Reflective and Analytical Essay on Classical Ballet

The classical period

The classical era in ballet was seen to be considered in the late 1800s, following from the romantic era. Arthur Saint-Leon’s 1870 ballet coppelia is considered to be the last work of the romantic era. Marius Petitpa is thought to be the ‘father of classical ballet’ where he moved to Russia at a time that Moscow and St Petersburg where becoming important hubs in the world of ballet.

It is said according to source: anceappreaciation4.wordpress.com

“The classical era of ballet came about due to two major changes in the world of dance”

Having looked into more detail about this statement it appears that one major change that could suggest this is that choreographers were inspired by new,complex,narrative music to which they then revolutionized dances that matched with it.Choreographers began collaborating with musicians more which you can imagine increased chances of birthing a masterpiece. The dances and movement also became new, complex and narrative that meant dancers had to learn and implement the new demands that the new era came with to which they began to utilize their overall movement.

Following the romantic ballet, the woman ballerina held the lead roles as the main character being at the forefront of the stage this remained the case in classical ballet and often it focuses on the leading female dancer (who would be a principle or first soloist). Ballerinas gradually gained respect as the demand on higher standards for flexibility, skill and technique increased during this time, simultaneously the point shoes were recreated to meet the new requirements. Ballerinas tutu’s was also recreated and shortened. This help the ballerina’s legs move faster and certainly higher. So the former longer romantic type of tutu was dramatically shortened into a more pancake shaped classic tutu in order to provide more ease in fulfilling the new demands the classical ballet formed. The audience to became increasingly interested in the faster movement and footwork the ballerinas were able to utilize in the dances. They began to show a more interest in slender ballerinas who were extremely flexible and could also keep up with the fast footwork required along with the skill and new technique.

An example of this is in ‘swan lake’ whereby four female ballerinas work in synchronisation as ‘cygnets’ to produce precise and fast footwork consisting of very precise head positions,sharp releves and echappes although the legs remained fairly low and nothing past 90 degrees it was still impressive for the audience to witness.

The technique for classical training was different between schools. There were five main ballet schools located in: Italy, Denmark, England, France and Russia. Although the methods for technique varied, the overall performance and movement vocab were common throughout schools. It was in Russia however that classical ballet took off.

Hierarchy was something also considered in classical ballet, and the structure of a ballet company normally reflected this. There are 3 main ranks in a ballet company being the corps de ballet, soloist and principal. An example of this is in ‘sleeping beauty’ whereby the corps de ballet enter as courtiers, followed by soloists (e.g. Puss in boots and the White cat) and lastly the principals entering the stage. This creates a sense of order the hierarchy that the ballet is set in and the hierarchy of the audiences that would’ve seen the ballets in the classical period. Another example is in ‘swan lake’ whereby the queen enters everyone apart from Siegfried execute a low bow and the young noble prince goes to greet her and take her hand. The corps de ballet rises upon the queens command and bow again as she leaves. This shows exactly how the Tsar and Tsarinas were treated as it reflect on stage.

Russia’s Influence

Russia was locked in a feudal system headed by a powerful nobility with vast terriorties. Nobles tended to have their own private threatres with serfs to run them (before serfdom was abolished by Alexander II in 1861)

In Moscow and St Peterburgs, students at the imperial Russia ballet schools and dancers of the Mariinsky (Kirov at the time) ballet and Bolshoi ballet were highly privileged and regarded as members of the royal household.

The reason being because Tsar funded the imperial ballet schools and two main companies. Many Italian dancers actually went to Russia and ended up taking principle roles (mainly females). This meant that ballets were performed and targeted at the Royals and in most cases the ballets featured court characteristics that they could relate to.

“For every 50 performances in the Mariinsky theatre, 40 were subscription audience (tickets paid for in one payment) meaning it would be the same audience watching.” (Telyakovsky, 1991, p27)

For the 10 non-subscription performances this meant the structure was different

“1 - The general public could only attend only five to six performances

2 – Two to three were benefits for individual dancers

3 – Two were free performances for students

4 - One was a benefit performance for the corps de ballet

Of these, were matinees during Christmas and other holidays, which the public was not keen to attend, since these were mainly for children. In sum, most performances were in the hands of the balletomanes” (Telyakovsky, 1991, p78-79)

It is quoted by Telyakovsky that:

“Petersburg was the seat of country’s rulers, of the court of a considerable aristocratic and bureaucratic society. Ballet was specially patronised by the administration because of its close connection with the people of influence; one had to take this into account and often think not so much of artistic success as of satisfying the not very artistic tastes of influential people and their ‘nearest and dearest” (Telyakovsky, 1991, p26)

This also meant administrators had opportunities to talk to the Tsar and family to get across their political point of view.

Balletomanes

A balletomane also referred to as a ballet enthusiast were “in general wealthy men, or were able to present themselves as such” according to Telyakovsky, 1991, p43) .

“A lot of money had to be spent on suppers, subscriptions, on presents and flowers for the artistes” (Telyakovsky, 1994, p43).

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“Among them you might find members of the Imperial Court, generals, other military ranks, as well as jeunesse doree. [glided youth], governors… and amirals. Member of the world of commerce… or those with ‘expectations’, editors and journalists, students” (Telyakovsky, 1994, p43)

Marius Petitpa

Petipa “always had the friendliest relations with balletomanes. Their friendship was such that some balletomanes were invited by Petipa not only to rehearsals on the stage, but even to rehearsals in the school. Arriving with Petipa in the rehearsal studio, they sat with him in front of the mirror and selected with him certain dancers for certain ballet: often it depended on the balletomanes which particular leading role should be given to a certain young dancer.” (Telyakovsky, 1995, p77)

The historian Ivor Guest considers that classical ballet is “an expression most commonly used as a name for Ballet in the traditional of which Marius Petipa (ballet master at St. Petersburg 1869-19032) was a leading figure.” (Guest in PRESTON-Dunlop, 1995, p 14)

Marius Petipa was one of most influential figures of Classical ballet. He was a French dancer, teacher and choreographer. He was made principal dancer and ballet master of the Mariinsky Ballet at 29, two months prior to relocating to St. Petersburg, Russia from France. Petipa began to choerograph in 1838 when he was 20 years old but his breakthrough as a choreographer started in St. Petersburg at the Mariinsky Theatre in 1859. Petipa worked with the Mariinsky Theatre for nearly 60 years and who is also responsible for the creation some of the most famously known classical ballets today. To name a few of the iconic ballets Petipa has made: Swan lake, Sleeping beauty and La Bayadere. It is thanks to Marius Petipa and his contributions to the art form of ballet we have such incredible ballets still found in many ballet companies around the world and why the Classical Era that he was apart of is labelled one of ballets most powerful era.

As choreographer Petipa had rules of his own one being that and no matter what his ballerinas danced on pointe and he gave very specific instructions to both his dancers and composers he would work with.

Despite their being a hierarchy in the ballet company the corp de ballet was just as important in ballets as the principals role. According to source: https://www.dancemagazine.com/the-silent-majority-surviving-and-thriving-in-the-corps-de-ballet-2306861534.html

“The corps de ballet is to a dance troupe as the spine is to the body: It provides framework, support, context, and aesthetic form…making them more than just a backdrop for the principals.”

Their use and importance leads on some examples in of Petipa’s and Ivanov’s ‘swan lake’ whereby the swan maidens create geometry and intricate patterns which is seen in the duet between Siegfried and Odette when the swan maidens frame the stage and stand very still for a very long time much like a picture frame. This in order to not only frame the stage but give the ballet support, context and aesthetic as mentioned by source: https://www.dancemagazine.com/the-silent-majority-surviving-and-thriving-in-the-corps-de-ballet-2306861534.html above.

The pas de deux or as some refer to as dance for two was incorporated into Petipa’s work solidified his work which already carried a sense of order and harmony. Pas de deux appears in most of his ballets. An example of this is in his ‘sleeping beauty’ whereby it starts with a supported adage for the ballerina and her partner a prince who was once lost for hopes in finding love. In act III this is present and was a great way to show the new developing technique of higher leg extensions and harder and more impressive lifts in the pas de duex.

His most famous works were “sleeping beauty”, “The nutcracker” and “swan lake” all ballets birthed and given life with famous composer Tchaikovsky. According to source: Considered a “musical giant” of the nineteenth century, Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky, created an immense catalogue of musical compositions in his lifetime that are largely regarded with the highest esteem. Through his music, he pushed the perceived limits of classical music with a new and innovative style, bringing both dynamic power and profound intimacy. For Russia, he contributed both to developing the classical music tradition within the country while at the same time giving the classical music tradition a unique Slavic voice. However perhaps his most important contribution, especially for ballet, was giving what is almost universally accepted as the greatest ballet music for the art form’s repertoire along with a legacy that many composers have been able to follow successfully.

Swan Lake as an example was the first of Tchaikovsky's ballets. It premiered at the Bolshoi Ballet in 1877, although it wasn't the immediate hit we might imagine it to be – that came later with the 1895 revival by Marius Petipa and choreographer, first staged for the Imperial Ballet at the Mariinsky Theatre in St Peterburg

In preparation, Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky studied the music of ballet specialists like Cesare Pugni and Ludwig Minkus, being affected by the nearly limitless sort of infectious melodies their scores contained. Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky most loved the ballet music of Leo Delibes, Adolphe Adam and Riccardo Drigo.He later wrote to his receiver, Sergei Taneyev, 'I listened to Delibes' ballet Sylvia... what charm, what magnificence, what wealth of melody, rhythm, and harmony.

I was ashamed, for if I had known of this music then, I would not have written Swan Lake.' Tchaikovsky admired Adam's use of leitmotifs in Giselle, and would associate particular themes with particular characters or moods in Swan Lake and, later, The Sleeping Beauty.

For ballet, Tchaikovsky made the music just as important in telling the story as the action on the stage, and though this radical step took time to be recognized, today it is what makes him considered as the greatest ballet composers. Other ballet composers followed in his legacy and in their own time they have achieved the same goal in their own style, Stravinsky and Prokofiev, being two especially that come to mind.

There were other choreographers who may not have been in the spotlight as much as petipa was but certainly contributed to the classical era. Names such as Lev Ivanov who worked closely with Petipa creating ballets like ‘The nutcracker’ and ‘swan lake’, Enrico Cecchetti who according to source: https://uk.humankinetics.com/blogs/excerpts/classical-ballet-in-russia “created a logical progression of class exercises and components and balanced the adagio and allegro parts of the class.”

Pierina Legnani and Virginia Zucchi to name a few who all brought great value to classical ballet.

Choreographers had a fairly structured way of creating their next ‘greatest piece’. Often they created a libretto which is the story or narrative idea and choreographed the dance to go along with it. The form of a classical ballet company composed of four main parts being: The adage section which is the pas de deux between normally a female and male dancer involving supported adage and impressive lifts. The female solo then follows after and then the male variation or vice versa and finishes with the coda or grand allegro which is usually a showing of pyrotechnics.

Divertissement was also another feature used in ballets which didn’t progress the narrative of the story in any way in any way and according to source: https://ballethub.com/ballet-term/divertissement/

“Divertissement is a classical ballet term meaning “enjoyable diversion.” A divertissement is a grouping of dances called “entrées” that are part of classical ballets. These short dances are typically added to a ballet to display more dancers' talents whether as solos or in a group piece.”

This seems to be the case as an example of divertissement can be found in ‘sleeping beauty’ in act III whereby the audience experience all of the fairy tale characters perform their respective dances. The characters: Puss in Boots and the White Cat, Princess Florine and the Bluebird and Red Riding Hood and the Wolf.

His most famous works were “sleeping beauty”, “The nutcracker” and “swan lake” all ballets birthed and given life with famous composer Tchaikovsky… talk about him here…

Personal experience

I have had the opportunity to dance many classical ballet male variations and one thing that they all have in common is the technicality of them all are very challenging and basically difficult, having said that the male and female variations were made specifically for the principle dancers/soloists, those who could obviously implement the new technical demands classical ballet required.

Conclusion

To conclude such an interesting topic with so much history, the classical era had truly influenced the ballet world to what we now know it as today. From choreographers being inspired by new, complex, narrative music and then mirroring this in creating dances that would match this. The classical period was really influenced Russia at a time that Moscow and St Petersburg where becoming important hubs in the world of ballet. Choreographer Marius petipa was put in the spotlight and even titled the ‘father of classical ballet’ where he created ballets such as Swan Lake, Don Quixote, The Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, La Bayadère. Classical ballets are still danced and honoured in the 21st century and has made its mark in the ballet world.

Bibliography

1. https://petipasociety.com/about/
2. https://theculturetrip.com/europe/russia/articles/7-iconic-ballets-by-marius-petipa/
3. Dance Research: The Journal of the Society for Dance Research by V. A. Telyakovsky Guest in PRESTON-Dunlop