4 March 2014 Neoclassical and Contemporary Ballet Neoclassical Ballet Change of choreographic and movement structures Strips away narrative themes and theatrical sets Simply the body in space Sophisticated look at the pointe shoe and body ability George Balanchine Balanchine s Legacy o Movement is paramount o De emphasized plot versus exaggerated theatricality o Neoclassical style modern concepts classical ballet o Repertory over 400 ballets operas musicals films and revues His Life Prodigal Son o Started dancing at 9 years old o Trained in the Imperial School in St Petersburg Russia before going to the Ballet Russes o Started his choreographing career with the Ballet Russes Theme of sin and redemption ending with the Prodigal Son s return Lincoln Kirsten 1907 1996 With Balanchine he o Brought Russian ballet to America convinced Balanchine to move with him to America in October 1933 o Established the School of American Ballet in 1994 what is now the NYC Ballet o Organized numerous companies and touring projects until o Formed the New York City Ballet in 1948 First ballet Balanchine choreographed in the US Premise was women becoming ballerinas Serenade Agon Think about o Examples of traditional gender roles The male always supporting the female o How is the neoclassical approach imbedded in the work o Any evidence of the Romantic Ballerina left 4 March 2014 More on Balanchine Until his death in 1983 Balanchine served as Ballet Master at NYC Ballet Choreographed the majority of the productions Ballets celebrated Ballet in the 20th and 21st Century De emphasized plot continues Dance for dance s sake first function Old stories made new with new choreography and music and eventually The combination of ballet with other dance forms such as modern post modern jazz and Streamlined abstract set and costume design world dance Swan Lake A contemporary take on the fairy tale Choreography in 1997 by Matthew Bourne Music by Peter Tchaikovsky Performance Adam Cooper The Swan with artists from Bourne s Adventures in Motion What differentiates Bourne s choreography from Petipa and Ivanov s The movement was graceful yet aggressive Beyond the obvious how are the swans different The Prince was scared to go near them How do you think the story may have changed Rites The Rite of Spring revisited Choreographed in 1997 by Stephen Page Music by Igor Stravinsky What makes this contemporary ballet Partnering that seemed organic modern Performance by Bagarra Dance Theatre and the Australian Ballet Do the other elements meet your expectations for ballet production How has the role of the ballerina changed She s not the main focus anymore there s not influences one main figure
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