DANCE HISTORY

Ballet

We study the history behind Ballet first not because it was the first dance style ever created, but because it was the first codified dance style.

The professionalization of ballet King Louis XIV

created the first dance school called Academie de la Danse in 1661 to train professional dancers

Initially all the roles were played by MEN

1670s
Emergence of the first female ballerina

Mlle. De la Fontaine was one of the first French female ballerinas

1726 Marie Camargo made her debut

Costumes during the 18th century

Was highly restrictive and contributed to ballets characteristics verticality

The Romantic Era (1830-1850)

There was a new social, political, and economic structure in France. Due to these changes there came a change in all the arts as well!

Changes in the arts during the Romantic Era

o A new audience for ballet. Middle and lower class were finally allowed to attend these performances rather than only court patrons. o Emphasis became on the female ballerina o Technical theater innovations evolved in lighting and rigging for flying. o The pointe shoe was created o Tutus became slightly shorter and more mobile.

Famous Female Ballerinas in the Romantic Era

I. Marie Taglioni II. Fanny Elssler III. Carlotta Grisi IV. Fanny Cerrito V. Lucilie Graham

little fun fact:

Fanny Essler toured the United States in 1840 and was a HUGE success. Congress adjourned in order to see her

After the Romantic Era came the Russian Classical Era. The Russian Classical Era took place in the later half of the 19th century.

Marius Petipa
In 1847 Marius Petipa a French dancer moved to St. Petersburg as a premier danseur with the Imperial Ballet. He was soon made principal ballet master of the Imperial Ballet School. In 1869 he became known as the father of Russian Classicism

The dancers during this time frame from Italy were incredibly skilled. They had brilliant technique, including speed, strength, and line. Because of this, Petipa vowed to create the Russian ballerinas to equal the Italians.

Marius Petipa is known for his many works, some of which are
Sleeping Beauty
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAe6hxVSZeI

The Nutcracker
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wz_f9B4pPtg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5_kbj_7YX4 (KIROV BALLET 1953)

Swan Lake

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qk6Tq3LIo4

Petipas ballets look somewhat different today but you can still see the influence of Petipas tastes in shortening the tutu to show off the technique and the line of the legs!

The End of the Classical Era

By the end of the 19th century, the climate for ballet in Western Europe was at its lowest. Only in Russia was ballet still popular, however, there the influences were such that the art form could not grow or develop. As a state-supported art form, the choreographers and dancers were restricted to producing the same tried and true, eveninglength classical ballet spectacles.

20th century Moderism

a. The advent of the 20th century brought with it a desire to create new and innovative types of artitic expression. Music, literature, visual art, and dance began to experiment with new content and forms for art. b. Music developed dissonant (lacking in harmony) and atonal chords (Stravinsky, Satie, Debussy)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cDCbHJYZ88

c. Literature began to deal with psychology, symbolism, and mans internal and eternal conflict
"'History,' Stephen said, 'is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake." - James Joyce

d. Visual Art experimented with abstract or distorted content and, with new techniques for creating work

e. In dance, there was a move away from the grande spectacle of the Classical period towards
A more sophisticated, integrated form of BALLET which emphasized expression and a unified structure, as well as collaboration of the various elements of theatre; expanding the movement vocabulary beyond the traditional codified ballet movements.

f. The other phenomenon in dance in the 20th century was the birth of an entirely new way of moving
utilizing contemporary social content or pure abstract movement this would become known as

MODERN DANCE