ballet History class intro

1. The History Of Ba lle t

2. Early Court Dances
* Hum a ns e xpre sse d thoughts a nd e m otions through
m ove m e nt long be fore the de ve lopm e nt of spe e ch.
* The origins of ba lle t ca n be tra ce d ba ck to the
Re na issa nce pe riod a nd the e a rly court da nce s in
Fra nce a nd Ita ly.
* Any ce le bra tory occa sion, such a s the birth of a n he ir
or a n influe ntia l m a rria ge would ca ll for socia l court
da ncing. All la die s a nd ge ntle m e n of the court
le a rne d the se ra the r intrica te da nce s a s pa rt of the ir
groom ing for socie ty.

3. Ba lle t Com ique de la Re ine
 In 1581, in Fra nce unde r the Que e n Ca the rine De
Me dici, the Ba lle t Com ique de la Re ine wa s
pe rform e d. This is conside re d the 1 st ba lle t.
 Ba lle t Com ique de la Re ine m e a ns " Com ic Ba lle t
The
of the Que e n." Ca the rine de Me dici, a rra nge d the
ba lle t pe rform a nce to ce le bra te a we dding.
 The ba lle t sta rte d a t 10pm a nd la ste d for 5 hours.
About 10,000 gue sts we re in a tte nda nce

4. Ballet Masters and
Choreographers
 As the court da nce s be ca m e m ore de ta ile d a nd com plica te d, it
be ca m e ne ce ssa ry to form a lly codify the se da nce s to m a inta in
consiste ncy.
 Spe cia l da nce instructors or “Ba lle t Ma ste rs” be ga n to a ppe a r. The se
m e n we re highly re ve re d a nd conside re d to be the fine st da nce
te a che rs. The y a lso se rve d a s da nce m a ke rs or choreographers,
creating dances that were used throughout Europe .
 King Louis XIV ha d a profound influe nce on the progre ssion of ba lle t.
Not only wa s he a n a vid supporte r of da nce , he wa s a lso a be love d
pe rform e r.
 King Louis XIV is com m only re fe rre d to a s the Sun King, a na m e he
re ce ive d a fte r a ppe a ring orna te ly a dorne d in gold a s Apollo, god of
the sun, in Le Ballet de la Nuit (The Ballet of the Night)

5. King Louis XIV

6. First Ballet School
 In 1661, King Louis XIV e sta blishe d the world’s first ba lle t
school,the Aca de m ie Roya le de Da nse (Roya l Aca de m y of
Da nce ).
 Pie rre Be a ucha m ps, a Ba lle t Ma ste r a t the school, is
cre dite d with de ve loping the five ba sic foot positions of
ba lle t.
 Soon othe r com pa nie s we re founde d in othe r countrie s; the
Russia n Im pe ria l Ba lle t of St. Pe te rsburg wa s founde d in
1738.
 Pre viously known a s the Im pe ria l Ba lle t School The
Va ga nova Aca de m y of Russia n Ba lle t is one of the m ost
fa m ous a nd influe ntia l cla ssica l ba lle t schools in the world.

7. The Pre-Romantic Period
* Pre ‐Rom a ntic pe riod be ga n in the e a rly 1800s, m uch of the
da nce voca bula ry use d toda y wa s a lre a dy in pla ce . The
Ita lia ns a lso be ca m e we ll known for the ir style of ba lle t.
m ore wom e n be ga n pe rform ing in ba lle ts.
 Wom e n’s skirts ha d be e n shorte ne d to unhe a rd of le ngths
(just a bove the a nkle ).
 The Pre ‐Rom a ntic pe riod is m ost note d a s the origin of
pointe work.
 The Ita lia n da nce r Ma rie Ta glioni, who wa s e ighte e n ye a rs
old a t the tim e , is ge ne ra lly conside re d to be the first
ba lle rina to da nce en pointe, balancing and moving on the
ends of her toes.

8. Marie
Taglioni

9. Costum ing in the 18 ce ntury th
 Ea rly da nce rs we re burde ne d by corse ts, m a sks, wigs,
he e le d shoe s a nd hoopskirts.
 Soon howe ve r, da nce rs be ga n cha nging the ir style of
dre ss to som e thing m ore re cogniza ble a s a style worn
toda y.
 The y disca rde d the ir he e le d shoe s, hoopskirts a nd
corse ts to a llow the ir bodie s to m ove m ore fre e ly a nd
to a lso a llow the a udie nce to se e the e xpre ssive
m ove m e nts a s the y told the story.

11. Que stion Tim e !!!
 Ea rly Court Da nce s we re a bout????
What was the 1 st ballet called?
King Louis XIV wa s a lso known a s
the ?????
King Louis XIV
established the 1st ballet
school called ?????
The 1st ballerina at age 18 to
dance on Pointe was ????

12. From Fra nce to Russia
 Cla ssica l ba lle t took off in St. Pe te rsburg, Russia in the
la te 1800s with the chore ogra phy of Ma rius Pe tipa
a nd his a ssocia te , Le v Iva nov.
 Pe tipa cre a te d ve ry cha lle nging, full‐le ngth cla ssic
ba lle ts for the m to da nce . The se cla ssic ba lle ts a lwa ys
include d a pas de deux ( dance for two) for the male
and female lead da nce rs followe d by a difficult solo for
e a ch one of the m a nd a coda (a short quick fina le ).

13. Ma rius Pe tipa
 In 1869 Pe tipa be ca m e Pre m ie r Ba lle t Ma ste r of the
Im pe ria l The a tre . The va lue of his a ccom plishm e nts is
ine stim a ble : he produce d m ore tha n sixty full-e ve ning
ba lle ts.
 Fa m ous Ba lle ts he chore ogra phe d a re :
 Don Quixote
 The Nutcra cke r
 Gise lle
 Sle e ping Be a uty
 Swa n La ke

14. Fa m ous Da nce rs From Europe
 In 1934, the form e r Im pe ria l Ba lle t in St. Pe te rsburg, Russia ,
wa s re na m e d the Kirov Ba lle t. The Kirov Ba lle t is still
re cognize d a s one of the world’s gre a te st ba lle t
com pa nie s, a nd ha s produce d som e of the world’s m ost
influe ntia l da nce rs a nd chore ogra phe rs, including Mikha il
Fokine , Anna Pa vlova , Va sla v Nijinsky, Rudolf Nure ye v, a nd
Mikha il Ba ryshnikov.
 This influe ntia l com pa ny ha d both strong Russia n a nd
Fre nch influe nce s a nd wa s re sponsible for introducing such
chore ogra phe rs such a s Va sla v Nijinsky, Enrico Che cche tti,
a nd Ge orge Ba la nchine , who e ve ntua lly put Am e rica n
ba lle t in the spotlight.

15. Ge orge Ba la nchine
 gra dua tion in 1921, from the Im pe ria l Ba lle t School
(the St. Pe te rsburg a ca de m y whe re he ha d sta rte d his
da nce studie s a t the a ge of nine )
 Ba la nchine m a de his own da ncing de but a t the a ge
of te n a s a cupid in the Ma ryinsky The a tre Ba lle t
Com pa ny production of THE SLEEPING BEAUTY.

16. Ge orge Ba la chine Ba lle t’s he
Chore ogra phe d
During the 1960s, Ba la nchine
cre a te d a nd re vise d ne a rly forty
ba lle ts
Fire bird
Orphe us
Nutcra cke r
Don Quixote
Je we ls
Apollo
Ca bin in the Sky
Swa n La ke
A Mid Sum m e r’s Night Dre a m
Coppe lia

17. Lincoln Kirste in
 Kirste in wa s born in 1907 a nd gre w up principa lly in
Boston. He a tte nde d Ha rva rd Unive rsity
 Lincoln Kirste in ha rbore d a dre a m : He wa nte d to
e sta blish a n Am e rica n school of ba lle t tha t would
e qua l -- e ve n riva l -- the e sta blishe d Europe a n
schools, a nd he wa nte d to e sta blish a n Am e rica n
ba lle t com pa ny.
 He worke d with old frie nds Ne lson Rocke fe lle r a nd
Philip Johnson to build the Ne w York Sta te The a te r a t
Lincoln Ce nte r (ope ne d 1964).

18. LINCOLN KIRSTEIN

19. Who brought ba lle t to
Am e rica ?
 Lincoln Kirste in m e t Ba la nchine pe rsua de d to re loca te to the Unite d Sta te s.
 Ge orge Ba la nchine a nd Lincoln Kirste in tra ve le d from Europe whe re the y
studie d to Am e rica a nd introduce d Ba lle t.
 Ba lle t in Am e rica be ga n in Ne w York City with the form a tion of the Ba lle t
The a tre (pre se ntly the Am e rica n Ba lle t The a tre ) a nd the Ne w York City
Ba lle t.
 The pa rtne rship of Lincoln Kirste in a nd Ge orge Ba la nchine wa s
re volutionizing ba lle t with innova tive chore ogra phy for the Ne w York City
Ba lle t.
 The first ba lle t Ba la nchine chore ogra phe d in Am e rica wa s SERENADE to
m usic by Tscha ikovsky -- wa s cre a te d a s a workshop for stude nts a t the ABT
School a nd ha d its world pre m ie re in June 1934 outdoors on the e sta te of a
frie nd ne a r White Pla ins, Ne w York.

20. Augusta Ma ywood
 1 st Am e rica n ba lle rina to be com e fa m ous in Europe .
 Studie d a t M a nd Pa ul Ha za rd’s ba lle t school in
Phila de lphia In 1836.
 Ma de he r de but in Phila de lphia a t a ge 12 in a ba lle t
ca lle d La Sylphide .
 Nickna m e wa s: “Que e n of the Air”

21. QUESTIONS???????
 Who brought ba lle t to Am e rica ?
 Wha t Ba lle ts did Ba la nchine chore ogra ph?
 Ma rius Pe tipa Chore ogra phe d wha t ba lle ts?
 Who is Lincoln Kirste in?
 Who wa s the que e n of a ir?
 Pa s de Due x is wha t?
 Wha t is the Coda ?

22. Je rom e Robbins
 1939, Robbins wa s da ncing in the corps (chorus) of
ba lle ts of Ba la nchine .
 Robbins wa s a lso da ncing a nd chore ogra phing At
Ca m p Ta m im e nt in the Poconos of PA.
 From 1941 through 1944, Robbins wa s a soloist with
the com pa ny,
 In 1948, Ba la nchine invite d the 30-ye a r-old Robbins
to join the Com pa ny a s Assista nt Artistic Dire ctor

23. Je rom e Robbins
Robbins dire cte d, with Robe rt Wise (dire ctor) of a 1961
ve rsion of We st Side Story.
Robbins won m a tching Tony a wa rds for his chore ogra phy
in Fiddle r on the Roof in 1964.