BRIEF HISTORY OF BALLET

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BRIEF HISTORY OF BALLET By Wendy Oliver
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Ballet refers to both a dance genre and a
particular dance -A dance genre is a large categ
ory such as ballet, modern, or jazz
-Swan Lake or The Rite of Spring are both
ballets or dances Ballet performances blend chore
ographed movement with music and décor, and are
performed by dancers trained primarily in classi
cal ballet technique.
Photo by MR Legman
Indiana University Ballet
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Ballet technique includes the following
characteristics -5 positions of the feet, using
turnout -use of pointed feet, with emphasis o
n the feet -toe shoes for women -codified posi
tions 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 o
ne foot)
-grand jeté (leap)
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Traditional Romantic or Classical ballet is
typically done to orchestral music of the 19th ce
ntury. The choreographer follows 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
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Ballet first developed in Europe in the
Renaissance period. -In Italy and France, dancin
g masters taught royalty and choreographed enter
tainments for the courts -Italian intermezzi (la
te 1400s) were interludes between
acts of plays that combined dance, music, and
drama -In the 1500 1600s, dancing masters bega
n recording their choreography.
Catherine de Medici was a great patron of
the arts, and commissioned many dance
Works, including Ballet Comique de la
Reine, a six-hour dance/drama involving
both the Greek gods and the Queen of France!
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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 womens 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

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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 ti
ght in the torso, restricting movement mostly to
the feet.
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Over time, ballet became more professionalized.
In the early 1700s, two women,
Marie Camargo and Marie Sallé,
broke tradition in the male-
dominated field.
Marie Camargo
-Camargo shortened her skirt to show off her
technique. She was known for her aerial work. -
Sallé was the first female choreographer, and als
o simplified her clothing to make dancing easier.
Marie Salle
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In the late 1700s, Jean-George Noverre
composed 150 ballets which emphasized
acting over dance technique. He argued
that ballet should be unified works of art
in which all aspects of the production
contribute 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.
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The Golden Age of RomanticismEarly-Mid 1800s

• 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.
  

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Characteristics of Romantic ballet-Dancing en
pointe-First tutus created-Women became
dominant-Sylphs and fairies supernatural-Ill-fa
ted love
Giselle
Women were also choreographing ballets at this
time. -Fanny Cerrito choreographed Gemma, about
an evil hypnotists attempts to seduce a young
woman. -Terese Elssler choreographed La
Voliere, about a woman who raises her younger
sister among women only.
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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 1800s, 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
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The Classical Period of Ballet, late 1800s
-Moved from France to Russia -Marius Petipa, Fren
chman, arrived in St. Petersburg in 1847 as
A dancer, and eventually headed the Imperial
Russian Ballet -Choreographed many ballets with
fairy-tale plots using panto- mime and special e
ffects -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 added their own steps to show off

Swan Lake
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Nijinsky in Afternoon of A Faun
Le Sacre du Printemps, reconstruction, Florence
Dance
Early 1900s The Ballet Russes
-Michel Fokine created a new style of ballet
which moved away from showy technique and pantomi
me -Blended music, décor, and costumes to suppor
t a theme -Became a choreographer for famed Ball
et Russes -Most famous work is The Firebird, to
music by Stravinsky -The Ballet Russes became kno
wn for its modern style using famous
visual artists like Picasso to design sets and
costumes -Vaslav Nijinsky choreographed The Rite
of Spring to music by Stravinsky, causing a riot
in Paris in 1913
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In 1933, George Balanchine came from Russia to
the US to start the first serious ballet
company.

His style was a break From tradition he created
plotless ballets and focused more on the music
than décor.
Balanchines Agon
His costumes often were simple leotards and
tights. Although he died in 1983, his company, t
he New York City Ballet, is one of the most famou
s in the world today his ballets are performed
internationally.
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Review by Dr. Roberta E. Zlokower January 24,
2003 Square Dance (1957) Music by Arcangelo Core
lli 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.
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Arthur Mitchells Dance Theatre of Harlem -Fir
st professional black ballet company
-Originally, many thought blacks could
not do classical ballet, but Arthur
Mitchell proved them wrong -After performing with
Balanchine for Several years, he left in 1968 to
form DTH
-They perform both traditional
and modern ballets all their dancers are classic
ally trained
in their New York studios
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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
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Contemporary Choreographers
William Forsythe works with pure,
abstract movement from the classical
vocabulary, at a very fast pace. Although
American, he has spent much of his time in
Germany, where artists are government-supported.
Twyla Tharp is a modern dancer who has choreograp
hed For ballet companies and Broadway. Above i
s Mozart
Clarinet Quintet, K. 581, 2002.
Second Detail, 1995
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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
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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 1960s -1980s 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 Kings Lines Ballet
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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
Ballets Carmen, choreographed in 2003 by Victor
Plotnikov,
Providence, RI
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• IMAGES/BIBLIOGRAPHY
• www.Niu.edu/puaffairs/stepahead/6/images/ballet.jp
  g
  
• www.mrlegman.com/images/ballet.jpg
• www.indiana.edu/bchem/images/ballet.jpg
• arts.state.wi.us/static/tour-aie/dance14.htm
• www.jilliancrider.com/5-wcolours.html
• memory.loc.gov/ammem/dihtml/diessay2.html
• www.streetswing.com/histmain/gif/pavane1.gif
  (pavane)
  
• 8. patriot.net/nachtanz/kreed/Caroso.gif
• 9. www.earthlydelights.com.an/camargo_small.jpg
• 10. http//nelly.johnson.free.fr/Danse/Dsalle.jpg
  
• 11. www.mastersofballet.com/frafx/noverre.gif
• 12. www.ballettonet/it-rep-giselle.html
• 13. www.peopleplayuk.org.uk/collect...
  (Taglioni)
  
• 14. www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/sd3p/lake.jpg
• 15. www.florencedance.org/images/center/mnativo/09
  .jpg
  
• 16. www.exploredance.com/pressphotos/squaredance-b
  orree.jpeg
  
• 17. inkpot.com/classical/debusimages.html
• 18. www.dancetheatreofharlem.com/agon.asp

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IMAGES/BIBLIOGRAPHY CONTINUED
22. www.lyon-passionnement.com/sorties/danse/img/s
econd_detail.jpg 23. www.wanthony.com/Article20A
rch... (Jiri Kylian) 24. www.linesballet.org (Alo
nzo King) 25. www.ridance.com/fbcarmen.html (Fest
ival Ballet) 26. http//atlanta.creativeloafing.c
om/2002-03-13/arts_dance-1.jpg
27. Jack Anderson, Ballet Modern Dance A Con
cise History Princeton, NJ Princeton Book Co.,
1986 28. Reynolds, Nancy McCormick, Malcolm, No
Fixed Points, New Haven, Connecticut Yale
University Press, 2003.