Romeo and Juliet, Dance, Film and Gender

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Romeo and Juliet, Dance, Film and Gender By Luke
A. Borgan
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Class Outline

• Shakeseare Ballet Timeline
• Nureyev 3 min.
• Discussion of Nureyevs challenge 3-4 min.
• Ballet Excerpt 5 min.
• Discussion of Gender Dynamics 5 min
• Zeffirelli 3-4 min.
• Movie Excerpt 7-8 min.
• Discussion of the Party Scene and Gender Dynamics
  5 min.
• Concluding Remarks 2 min.
• If time permits 1996 excerpt-party scene

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• Presentation Aims
• Review history of Shakespeare in Ballet
• Discuss the challenges of Nureyev, and the
  gender issues in his production
• Discuss Zeffirellis 1968 movie and the gender
  issues within
• To discuss the adaptation of Shakespeare into
  ballet and cinema

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Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet ballet timeline

• 1593 Shakespeare writes play
• 1811 an early ballet treatment of RJ is produced
  in Denmark
• 1830 Belini composes opera I Capuleti e I
  Montecchi
• 1935 Romeo and Juliet music and scenario is
  worked out
• 1938 The play premiers in Brno, Czechoslovakia
• 1940 Debut of RJ at the Kirov Theatre in
  Leningrad, choreographed by Levrovsky

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Romeo and Juliet ballet timeline

• 1946 RJ produced as revival by the Bolshoi
  Theatre
• 1955 ballet of play is first seen in west in
  London by Zagreb ballet
• 1959 performance makes its way to U.S. by Bolshoi
  Ballet
• 1966 Royal Ballet version of Romeo and Juliet is
  filmed.
• 1977 Nureyev stages RJ for the London Festival
  Ballet

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Rudolf Nureyev

• 1938 March 17 born in Siberia near Irkutsk
• 1945-55 studied dance, first ballet under Madame
  Udelstova, did walk on roles for Ufa Opera House,
  became apprentice member of corps de ballet
• 1958 studied at Leningrad Choreographic (Kirov)
  School, stage debut at Kirov Theatre, Leningrad
• 1964 staged first complete ballet
• 1977 world premier of Romeo and Juliet at the
  London Festival Ballet
• 1982 his production of Romeo and Juliet was
  filmed at Teatro alla Scalla, Milan

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Interesting considerations in the Problems
Nureyev Faced In the Choreography of Romeo and
Juliet

• The fundamental Choreographic choice remained
  the Same-that is, whether to stage a literally
  exact-albeit danced-reproduction of scenes from
  the play, or a danced distillation, using the
  play as a point of departure (Howard 92).

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Which leads us to the discussion question.

• With Shakespeare, how does a choreographer decide
  which gestures and small scenes to leave in and
  which to leave out?

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In response, Howard, in her The staging of
Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet as a Ballet does
not give us a solution, but she says

• Nureyev bends over backwards in an attempt not
  so much to make something entirely different from
  previous versions as to delve with greater depth
  into the play. Its authenticity is clearly a
  product of imaginative thought and wide reading
  both in and around the play (103).

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Discussion

• According to the gestures and dances what does
  the scene from the Capulets Ball seem to show in
  regards to women?

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Zeffirellis Romeo and Juliet

• Like Nureyev, Zeffirelli chose to explore new
  realms with the cinematic production of Romeo and
  Juliet
• Less Victorian more Italian
• Balcony scene more realistic
• No wigs, natural longer hair-before The Beatles

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Problematic Considerations of a Producer

• What sort of problems might a producer face in
  adapting Shakespeare into a movie?
• Zeffirellis answer..

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Discussion More Gender Conflict

• In Zeffirellis party scene, how are the
  masculine and feminine roles played out?
• How does voyeurism play a part in Romeos
  encounter with Juliet?

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Concluding Remarks
In the text, Shakespeare, unlike the ballet and
movie deals very little with gender conflict
within the party scene, however I did find one
very interesting passage.
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Welcome, Gentlemen, ladies that have their
toesUnplagued with corns will have a bout with
you

• Capulet Act 1 Scene 5