic era marked the rise of the ballerina as a central part of ballet, where previously men had dominated performances o With the ballerina's growing expertise in working on pointe, the female dancer held firm sway over ballet's Romantic age o Male dancers were now the supporting roles - a few like, Perrot, made an impact, but were still in the shadows of their female counterparts ➢ The movement style was characterized by soft, round arms, and a forward tilt in the upper body ➢ Leg movements became more elaborate due to the new tutu length and rising standards of technical proficiency ➢ Important romantic ballerinas: o Marie Taglioni o Caroletta Grisi o Lucille Grahn ➢ Origin of the tutu with white bell shaped skirt ➢ Giselle was a hallmark work of Romantic Ballet
Apollo
➢ Apollo, a one-act ballet produced by Balanchine, spearheaded the neoclassicism movement in 1928 ➢ Would remain a classic of the neoclassical mode Balanchine was then spearheading ➢ Used a score previously commissioned in the US from Stravinsky ➢ Gave the history of ballet a landmark ➢ His ballet showcases a leading male dancer and three ballerinas, one of whom, proves "more equal" than the others ➢ Apollo soon went through a process of costume and scenic simplification
Louis XIV
➢ Ballet as court entertainment and courtier spectacle flourished to its heights during the days of Louis XIV ➢ He was a dancer himself and one of the great architects of baroque ballet ➢ He stopped dancing in 1670 ➢ Famous for skills as a dancer ➢ Performed as Apollo ➢ Was nicknamed France's Sun King ➢ Established the Royal Academy of Dance and the Royal Academy of Music ➢ Once he retired, better dancers were able to revolutionize (since before, no one could show him up)
Danish Ballet
➢ Ballet in Denmark began in the 1600s ➢ Denmark's versions of ballet were based on the French-style events and the related style popular in the English courts ➢ The Royal Danish Ballet is one of the oldest ballet companies in the world ➢ Founded in 1748 when the Royal Danish Theatre was founded ➢ Danish ballet imported Europeans to keep up the standard of dance
Black and White Ballets
➢ Ballets performed in plain, simple clothes ➢ Used frequently by Balanchine
Lincoln Kirstein
➢ Became smitten by the exotic, foreign art of ballet so he made Balanchine a proposal: why not come to the US and establish ballet in a country where no such tradition existed?
The Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, Swan Lake
➢ Big 3 of Russian classical ballet ➢ All composed by Tchaikovsky ➢ Petipa helped create and re-create these ballets, giving them more popularity
Michel Fokine
➢ Dancer and innovative ballet master who questioned Petipa's previous methods and legacy ➢ Felt ballet lacked seriousness and was dressed like pornography ➢ His questioning went beyond skirt length to silhouette ➢ Chose to extend the dance maker's choice of music into the realms of "serious" or "concert hall" music, going beyond the confines of that composed expressly for the purposes of dance theatre ➢ A choreographer for Ballets Russes
Academie Royale de Danse
➢ During the year 1661, a number of occurrences led to the eventual establishment of ballet as an independent theatre art practiced by professionals who specialized in its practices. The most important of these rests in Louis's establishment of an academy of dance in a room of the Louvre palace ➢ Called the Academie Royale de Danse, the society began as little more than a gathering of dancing masters, thirteen originally, for the purpose of "reestablishing the art in its perfection" ➢ Formed to preserve the classical school of the noble dance
Academie Royale de Musique
➢ Established by Louis in 1669, for his favorite composer, Lully, to run ➢ During Lully's tenure, the only works performed were his own ➢ Created to present opera - a big part of dance ➢ Professional dancers danced under the authority of the ballet master
Virtuosity
➢ Imposing physical strength and acrobatic skills ➢ Zucchi and Legnani are known for this
Danse d'ecole
➢ In 1713, the Paris Opera established its very own school of dance o The body language practiced there and indicated by Feuillet's writings eventually gave rise to the term danse d'école, which has come to serve as a synonym for ballet dancing ➢ Ballet that adheres to traditional rules; classical ballet
School of American Ballet
➢ In 1934, with a lot of help from Kirstein and other wealthy friends, Balanchine opened The School of American Ballet
Ballet Society
➢ In 1946, Balanchine and Kirstein create a performing company with a membership-only audience called Ballet Society. Once again using students from the School of American Ballet, this company focuses primarily on performing Balanchine's choreography ➢ A subscription series that solicited interest and payment for ballet in advance of specially created programs of new works ➢ Everyone wanting to see Ballet Society's offerings needed to subscribe, including journalists who normally expected complimentary press tickets
Virginia Zucchi
➢ Italian dancer ➢ Known as "the divine Zucchi" ➢ Showcased by Petipa ➢ Her most lasting legacy is La Esmeralda pas six o Created for her by Petipa ➢ She studied ballet under Carlo Blasis ➢ Because of the intensity of the dramatic dynamic of her performances, she inspired the formation of Mir iskusstva, or the World of Art ➢ Mir iskusstva was a movement created by Ballets Russes collaborators that included Leon Baskt, Diaghilev, and Alexandre Benois. Together they founded the journal of the same name that was focused more on the visual than the performing arts
Enrico Cecchetti
➢ Italian schooled former imperial dancer ➢ Played the sinister magician who presented all three puppets in Petrouchka ➢ Among the imperial ballet roles in which he gained his fame was a dual one in Petipa's Sleeping Beauty o Played both the Blue Bird and Carabosse ➢ Became master teacher and created the Cecchetti School of Ballet
Jean Baptiste Lully
➢ Italian-born French composer, instrumentalist, and dancer who spend most of his life working in the court of Louis XIV ➢ Louis's favorite court composer ➢ He is considered the chief master of the French baroque style ➢ Gave a new seriousness to the study and production of musical and dance theatre which led the way for those performing these arts to be highly trained professionals rather than incidentally prepared courtiers ➢ Died in 1687 from stabbing himself in the foot with his time-marking step
Vaslav Nijinsky
➢ Lead male in all Ballets Russes ➢ He enchanted the Parisian audiences with his serpentine moves and his exotic mein ➢ Paris's home company had nothing like Nijinsky ➢ Paris's travesty dancers could pose and trip on a light fantastic toe, but Russia's male dancers, of who Nijinsky was but the most prominent, could pounce, spin, and jump with unprecedented power and grace ➢ Diaghilev's lover ➢ After he created a controversial ballet that caused Fokine to leave, Nijinsky was left to provide Diaghilev's dancers with new ballets in the modernist mode he borrowed from Fokine ➢ His new post-Fokine ideas and experiments led beyond what was then though of as the "new" ballet ➢ His movement preferences reconfigured ballet's aerial creatures into sluggish, spasmatic larva-like creatures
Neoclassicism
➢ Nijinska gave rise to neoclassical choreography
Anna Pavlova
➢ Only one of the 3 ballerinas in La Sylphides to dance duet with Nijinsky ➢ She was the most prominent of the prominent ballerinas ➢ Traveled to perform in places without longstanding or any history of ballet ➢ Lean, long-limbed, and svelte - departed from norms then set by leading ballerinas ➢ Petipa cast her as Giselle and adjusted the choreography to show off her qualities of lightness and fragility ➢ She also inspired the young, reform-minded Fokine
Giselle
➢ Paris Opera creation of 1841 ➢ The hallmark ballet of romantic ballet ➢ The ballet starred Carlotta Grisi as Giselle o An Italian dancer, trained by Jules Perrot, who was also her lover o Both down to earth and airy dancer ➢ It instantly became popular across Europe, Russia, and the US ➢ The ballet is about a peasant girl named Giselle who dies of heart failure after discovering her lover betrothed to another. The Wilis, a group of supernatural women who dance men to death, summon Giselle from her grave. They target her lover for death, but Giselle's great love frees him from their grasp
Prodigal Son
➢ Prodigal Son was Balanchine's final Ballets Russes piece as well as the last production Diaghilev presented ➢ Based on a Russian reduction of a parable from the Old Testament ➢ It and Apollo survived well beyond its initial Ballets Russes performances ➢ Balanchine made "The Siren," the ballerina role of a woman who corrupts the protagonist, icy cool, acrobatic, and academically formal; she alone dances on point ➢ Balanchine's dramatic ballet included an ensemble of 12 men, whose physical presence the choreographer once described as "protoplasm"
Proskenion
➢ Raised platform between the skene (covered area behind the orchestra performing space) and the orkestra
Petrouchka
➢ Recycles the collective childhood memories of all three of its collaborators: Stravinsky (composer), Fokine (choreographer), and Benois ➢ Narrative about a mysterious magician and his three lifelike puppets - had a metaphysical dimension o It tells the story of the loves and jealousies of three puppets ➢ Chechetti performed the pantomime role of the charlatan ➢ A burlesque with four scenes ➢ Was first performed by Diaghilev's Ballets Russes in Paris ➢ Nijinsky portrayed Petrouchka and Tamara Karsavina was the ballerina o Karsavina picking her way stiffly on point, embodied the ballerina o Slouching and pigeon-toeing, Nijinsky portrayed the introspective Petrouchka
Bronislava Nijinska
➢ Replaced Massine as Diaghilev's next choreographer for his Ballet Russes ➢ Polish dancer, choreographer, and teacher ➢ Nijinsky's younger sister ➢ She recreated Petipa's 1890 masterwork, The Sleeping Beauty o It ended up costing much more than it made ➢ Played a leading role in the pioneering movement that turned against 19th century classicism, which paved the way for neoclassical works to come ➢ She created her first solo in 1910 - Papillion in Le Carnival ➢ What Najinsky had turned into a modern dance-like anti-ballet mode of movement, Nijinska made into austere but undeniable ballet dancing ➢ She learned from her brother's experiments and took their interests back inside the technique of ballet ➢ Her ballet, Les Noces, gave rise to neoclassical choreography
Orkestra
➢ Round dancing floor of the chorus
Serge Diaghilev
➢ Russian ballet's most prominent impresario and unofficial ambassador ➢ Editor of leader of World of Art, a journal focusing on progressive ideas in performing arts
Serenade
➢ The American Ballet's first performance ➢ Created by Balanchine to Tchaikovsky's Serenade ➢ The non-narrative work for female soloists, female ensemble, and, originally, a lone male soloist, became a signature piece for Balanchine's American Ballet Organization ➢ Taking its poetic, dramatic color from its music, Serenade became, for the mid 20th century, the quintessential "ballet of mood", reliving the status and impact that Fokine's Les Sylphines had had at the turn of the century ➢ Balanchine made Serenade to show dancers how to be on a stage ➢ Became another of Balanchine's classics and one of ballet history's hallmark examples of plotless or abstract ballet ➢ Balanchine insisted all of the dramatic moments came about spontaneously
Domenico's De Arte Saltandi et Choreas Ducendi
➢ The first European dance manual (translates to "on the art of dancing and directed choruses") o Published in 1416 by Domenico da Piacenza, an Italian renaissance dancing master o He was the first dance master known by name ➢ Chose ballo (dancing of varied rhythm) over danza (dancing to music of unvarying rhythm)
Lucille Grahn
➢ The first internationally renowned Danish ballerina ➢ One of the popular dancers of the romantic ballet era ➢ Starred in Bournonville's recreation of La Sylphide ➢ Studied at the Royal Danish Theatre School under August Bournonville ➢ She and Bournonville's relationship had issues as she yearned to danced at the Paris Opera Ballet ➢ She eventually received royal permission to leave and she never returned to Denmark
Jean Georges Noverre
➢ The full flowering on the ballet d'action came through the efforts of two different people: Angiolini and Noverre ➢ A French dancer and ballet master ➢ Generally considered the creator of ballet d'action ➢ His birthday is now observed as International Dance Day ➢ Published Letters on Dancing, but Angiolini claimed it was plagiarism ➢ Noverre advocated losing the masks and costumes to create more action and expression in dancing
Gasparo Angiolini
➢ The full flowering on the ballet d'action came through the efforts of two different people: Angionlini and Noverre ➢ An Italian dancer, choreographer, and composer ➢ Directed the ballet at the Imperial Theatre in Vienna ➢ Credited with bringing "ballet d'action" to Russia
Auguste Vestris
➢ The illegitimate son of Gaetan ➢ Smaller in build than his father ➢ Considered the greatest male dancer of his time ➢ He was called "le dieu de la danse" (the g-d of dance) ➢ Made his debut at age 12 at the Paris Opera and was the company's leading dancer for 36 years ➢ Played colorful, athletic characters, rather than aristocratic ones, at first, but Noverre thought he was too talented for these parts ➢ Large jumps, quick footwork, and multiple turns
Paris Opera
➢ The world's oldest continuous ballet academy ➢ Classical ballet as we know it arose within the Paris Opera as the Paris Opera Ballet
Classical Ballet
➢ Traditional, formal style of ballet that adheres to classical ballet technique ➢ Began with the Petipa's The Pharaoh's Daughter o First multi-act ballet spectacle ➢ The 1890s in Russia mark a golden decade for the classical ballet that Petipa spearheaded ➢ Features a short, stiff tutu, foot and leg work, and physical and visual effects ➢ Known for its aesthetics and rigorous technique o Point work, turnout of the legs, and high extensions ➢ Known for flowing, precise movements, and its ethereal qualities ➢ Classical attire o Women: pink or flesh colored tights, a leotard, sometimes a short wrap-skirt or skirted leotard, pink or beige soft ballet shoes, hair in bun or style that exposes the neck o Males: black or dark tights, a form-fitting white shirt or leotard worn under the tights, and a dance belt underneath the outwear to provide support, black or white soft ballet shoes ➢ Customary attire and hair style are intended to promote freedom of movement and to reveal body form so the teacher can evaluate dancers' alignment and technique ➢ There are several standardized, widespread, classical ballet training system o Ex. Vaganava Method - from Russia