Ballet E-Book

Jennifer Jackson

• Herausgeber: Crowood
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 398

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021

Beschreibung

Ballet is a detailed guide to creative practice and performance. Compiled by ten leading practitioners, each chapter focuses on an aspect of ballet as a performing art. Together they outline a journey from the underpinning principles of ballet, through an appreciation of different styles and schooling, into the dance studio for practice in class and beyond. With additional insights from highly acclaimed dancers, choreographers and teachers, this practical guide offers advice on fundamental and advanced training and creative development. As well as providing information from dance science research into training well-being, this book supports the individual dancer in their artistic growth, offering strategies for exploration and discovery. Topics include: principles, styles and schooling of classical ballet; fundamental technique and advanced expression; developing versatility and creative thinking; advice on injury management, nutrition and lifestyle; choreography and music and, finally, best practice in the rehearsal studio is covered. 'A wonderfully accessible and comprehensive resource about the individual disciplines involved in ballet.' Leanne Benjamin OBE, former Principal of The Royal Ballet and international coach

Leseprobe

Isabela Coracy and Mthuthuzeli November in Cathy Marston’s The Suit for Ballet Black. Photography by ASH.

First published in 2021 byThe Crowood Press LtdRamsbury, MarlboroughWiltshire SN8 2HR

[email protected]

www.crowood.com

This e-book first published in 2021

© Jennifer Jackson and contributors 2021

All rights reserved. This e-book is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication DataA catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 1 78500 831 3

Picture credits/copyrightFront cover: Johan Persson.Back cover: Nicholas Espinosa.

The images on the following pages have been sourced from The Royal Ballet School Special Collections by kind permission: p.22; p.25; p.26; p.27; p.29 (right); p.30; p.31 (left and right); p.32 (left and right); p.33; p.34; p.37; p.38; p.39; p.40; p.44 (bottom); p.45; p.46 (top and bottom); p.47; p.48; p.50; p.51; p.52; p.53; p.55; p.76; p.99; p.100; p.155.

The archives of The Royal Ballet School have accrued since its founding in 1926 and are available to researchers. Over 700 items can be accessed via the School’s website. Descriptions of the Special Collections are available on the Jisc Archives Hub (formerly the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC)) research network.

ASH (Arnaud Stephenson & Amber Hunt):p.98; p.178; p.181; p.183 (bottom); p.185; p.186; p.187 (top and bottom). Patrick Baldwin:p.44 (top). Baron:p.48. Annie Bloomfield:p.121 (left and right); p.126; p.127; p.132; p.134 (left and right). Deirdre Chapman:p.196 (top); p.207. Rachel Cherry, Royal Ballet School:p.20; p.94 (top). Nicholas Espinosa:p.56; p.58; p.60; p.62; p.63 (top and bottom); p.64; p.65; p.66 (top and bottom); p.70; p.71; p.73; p.74; p.75; p.80; p.81; p.82; p.83; p.86; p.87; p.89 (bottom); p.90; p.91; p.92. Claudia Evans:p.120 (left and right); p.122 (left and right); p.123 (left and right); p.129 (left and right); p.130 (top and bottom); p.131; p.138 (top and bottom); p.139. Alex Fine:p.159. Felix Fonteyn:p.49. Gerschel:p.46 (top). Sean Goldthorpe:p.172; p.177. Gregory Heisler:p.115. Adrian Hobbs:p.158; p.160; p.162; p.163 (bottom); p.165; p.166. Rachel Hollings, Royal Opera House:p.188; p.190; p.202; p.205; p.208. Emma Kauldhar:p.174 (top); p.176. Robin Kent:p.169. Tristram Kenton, Royal Ballet School:p.12; p.94 (bottom). Ewa Krasucka:p.154; p.157. Lipnitzski:p.47. Nigel Norrington/ArenaPAL:p.105. Sasha Onyshchenko:p.168. Mikael Örtenheim:p.170. Johan Persson:p.78; p.106; p.111; p.116; p.143; p.145; p.150; p.212. Martin Pyne:p.209. Graham Read:p.104. Sasha (Alexander Stewart):p.99. Frank Sharman:p.50. Brian Slater:p.21; p.174 (bottom). Leslie Spatt:p.108. Gavin Sutherland:p.183 (top). Martha Swope:p.55. Andrej Uspenski, Royal Ballet School:p.18 (left and right); p.88. Andrej Uspenski, Royal Opera House:p.9; p.89 (top); p.95; p.102; p.114; p.182; p.196 (bottom); p.197; p.198; p.200; p.201; p.210. Filip van Roe:p.163 (top). Dorothy Wilding:p.25.

IllustrationsSally Geeve:p.14 (top and bottom). Adrian Hobbs:p.17. Gregory Mislin, The Royal Ballet:p.204. Susan Tyler:p.119; p.125; p.136.

CONTENTS

Dedication and Acknowledgements

Contributing Authors

IntroductionJennifer Jackson

1. Founding Principles of Classical BalletGinny Brown2. Ballet Styles and Schooling: Shared Roots, Different CulturesAnna Meadmore3. Technique and Ballet Class FundamentalsNicola Katrak4. Advanced Techniques: Training for ExcellenceMark Annear5. Developing Versatility and Creative ThinkingKaren Berry6. Taking Care of Your Body and Mind: Applying Dance Science to PracticeStephanie De’Ath and Laura Erwin7. The Ballet Choreographer’s CraftJennifer Jackson8. Ballet and MusicJonathan Still9. The Rehearsal StudioDeirdre Chapman10. Conclusion: From Studio to StageNicholas Minns

Key Terms and Concepts

Recommended Reading

Endnotes

Index

DEDICATION AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

FOR ROGER TULLY (1928–2020) IN LOVING MEMORY

This book emerges from what has been a hugely stimulating process in the company of wonderful colleagues. It is a great privilege to have worked with them all and to have learnt so much along the way. There are many people to thank for their generosity, support and commitment to making this book happen and for thought-provoking conversations and exchange.

Very special thanks to Adrian Hobbs for his support throughout, for feedback, for his tireless work on the images to prepare them for publication and for post-production on photographs in Chapters 3, 4 and 6.

Thanks also to the authors of each chapter for their stamina, the stimulation of our numerous exchanges and for their excellent contributions.

Nicholas Espinosa for his photographic expertise and huge generosity, providing practical resources for the photoshoots.

Susie Crow for her insightful reading and help at each stage, and taking time away from her own (PhD) writing project; Kate Flatt, Nicholas Minns and Angela Wilson for reading, excellent suggestions and feedback on the final drafts.

Anna Meadmore and Rachel Hollings for going out of their way to help with gathering photographs. Kevin O’Hare (Royal Ballet), Ruby Wolk (Learning and Participation, Royal Opera House), Christopher Powney and Mark Annear (Royal Ballet School), Nicholas Espinosa (London Studio Centre), Aakesh Odedra and Leantwoproductions for authorizing the permission to use their photographs.

All the artists and interviewees who contributed their invaluable thoughts in conversations and in written responses to our questions during research for the book.

Sally Geeve, Adrian Hobbs and Susan Tyler for illustrations.

I am especially grateful to Lavinia Exham and the following photographers for their generosity and for giving permission for the use of their work. They are:

Adrian Hobbs, Alex Fine, Andrej Uspenski, Annie Bloomfield, Arnaud Stephenson & Amber Hunt (ASH), Brian Slater, Claudia Evans, Emma Kauldhar, Ewa Krasucka, Filip van Roe, Graham Read, Gregory Heisler, Johan Persson, Leslie Spatt, Martin Pyne, Mikael Örtenheim, Patrick Baldwin, Rachel Cherry, Rachel Hollings, Robin Kent, Sasha Onyshchenko and Sean Goldthorpe.

The dancers for their great good humour and time in the photoshoots:

Abbie Hollis, Abigail Everard, Angela Wilson, Anita Feerick, Denilson Almedia, Lauren Everard, Mark Coates, Laura Bratek, Madeleine Smith, Montanna Springer, Oona Landgrebe, Regan Wilson, Ryan Hine, Serafina Barbieri and Zoe Arshamian.

CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS

Mark Annear is Head of Training and Access at The Royal Ballet School. Since performing with The Australian Ballet, Mark has worked extensively in vocational dance training for thirty years. He lectured at West Australian Academy of Performing Arts, was a senior classical teacher, then head of senior school and academic studies at the Australian Ballet School.

Karen Berry has had a diverse career in dance, including performing, researching, choreographing, teaching and developing dance syllabi, and courses for students and teachers. She currently works as a peripatetic teacher and Teacher Training Manager at The Royal Ballet School in London, whilst continuing to teach at Danscentre in Aberdeen.

Ginny Brown is chief executive of the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD). Ginny started her career as a ballet teacher, specializing in introducing ballet to new audiences. She worked for the education departments of several UK companies before being invited to establish the Dance Partnership and Access Programme at The Royal Ballet School.

Deirdre Chapman danced professionally with San Francisco Ballet, Rambert Dance Company, and The Royal Ballet. She has a teaching diploma from The Royal Ballet School, and an MA in dance anthropology. She currently works to assist and re-stage ballets by choreographers, including: Kim Brandstrup, Kurt Jooss, Cathy Marston, Crystal Pite, Hofesh Shechter and Pam Tanowitz, and teaches vocational and professional ballet and contemporary classes.

Stephanie De’Ath has studied dancers’ health throughout her professional dance training, and developed this interest at Trinity Laban in an MSc in dance science, later qualifying as a soft-tissue therapist from North London School of Sports Massage (NLSSM). Stephanie has been a lecturer in dance science at UK universities and vocational dance colleges and is now Head of Student Welfare at London Studio Centre and a dance-specialist soft-tissue therapist.

Laura Erwin’s interest in experiential anatomy and somatic practices began when studying dance at Middlesex University and London Contemporary Dance School. After working freelance as a dance performer and teacher she qualified in STOTT Pilates and now works as Head of Dance Science at London Studio Centre.

Jennifer Jackson is a former soloist with The Royal Ballet, lecturer at University of Surrey and choreography tutor at The Royal Ballet School. She is currently Artistic Director of London Studio Centre’s Images Ballet Company. She is published in academic books and professional dance journals, and her commissioned choreography includes works for ballet companies and vocational schools.

Nicola Katrak is of English-Pakistani parentage and began ballet lessons in Kent, before joining The Royal Ballet School where teachers included Joan Lawson, Pauline Wadsworth, Nancy Kilgour, Pamela May and Eileen Ward. Dancing with Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet (1975–88), her principal roles included Lise, Giselle, Aurora and Swanilda. She was the first SWRB artist in education before returning to The Royal Ballet School, where she currently teaches.

Anna Meadmore graduated from The Royal Ballet School Teachers’ Training Course, later joining the staff as dance history teacher and archivist. She contributed to the school’s focus on style series of masterclasses (2012–13), which has informed her chapter in this book. Anna co-edited Robert Helpmann: the Many Faces of a Theatrical Dynamo (Dance Books, 2018) with Richard Allen Cave.

Nicholas Minns received his BA in architecture at Cambridge before training as a dancer at the Rambert School of Ballet and with Roger Tully in London. He performed with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens in Montreal and now writes about dance on his blog: writingaboutdance.com.

Jonathan Still has been a company pianist for English National Ballet and Ballett der Deutschen Oper, Berlin, and music development manager for the Royal Academy of Dance. He has an MA in music education from UCL Institute of Education, where he is also completing a PhD.

INTRODUCTION

Jennifer Jackson

This book gathers together the experience, knowledge and wisdom of ballet practitioners: dancers, choreographers, teachers and scholars, all experts in their field. They have written this for you, the dancer, who has a serious interest and feeling for ballet, and who wants to know more.

Side stage at ‘Beginnners’.

It is a guide to knowledge – the knowledge that will encourage you to grow as an artist, to explore what is good practice, to reflect on your experience and to ask questions.

It tells you from where the art form comes, in order to help you know where you might take it, while developing a healthy dynamic relationship with the subject of your curiosity and passion.

It will be of benefit to teachers, who are also dancers and remain curious about engaging with new resources and ideas. It aims to educate in ballet (as in the Latin word educere) ‘to lead out’ from you, the person who dances.

Each chapter focuses on an aspect of ballet as a performing art with traditions of training, and creative and performance practices, spanning almost four centuries. You can read any of the chapters separately, and together they outline a journey you might make today from the underpinning principles of ballet, through an appreciation of different styles and schooling, into the studio for practice in class, outside class, in choreography and rehearsals.

Chapter 1 reveals ways in which ballet is both extraordinary and accessible, how the geometry underpinning the aesthetic is rooted in natural physical law and is fundamental to the human body. In Chapter 2, the social nature of ballet as a performing art is highlighted, as you tour its rich history of oral transmission between peoples and nations over time. People make art! You learn that style and schooling emerge through the creative activity of dancers, teachers and choreographers. The next three chapters offer perspectives on practical dance training in the ballet class and for the serious vocational student. Common to all is an emphasis on attention to the fundamentals of technique, your own sense of engagement and potential for growth. The principles, rules and vocabulary are a framework for exploration, for discovery and for developing good, disciplined and truthful practice. The dance science in Chapter 6 supports your practical study with analysis of the anatomy of key postures and movements in ballet technique, and advice on nutrition and lifestyle. Moving outwards from the individual dancer’s practice to focus on creating and collaborating, Chapter 7 opens up the craft of choreography through the voices of choreographers at different stages of their careers. Chapter 8 focuses on a ballet musician’s insight into the diverse ways in which music is a vital component in both ballet choreography and class. Chapter 9 considers what is best practice in the rehearsal studio, where ballets are prepared for the stage, and the Conclusion invites you to reflect on what leads the dancer back to class.

Your teachers are your essential guides in your dance journey. Knowing what has influenced an artist can help locate their practice and your understanding of their views. My own experience, and that of several of the authors, has been shaped by study and careers with The Royal Ballet School and Company. Amongst my early teachers, Eileen Ward showed me that with attentive practice according to the rules, transformation happens. Her little saying ‘do it for YOURself’ encouraged the essential responsibility that you take as the dancer for your learning and lifestyle. Anya Grinstead inspired me in the ‘dance’ and flow of movement, passing on the wisdom of her teacher Audrey de Vos. Piers Beaumont helped me to find the courage and imaginative tools to meet the demands of performing principal roles. As a mature dancer I had the good fortune to work with another great teacher, Roger Tully, who studied with Kathleen Crofton, one of Anna Pavlova’s dancers, and later a ballet mistress with American Ballet Theatre in the 1960s. In Tully I found a radical and subtle guide to unlocking individual potential and learning through practical experience of the essential principles. His emphasis on research and discovery of the initiation of movement, and the play of opposition around the aplomb, re-awakened my curiosity and revolutionized my thinking and practice. I also learnt that practising without a mirror shifts attention away from a two-dimensional body image toward sensation and feeling, and the multi-dimensional ‘dance’. He expressed big ideas in simple but pithy phrases that led to deeper engagement – ‘the dynamic of movement is in the opposition’, ‘you have the ideal body for your own dance’ and ‘your dance refines your ideal body’. You will encounter his ‘voice’ and thoughts in several chapters.

Your experience of choreography and performing is also your essential guide to growing in knowledge and understanding. It is useful to think of being in relationship with ballet and, like any relationship, it is dynamic and changes with experience over time. You often make big leaps when you are in unfamiliar territory – intellectually, emotionally or physically – where you are on the edge of your known abilities; for example, in workshop or performance. The energy of performing is a part of every time you dance – even in class.

As a dancer today, you are both an artist and an athlete. Chapter 6 points you toward a wealth of sport and dance science research that has boosted knowledge of the athletic aspects of practice. The remaining chapters lean toward supporting your artistic growth, for which there is little research and no ‘how to’ manual. Use the book to encourage, provoke and feed your ‘own dance’, and to pursue your dream. Remember that in ballet, you have a language for some fundamentals of the human condition in your everyday practice. Each person’s journey and relationship with ballet as a performing art is complex and unique, with rich discoveries on the way. Look deeply and be in no hurry. The art form itself – its principles, vocabulary and repertoire – is your essential guide.

CHAPTER 1

FOUNDING PRINCIPLES OF CLASSICAL BALLET

Ginny Brown

Ballet is one of the most popular dance styles in the world. There are ballet companies based in most major cities, principal ballet dancers have become household names and each week millions of children learn ballet at local dance schools. The spectacle of ballet, with its super-human skill and extraordinary synthesis of aural and visual splendour, offers entertainment and escape. But a deeper attraction, I believe, is that the underlying classical principles of ballet are based on the laws of nature and the human form. So when we watch or perform ballet, the harmony of the shape and movement feels intuitively ‘right’.

Marianna Tsembenhoi and James Large, Royal Ballet (Upper) School students performing Sea Interludes by Andrew McNicol at the Royal Opera House.

Yet with its highly specialized technique and long history, ballet can appear inaccessible and difficult to understand. The physical challenges take time and perseverance to master, and its codified language requires specialist study. Therefore, ballet is often perceived as an elite activity – traditionally only enjoyed by those who have spent years learning about the art form and who have been able to pay for the privilege! But this need not be the case. The beauty of ballet is that the classical principles, at its heart, are fundamentally connected to our natural human movement potential. These classical principles, which underpin both the codified technique and the ballet repertoire, can provide an understandable entry point into this complex and physically demanding dance style. By exploring these foundations, this chapter aims to inspire the experienced dancer and teacher to reconnect with the fundamental principles that shape the art form, as well as offering a starting point from which inexperienced dancers can understand, embody and enjoy the classicism of ballet.

CLASSICAL PRINCIPLES

Like all classical art forms, ballet draws on the classical ideals of balance, harmony and proportion. These qualities are found throughout nature, including in the human body, which is naturally vertical, symmetrical and balanced. Therefore, when learning or teaching ballet it is liberating to remember that, whilst the technical movement may be challenging to master, it is also firmly rooted in the natural design of our bodies.

The Golden Section

These classical principles can be described by a set of geometric proportions known as the Golden Section or the Divine Proportion. Mathematically, the Golden Section proposes a particular relationship between the parts and the whole, and is most easily understood when illustrated as a straight line.

The whole (AC: 1.618) to the longer (AB: 1) as the longer (AB: 1) is to the shorter (BC: 0.618).

Using these proportions, a rectangle can be drawn with ever decreasing segments. A golden spiral is formed by connecting the rectangles.

This straight line is divided approximately into three-fifths and two-fifths. This same proportion can be found in our own bodies and relates to the famous Fibonacci series of numbers.1 For example, try measuring the length of your body from head to feet (AC). Then measure the length from your navel to feet (AB) and from navel to head (BC). You should find that the proportions broadly match those of the illustrated line (the length from head to navel is approximately two-fifths of your total height and the length from navel to feet is approximately three-fifths).

Patterns in Nature

These proportions give rise to a series of shapes and dynamics that appear throughout nature from the uncurling of a leaf, to the spiral of a galaxy. They form principles of harmony that have been acknowledged as fundamental truths. They are reflected in the proportions of our bodies – not only in the ratio of one body part to another, but in whorls of hair, our fingerprints and in the spiral of the inner ear canal. These proportions have also been used by architects to produce buildings of outstanding beauty: from the pyramids of Egypt, to the Parthenon in Athens, European Gothic cathedrals and even modern buildings, such as the Gherkin in London.2 So let’s consider how ballet employs these principles of balance, harmony and logical order to shape the design of the body and its movement through time and space.

Geometric Patterns

Leonardo da Vinci illustrated this, the first known treatise on the Divine Proportion, by Luca Piacolli. Da Vinci’s drawing depicts the perfect proportions of the human body. The man’s body is symmetrical either side of the vertical axis. The figure is inscribed within a circle and a square – the fundamental geometric patterns that inform classical ballet. All the movements that your body performs in ballet take place within an imaginary circle (your kinesphere) and in relation to an imaginary square (the dancer’s square).

Vitruvian Man, one of Leonardo da Vinci’s most famous drawings, depicts the perfect proportions of the human body.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

Ballet’s interest in the classical principles of refining and formalizing natural patterns into geometric designs can be traced right back to its inception. Ballet began in the Renaissance, in the French and Italian courts of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, where dancing was considered a noble skill for royalty and courtiers. These court dances drew inspiration from local folk dance – the dance of the people – which, in turn, reflected patterns in nature, such as circling, spirals, opening and closing, advancing and retreating. This connection to nature can be traced through ballet’s history – in the earthly scenes of Romantic ballets, the stylized character dances of Petipa’s classical ballets and in the pagan ritual portrayed in Nijinsky’s revolutionary Rite of Spring.

Verticality

Ballet begins with one of the unique features of the human body – our verticality. Standing still, we can sense a straight line running vertically through the body – from the centre of the head, through the torso and down between the two feet. This imaginary vertical line allows you to feel your weight in relation to gravity and so remain balanced and ‘centred’ (en place). This concept is so fundamental to ballet that moving up and down the vertical ‘plumb line’ (aplomb) is the first thing a ballet dancer practices every day in the form of plié (to bend). A distinctive feature of ballet is how the dancer then utilizes this verticality to resist gravity in order to balance, spin and leap.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

From the early flowering of ballet at the court of the French King Louis XIV, upright stance (with feet firmly planted on the ground but head reaching toward the heavens) was employed to create an illusion of divine presence. Use of the vertical ‘plumb line’ was then refined and extended during the romantic ballet period to create the illusion of ethereal, weightless creatures. Advances in technical skill enabled the dancer to perform sustained balances, resulted in the development of pirouettes (turns), slow, graceful adage movements, such as arabesques, and higher elevation and the introduction of pointework (the female dancer balancing on the tips of her toes). Classical ballet’s pas de deux (duet) then took the dancer’s verticality to spectacular new heights. The ballerina’s pointework evolved into a technical feat, the male dancer performed soaring leaps and together they created impressive lifts, virtuoso turns and extraordinary balances.3

Turn Out

In order to create a wider range of movement, the ballet dancer rotates the arms and legs outwards around their imaginary vertical axis. This twisting action of the opposing muscles, which are activated in rotation, creates spirals in the body and results in the turned out positions of the legs and feet. Five formal, outwardly rotated, positions create the start and end of every movement in ballet. This outward rotation also enables the dancer to extend their limbs well beyond the usual anatomical limit. The combination of verticality and outward rotation leads to movements on horizontal and vertical planes, and particularly to movements of the legs directed to the front, side and back. This pattern is formalized as en croix (in the shape of a cross), which is practised in the second exercise of ballet class – battements tendus (leg stretches).4

By connecting the points of the cross, the limbs trace circular patterns – en dehors (outwards, with a feeling of moving away from the centre of the body) and en dedans (inwards, with a feeling of moving toward the centre of the body). These circular movements of the arms and legs trace the three-dimensional periphery of the kinesphere, resulting in twisting spirals and movements that open and close – mirroring natural rhythms, such as breathing. Movements en dehors and en dedans are practised in ballet class as ronds de jambe (circles with the leg) and ports de bras (movements with the arms). Spinning around the vertical axis is then utilized later in the class in the performance of pirouettes.

The line of aplomb implies a centre or still point from which movement may move out, to which it will return and which will be present throughout. ‘En-dehors’, ‘En-dedans’,‘En place’: the outward movement, the inward movement, and being in place; these are the three great expressions of the classical dance.5

Choreographers often use these opening and closing movements to create light and shade in the dance; to portray emotion, mood and meaning. For the dancer, the feeling that is evoked when you take time to experience these geometries is personal to you – so the principles of en dehors, en dedans, en place and en croix are also ‘tools’ for exploring expression.6

Spatial Orientation

Use of geometry extends beyond the individual body, to the placement of the dancer in space. First conceived as a vehicle for royal presentation, all the movements of early ballet were orientated frontally – toward the king. As ballet moved into the theatre, this frontal arrangement naturally leant itself to theatrical presentation to an audience. Therefore, all movement relates to en face (the front), where the audience is sitting.

The dancer’s square showing the combination of body design (en croix) and direction in space. (Note: the accents on French capitalized letters are omitted here.)

In order to achieve uniform use of the space, each dancer orientates themselves within an imaginary dancer’s square. For example, when the dancer is asked to face the downstage corner, they turn 45 degrees to face the corner of their imaginary square. In this way, the direction of each dancer’s movement is precisely the same. This combination of clear body design and precise use of direction ensures the movement of the dancer is legible to the audience, even at the back of the largest auditorium.

Patterns in Space

By projecting the line of movement and energy beyond the bounds of the kinesphere, the dancer’s movement radiates out into the external stage space. The geometric shapes performed in the body are reflected in travelling patterns as the dancer moves through the space – along diagonal lines; standing centre stage; crossing from stage right to stage left; advancing and retreating; and travelling in a circle.

These movement patterns are further magnified by sharing spatial design with a partner or group. For example, when the principal dancers perform a classical pas de deux (duet), their powerful connection is portrayed through shared body designs and travelling pathways, which connect across the stage space to create a strong sense of unity and harmony. Equally, group patterning of the corps de ballet (the main body of dancers) is used to magnify and reflect the movement and emotion of the individual dancer, enabling a large group of dancers to move as one body.

Each movement is precisely orientated in space making the form legible even at a distance. Yu Hang, Royal Ballet (Upper) School student, as Aurora in Aurora’s Wedding staged by Anthony Dowell from Marius Petipa’s The Sleeping Beauty at the Royal Opera House, London.

The power of the dancers’ connection is illustrated through their shared body design. Rimi Nakano and Eric Pinto Cata, Royal Ballet (Lower) School students dancing in Pulcinella Suite by Mark Annear.

In these ways, ballet draws on the classical principles of harmony and proportion to recreate the dancer as a work of geometry and beauty. Not only does the human body incorporate the geometry of the Golden Section, this natural geometry is emphasized to present the dancer in an idealized form. In the next chapter, which looks at the historic roots of ballet, you can discover how the desire for human expression and interest in representing the human form as ‘ideal’ has driven the development of the ballet as an art form.

BALLET TODAY

An Evolving Art Form

Today ballet reaches across the globe and can best be defined by its diversity. Its versatile technique, based on universal principles of harmony and proportion, lends it a timeless quality that speaks to the human experience at a fundamental level. This has enabled ballet to continue to evolve and adapt to changing fashions, aesthetics and interests, and modern-day choreographers to draw on ballet’s rich vocabulary to portray complex narrative, abstract movement and nuanced atmosphere. However, the rapid development of diverse dance styles has challenged ballet’s aesthetic, offering antidotes to its formal, codified structure. In particular, the American and European modern dance movements (known as contemporary dance in the UK) emphasize self-expression and movement that isn’t bound by historic convention – making it attractive for choreographers who are interested in creating dances that resonate with their audiences. Creative contemporary dance has also become the basis for teaching dance in UK state schools, providing young people with methods to create, perform and appreciate dance without the need to first master the physical skills of ballet technique. As a result, some have questioned the continued relevance of ballet and the strength of its connection with today’s society.

Yet each week millions of children learn ballet at dance schools in their local communities, and adult classes are increasingly popular. These ballet classes are often supported by carefully constructed, progressive syllabi that introduce the classical principles outlined in this chapter through a series of technical training exercises. Achievement of each syllabus level is formally acknowledged through participation in a practical graded examination. This method of teaching ballet has proved so popular that UK teaching societies, such as the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD) and the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) now operate worldwide. In 2019, these two organizations alone delivered over 300,000 ballet exams – illustrating both the enduring popularity of ballet and its ability to transcend both geographic and cultural divides. However, despite the popularity of such classes, their cost and availability inevitably presents a barrier that prevents many from participating in this beautiful art form.

Engaging New Audiences

The need for classical art forms to evolve and capture the spirit of the age is a common theme across all the performing arts. In ballet, this has led to questions about who learns and performs ballet, and who has access to watch performances. Housed in some of the country’s finest cultural institutions, and attracting significant public funding, ballet is an important element of national identity. However, for it to remain so, young people (who will form tomorrow’s society) must have opportunities to learn about, and participate in, ballet’s rich cultural heritage. This necessitates overcoming a number of economic and cultural obstacles associated with cost and who feels welcome in ballet spaces. For instance, ballet is frequently perceived as the preserve of the female, mainly white, middle classes and thereby out of step with our culturally diverse twenty-first century society.

Over the past thirty years, ballet institutions have worked hard to overcome these barriers. In the UK, all funded professional ballet companies have a remit to engage new audiences, which they typically achieve through participatory learning opportunities linked to their repertoire. Much of this activity is focused toward schoolchildren but, increasingly, companies are expanding their work to engage with adults and older people.

Whilst such participatory activity is often short term in nature, there are some notable long-term training initiatives. A prime example is the Royal Opera House’s Chance to Dance programme, which is designed to broaden the diversity of those who learn ballet in the hope that this will be reflected in the future composition of companies like The Royal Ballet. Chance to Dance works with primary schools in lower socio-economic and ethnically diverse communities. Each year, children are introduced to ballet through specially designed demonstrations and practical workshops in their schools. Those identified as having a particular talent for ballet are then offered free weekly ballet classes in their local community. Some of these children have gone on to train at leading vocational ballet schools and some have now entered the profession as ballet dancers.

Likewise, the UK’s Centres for Advanced Training provide pre-vocational training for young people who demonstrate talent for dance, but may not have previously had an opportunity for sustained technical dance training. This government-funded scheme provides training in a range of dance disciplines for young people between the ages of eleven and eighteen years, and ballet is typically viewed as an important foundation technique.

Royal Opera House Chance to Dance students learn ports de bras.

At a professional level, ballet companies such as Dance Theater of Harlem in New York and, more recently, the UK’s Ballet Black, actively profile ballet dancers from ethnic minorities. In doing so, they are successfully challenging and dismantling the historic cultural norm of ballet as an art form performed by predominantly white dancers for largely white audiences.

The Future of Development of Ballet

In turn, these initiatives induct new audiences into the world of ballet, providing accessible opportunities for a broader cross-section of society to learn about its history, vocabulary and aesthetic values. Enabling a wider range of people to participate in, influence and contribute to the development of the art form is essential to the future societal relevance of ballet.7 Such initiatives have led some practitioners to rethink the way in which ballet is introduced and taught – focusing on ballet’s classical movement principles as a springboard for stimulating curiosity and for allowing the dancer a sense of self-discovery, rather than viewing ballet as a set of knowledge and physical skills to be imposed. This methodology has been used in ground-breaking projects initiated by The Royal Ballet School, which partnered highly skilled vocational ballet school students with young people who learn dance in state school settings. Transcending their differing skills and experiences, these students worked together to explore ballet’s classical principles creatively, and to use these as a catalyst from which to make and perform original dance pieces. By employing creative exploration and composition, both vocational and state school students developed a deeper understanding of the art form and the confidence to utilize this knowledge in their own choreographies.8 Such initiatives illustrate that when young people from varied backgrounds have authentic opportunities to engage in, and contribute to, ballet as active participants, the art form has the potential to transcend cultural and social divides.

Young dancers draw inspiration from the use of line and symmetry in classical ballet as a stimulus for creative exploration. Royal Ballet School aDvANCE Project rehearsal.

Throughout its history, ballet’s enduring appeal has been its ability to embody classical principles and, in doing so, to transform the human body into an ideal form. This remains as relevant today as in the past. Ballet’s confident upright stance and expansive use of space is empowering – as is the possibility of physically and creatively engaging with its classical heritage. Those who learn, choreograph, teach and perform ballet are its lifeblood – responsible for safeguarding the future of this beautiful art form and ensuring that it remains connected to the past, relevant to the present and accessible to our changing society. You, the practitioner, are the future.

CHAPTER 2

BALLET STYLES AND SCHOOLING: SHARED ROOTS, DIFFERENT CULTURES

Anna Meadmore

The distinctive training and performance traditions of each of the world’s principal styles, or ‘schools’, of classical ballet have emerged through a combination of cultural and historic influences. The older Italian, French, Danish and Russian schools were established during the eighteenth century, while the younger English and American schools formed much later, in the early part of the twentieth century. In spite of their different foundation stories, they share the same roots in the Italian Renaissance, over five hundred years ago.

Anna Pavlova (1881–1931) in Le Cygne or The Dying Swan. Pavlova’s world tours caught the public imagination and she became an international celebrity; her slender legs and arched feet established a new aesthetic for ballet.

Like most forms of human expression, dance has its origins in communal activity; three types of social dancing gave rise to the historical development of classical ballet:

•Traditional folk dances, with their roots in ancient rural life and rituals.

•Aristocratic court dances of the Renaissance, whose origins lay in popular country dances, as well as military and religious pageantry.

•Social dances of the aspiring middle-classes, adapted from both folk and courtly dances.

All dance forms display the unique stylistic characteristics of different peoples and countries, and these can also be seen in their national styles of ballet. In Chapter 1, we identified the essential ‘classical’ principles that underpin all ballet training. Here, we trace the cultural origins of those principles and discover who shaped them, in order to see how distinctive ‘schools’ of ballet emerged over time.

WHAT IS MEANT BY A ‘STYLE’ OR ‘SCHOOL’ OF CLASSICAL BALLET?

Many elements contribute to the formation of different schooling and performance styles. Fundamental to all dance, including classical ballet, is the instrument itself: the dancer’s moving body. The interplay between physique and technical training, or ‘schooling’, is central to stylistic variation. The demands of particular choreographers and repertoires also shape balletic style, as do the unique attributes of specific dancers. Musicality profoundly informs the distinctive movement and dynamic qualities that are embedded within different ballet traditions. National cultural approaches to theatre and dance influence not only the content and presentation of ballets, but also the different venues and audiences for ballet around the world.

KEY ELEMENTS OF STYLE

As you read this chapter, consider how these key elements of ballet performance compare across the world: how do they reveal stylistic differences? Can you locate them within your own dance study?

•Whole body: alignment, placement and carriage.

•Limbs, head and eyes: lines, levels, extensions.

•Legs and feet: articulation on floor/in air.

•Head, limbs, hands and eyes: gesture and detail.

•Dynamics: contrast, quality and musicality.

•Body in space: jumps, turns and directions.

•Stage space: floor patterns and travelling.

•Social and cultural norms: ideals and customs.

•Artistic traditions: music, literature, drama and design.

•Theatrical traditions: performance venues and values.

•Cultural context: political and economic.

THE ITALIAN SCHOOL: HISTORY AND STYLISTIC FEATURES

Ballet in Italy: a History of Regional Politics and Patronage

In the early fifteenth century, Italy was a patchwork of city states, with rival princedoms, dukedoms and hugely wealthy families, all competing to attract the finest musicians, painters, poets, philosophers and engineers to their palaces and courts.9

Such intensive patronage of the arts and sciences led to an extraordinary period of creativity, later called the Renaissance (a ‘rebirth’ of classical ideals), in which ballet originated. Each of Italy’s splendid regional courts required the services of a dancing master; as a result, ballet developed in several major cities and not as a centralized national school.

THE ORIGIN OF THE WORD ‘BALLET’ CAN BE TRACED TO AROUND 1400

The earliest known European dance manual pre-dated the advent of printing: De arte saltandi et choreas ducendi (On the Art of Dancing and Conducting Dances) was written by Domenico da Piacenza (birthdate unknown; died c.1476). Called ‘the King of the Art’, he was dancing master to the powerful d’Este family of Ferrara. Domenico made the significant distinction between a danza and a ballo: a danza has a regular rhythm throughout, while a ballo has varied rhythms. Balli, the plural of ballo, were also called ‘balletti’; in France, this became ‘balet’, or ‘ballet’.

Classical Ballet: A Product of the Italian Renaissance

The role of dancing master was important to Italy’s ruling dynasties, who often used dance to display their family’s wealth and talents: in 1455, ten-year-old Ippolita Sforza danced at a family wedding in Milan, and Isabella d’Este was just six when she first performed in public. The girls’ own marriage prospects partly depended on how well they presented themselves – not only in outward appearance but, more interestingly, because people thought that ‘the character of everyone is made known by the dance’.10 This significant idea was introduced by the dancing master, Guglielmo Ebreo of Pesaro (1420–84). He published his theories in around 1463, which recognized dance as an innate human activity requiring specialist study.

Guglielmo served Lorenzo de Medici (1449–92), the remarkable ruler of Florence, known as Lorenzo the Magnificent. He was a true ‘Renaissance man’ – poet, politician, patron and military leader. In high Italian style, he developed a tradition of elaborate processions featuring music, costume and dancing; these were displays of the prince’s wealth, status and power. They became known as trionfi (or triumphs) and were extremely successful forms of propaganda – designed to entertain, amaze and impress.

‘Dinner Ballets’: Widely Copied in Renaissance Europe

Dinner ballets originated in fifteenth-century Italy, later becoming fashionable among the European nobility as the influence of the Renaissance spread. They consisted of dance interludes, called ‘entries’, which punctuated lengthy and highly elaborate banquets. In France, the opening course to a meal is still called an entrée. Other Italian dance forms originated in the lively folk dances and street theatre that flourished in the piazzas outside the palace walls.

THE TARANTELLA: ICONIC FOLK DANCE FROM SOUTHERN ITALY

Legend says it may be danced to overcome the poisonous bite of a spider. Depending on where it is performed, it is also a shepherd’s or courtship dance: ‘At Sicilian weddings the guests dance the tarantella in honour of the newly-weds. The various figures show in mime the usual actions of greeting, discord, flight, forgiveness, and the final kiss.’11 The use of narrative gesture in this and other peasant dances of Italy – together with quick footwork, vivacious upper body movements and buoyant jumps – undoubtedly informed the Italian balletic style.

Commedia dell’Arte: Theatre of the People

This popular form of comic mime rippled out across the European continent between the mid-fifteenth to eighteenth centuries. Also called the ‘Comedy of Masks’, its origins were in ancient Italian carnival traditions – professional entertainers representing universal characters (crafty servants, foolish doctors, forlorn lovers and so on) improvised lively and daring acrobatic scenes, in which actions were more significant than words. Commedia established a vigorous tradition of story-telling conveyed through movement and gesture.12

Commedia dell’Arte characters appear in many ballets: Lydia Lopokova as Mariuccia the Maid, in Léonide Massine’s The Good-Humoured Ladies (1917).

Italian Court Ballet: Developments in Story-Telling and Technique

There were similar developments in the dignified setting of the Italian courts, where the ballo increasingly took the form of a narrative dance suggesting emotion; in one called Gelosia, the men constantly changed partners, while the women responded with mimed indications of ‘jealousy’.13 Fabritio Caroso (dates vary: c.1526–1605) was a ballet master based in Milan. In 1581 he published Il Ballarino (The Male Dancer), followed by a similar text for the female dancer in 1600. These manuals described up to seventy-four different steps demanding considerable technical facility.

Two male ballerini in 1580, performing La Gagliarda (or ‘Galliard’) at the Milan Opera, then directed by renowned ballet master Cesare Negri; during the same period, the Italian galliard became a favourite dance at the Court of Queen Elizabeth I in England.

Milan: a Major Choreographic Centre of Europe

By the late sixteenth century, Milan’s predominance as a centre of choreographic development was rivalled only by the court of France. Attracted by French spending-power, a steady tide of ballet masters flowed north from Italy, including Balthazar de Beaujoyeulx (originally Baldassarino de Beljiojoso). He emigrated to Paris in 1555 and was appointed to the court of Catherine de Medici, Queen of France (the great-grand-daughter of Lorenzo the Magnificent).

Italian Designers: Spectacle and the Proscenium Stage

Changing political and cultural trends in Italy meant that ballet moved from the sphere of courtly entertainment to that of the professional theatre – retaining its palatial scale. During the seventeenth century, Italian architects and engineers led European innovation in theatre design. Giacomo Torelli (1608–78) established the proscenium arch as a frame for spectacular performances in which elaborate sets were moved by complex stage machinery. From 1640, Torelli worked in Venice and, from 1645, at the court of Louis XIV of France.14

Italian-born Carlotta Grisi (1819–99) trained at La Scala, Milan; she created the title role in the original production of Giselle (1841), becoming a great star of the Paris Opera.

Italian ‘Founding Fathers’ of European Romantic Ballet

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, several generations of brilliant Italian dancers, choreographers, teachers and musicians gravitated toward the opera houses of Europe and Russia. First among these were the dancing dynasties of the Vestris, Viganò and Taglioni families; the Cecchettis continued this legacy into the twentieth century.

ENRICO CECCHETTI: VIRTUOSITY AND VERSATILITY

Enrico Cecchetti (1850–1928) was born in a theatre dressing-room, to parents who were dancers. Cecchetti excelled in both classical and mime roles, studying under Giovanni Lepris, who had himself been taught by Carlo Blasis. Expanding upon their teachings, Cecchetti became a highly influential ballet master in St. Petersburg (1892–1902), then taught for the Diaghilev Ballets Russes (1909–18), opened his own studio in London (1918–23) and, finally, returned home to teach at La Scala, Milan.

Cecchetti’s teaching emphasized musicality and artistry, alongside evidence-based analysis, which applied ‘scientific’ logic and understanding to natural anatomy. In 1922, a wish to perpetuate his approach led to the founding of the Cecchetti Society in London, and the publication of A Manual of Classical Theatrical Dancing (Cecchetti Method). This set out his training exercises as recorded by a former pupil, Stanislas Idzikowsky, and the writer, Cyril Beaumont; the maestro himself gave final approval.

The Italian School: Embodied in the Cecchetti Method

Cecchetti was one of the most significant teachers in ballet history; a product of La Scala, Milan, he refined and structured the historic Italian School. During Cecchetti’s long career, he taught many great dancers and teachers of the early twentieth century; through them, his teaching profoundly influenced the emerging national ballets of England and America.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ITALIAN (CECCHETTI) SCHOOL

•Quick, lively and ‘clean’ footwork.

•Strong and buoyant jumps.

•Multiple turns and pirouettes.

•Expressive, clearly defined ports de bras.

•Épaulement and deep bends in the torso.

•Close coordination of eyes, head, torso and limbs.

•Off-balance movement and recovery (renversé).

•Characterization, gesture and narrative mime.

•Vivacious, dynamic quality.

•Body positions delineated by a proscenium stage.

THE FRENCH SCHOOL: HISTORY AND STYLISTIC FEATURES

French Classical Ballet: a Noble Art with a Serious Purpose

French ballet had its roots in Italy, in the Milanese tradition of grand-scale court entertainments introduced to France by Catherine de Medici (1519–89). During her reign, French ballet de cour