Ballet Dictionary Download eBook
Classical Ballet Terms and Definitions with pronunciation guide
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Classical Ballet Dictionary Terms and Definitions with pronunciation guide
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The first Ballet Dances were performed by the nobility at the Renaissance Courts of Italy, with a mix of social dances together with songs, moves and verses.
Ballet developed highly during the 18th century becoming a very dramatic art form.
During the 19th century, Marie Tanglioni shaped new techniques as the "Pointe Work" finally molded The Ballerina as the ideal figure in scene.
Marie Taglioni danced the full length of the La Sylphide en pointe in 1832.
The opera and the ballet was revived after WWII by the Russian ballet companies, which started worldwide tours embracing entertainment to the masses.
There are several acknowledged methods of ballet:
English Ballet
Italian Ballet - Cecchetti
Russian Ballet - Vaganova
Danish Ballet - Bournonville
American Ballet - Balanchine
Italian Ballet - Cecchetti
Enrico Cecchetti
born June 21, 1850, Rome, Papal States [Italy]
died November 13, 1928, Milan, Italy
Italian ballet dancer and teacher noted for his method of instruction and for his part in training many distinguished artists.
Both of Cecchetti's parents were dancers, and he was born in a dressing room at the Tordinona Theatre in Rome. A pupil of Giovanni Lepri, who had studied under Carlo Blasis, Cecchetti developed a brilliant technique and was noted for his pirouettes. Popular throughout Europe, he appeared with great success at La Scala in Milan and in London. In 1887 he went to the Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg (now the Kirov State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet), where he created the roles of the Bluebird and Carabosse in Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty.
Between 1890 and 1902 Cecchetti taught many dancers of the Imperial Russian Ballet and its associated school, including Olga Preobrajenska, Tamara Karsavina, and Vaslav Nijinsky. From 1910 to 1918 Cecchetti was the official instructor of Sergey Diaghilev's Ballets Russes but left in 1913 to tour with his world-famous private pupil, Anna Pavlova. In 1918 he and his wife, the dancer Giuseppina de Maria, opened a school in London, where Alicia Markova and Serge Lifar were among his pupils. From 1925 he directed the ballet school at La Scala; he continued to teach until the day before he died.
The Cecchetti method of ballet training prescribes a strict exercise routine using the five positions and seven basic movements of classical ballet. It is widely used both in England, where the Cecchetti Society (now incorporated in the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing) was founded in 1922, and in the United States, where the Cecchetti Council of America was established in 1939.
English Ballet
English National Ballet is one of the world's great ballet companies. The original 1950s vision for the Company - to take classical ballet of the highest quality to the widest geographical audience, at a price everyone can afford - remains the cornerstone of the Company's philosophy today.
As a flagship company for the nation, English National Ballet presents an extensive touring schedule at home and abroad. We employ the best of British and international talent: choreographers, dancers, designers, musicians, rehearsal staff, technicians and administrators - all working as an ensemble to create productions that tour brilliantly and are accessible and exciting to our audiences.
English National Ballet is committed to developing the art form by keeping the cornerstones of the classical repertoire vibrantly alive. By commissioning and acquiring new pieces, refurbishing existing works and encouraging new choreographers to work with our impeccably trained performers we aim to maintain an original and popular repertoire for the nation. Affordable pricing for our performances is key and ensures that we continue to develop new audiences, maintaining an enthusiastic and dedicated following for our work.
The Company has set the standard in maximising accessibility to dance, especially in its ground-breaking education and outreach activity. The dedicated Education and Community Unit works within all the communities that the Company tours to. Their work is integral to our goal of creating relationships with a wide variety of audiences nationwide and encouraging understanding of ballet.
There are 64 dancers in the Company, and this is augmented to 120 for annual performances at the Royal Albert Hall. There are approximately 80 members of staff, with departments including Artistic, Wardrobe, Technical, Education and Administration. In addition, the Orchestra of English National Ballet has 47 core members and is increased for performances in large theatres throughout the country
Danish Ballet - Bournonville
August Bournonville
Balletmaster and choreographer (1805-1879)
"If you have genius, then write; if you only have taste and knowledge, then compose and arrange."
Bournonville - My Life in the Theatre
August Bournonville was the great Danish choreographer and is internationally famous today for his sense of both the idyllic and the dramatic qualities of ballet.
The Danish "Bournonville School" is not really all that Danish. Bournonville's father was French and his mother Swedish, and he found the inspiration for his choreographies partly in Paris. By the time French ballet tradition disappeared throughout Europe, Bournonville had ensured that this distinguished international style was preserved in Copenhagen.
Bournonville worked as solo dancer, balletmaster and choreographer at the Royal Theatre from 1830 to 1848. Et folkesagn (A Folk Tale***), Napoli and Sylfiden (The Sylphide) are among his most important works. He created the last of these for his favourite pupil, Lucille Grahn, with whom he was unhappily in love, something that led to violent outbursts of jealousy and a public scandal.
Although Bournonvilles relationship with his ballerinas was sometimes strained, he was able to renew Danish ballet, and his ardour and energy helped him to train an outstanding corps de ballet
American Ballet - Balanchine
GEORGE BALANCHINE 1904-1983
George Balanchine, regarded as the foremost contemporary choreographer in the world of ballet, came to the United States in late 1933 following an early career throughout Europe. The son of a composer, Balanchine early in life gained a knowledge of music that far exceeds that of most of his fellow choreographers. He began studying the piano at the age of five and following his graduation in 1921, from the Imperial Ballet School (the St. Petersburg academy where he had started his dance studies at the age of nine), he enrolled in the state's Conservatory of Music, where he studied piano and musical theory, including composition, harmony and counterpoint, for three years. Such extensive musical training made it possible for Balanchine as a choreographer to communicate with a composer of such stature as Igor Stravinsky; the training also gave Balanchine the ability to reduce orchestral scores on the piano, an invaluable aid in translating music into dance.
Balanchine made his own dancing debut at the age of ten as a cupid in the Mariinsky Theatre Ballet Company production of THE SLEEPING BEAUTY. He joined the company as a member of the corps de ballet at 17 and staged one work for them, called ENIGMAS. Most of his energies during this period, however, were concentrated on choreographic experiments outside the company.
Russian Ballet - Vaganova
On May 4th, 1738 in St. Petersburg, the young capital of Russia, an event took place which was to have great significance to the culture of the world. By Imperial Decree of the Empress Anna, the first Russian School of Theatrical Dance was founded. Known as the Imperial Theatre School it was the initiative of the French ballet master and teacher, Jean-Baptiste Lande. Twelve girls and twelve boys began to study "the foreign steps" on one of the upper floors of the Winter Palace.
The early teachers were from western Europe - Lande himself and later Franz Hilferding and Giovanni Canzianni. The first Russian teacher to emerge from the school was Ivan Valberg, who produced many notable ballets and whose teaching really prepared the way for the great Charles Didelot.
Didelot came to St. Petersburg in 1801 and took over the direction of the ballet. He taught at the Imperial Theatre School for over twenty years, spending two long periods in Russia (1801-1811, 1816-1837), producing many ballets, and raising the level of ballet education to a very high standard.
Following Didelot, more teachers of the French School came to St. Petersburg. Jules Perrot, whose ballets "Giselle" and "Esmeralda" are still performed today. Another Artur Saint Leon, who produced "Coppelia" and "The Little Humpbacked Horse". And then in 1847, a teacher who was to profoundly influence the school: Marius Petipa.
Agrippina Vaganova
Vaganova had graduated from the school in 1897, and began teaching in 1921 at the now re-named Leningrad State Choreographic School. Her book "The Principles of Classical Dance" heads the list of numerous works produced by teachers of the school. And her most famous pupils - dancers like Marina Semenova, Alexey Yermolaev, Galina Ulanova, Vakhtang Chabukiani, Natalia Dudinskaya, Konstantin Sergeyev and Irina Kolpakova - became the pride of the Soviet Ballet. Agrippina Vaganova's role in the development of the school cannot be overstated, and in 1957, six years after her death, it was named after her.
Not only does the school produce artists, but also future choreographers. Fedor Lopukhov, Vassily Vainonen, Rostislav Zakharov, Leonid Lavrovsky and Leonid Yacobson were all famous graduates. So too were Yuri Grigorovitch, the Director of the Bolshoi Ballet, and Oleg Vinogradov, the Director of the Kirov Ballet.
George Balanchine, the internationally acclaimed choreographer and the founder of the New York City Ballet was a product of St. Petersburg training, and he graduated in 1921 together with ballerina and teacher Alexandra Danilova.
St. Petersburg has also influenced the development of the Bolshoi Theatre of the USSR. Nina Timofeyeva, Svetlana Adyrkhaeva and Ludmilla Semenyaka all began their ballet careers in St. Petersburg and later established themselves as leading figures of the Bolshoi stage. In the late 50s and 60s, three graduates who were to attract international fame and recognition began their professional dancing lives on the Mariinsky Stage: Rudolf Nureyev, Natalia Makarova and Mikhail Baryshnikov. All three developped the traditions of the Vaganova Academy in the major ballet companies of the western world.
Each year, Vaganova graduates replenish the ranks of the leading theatres of Russia , and the stars of the Mariinsky Ballet are known worldwide. Dancers like Galina Mezentseva, Tatiana Terekhova, Altynai Asylmuratova (the Artistic Director of Vaganova Ballet Academy), Farukh Ruzimatov, Konstantin Zaklinsky participated in extensive foreign tours and make guest appearances with leading ballet companies.
The contemporary dancers graduated from the Vaganova Ballet Academy: Farukh Ruzimatov, Uliana Lopatkina, Diana Vishneva, Igor Zelensky, Svetlana Zakharova, Andrian Fadeyev.
Since 1836 the school has been situated on Rossi Street (formerly Theatre Street), and today has over 300 students. The competition for a place at the school is fierce. Throughout the school year nearly 4,000 children visit for consultation with ballet staff to assess their suitability. 300 of these children from St. Petersburg and other regions of the country are selected and auditioned by the school's Examining Board. Of these approximately 60 will be accepted for the 1st Grade. Even then it's extremely hard work to train for a full time professional career, and only 25 or so students will actually complete their studies and graduate.
To be eligible for entry, pupils must have finished their primary school education (9-10 years old). During the month of June, the auditions take place and these are divided into 3 sections. The first examination deals with the physical aptitude of the child: the proportions, height of jump, degree of turnout and so on. The child's general appearance is taken seriously into account.
The second examination is judged by medical specialists who determine the future possibilities of the child. Good health is as important to the future dancer's career as a beautiful physique.
Thirdly, there is a section to assess the child's musicality, rhythm, co-ordination and artistic talent. Having successfully passed these three sections of the audition, the pupil begins an eight year course of study.
From the first year the curriculum consists of dance training, general secondary school education, French language lessons and piano tuition. As they progress through the school, the pupils master a more intensive and varied programme in their dance subjects. In the first grade the pupils study classical and historical dance. In the fourth grade they have lessons of character dance and in the sixth grade they begin to study pas de deux and mime. The staff of the school consists of 75 dance teachers, 30 piano teachers, 40 teachers of general education and 40 pianists. The teachers strive to develop artistic style, strict academic execution and the feeling of ensemble.
Regular performances on the stages of the Mariinsky and Maly Theatres, as well as gala performances and frequent concerts on the stage of the school theatre, give pupils invaluable experience of stagecraft.
At the end of the 8th grade, the students have their graduating examinations on the stage of the Mariinsky Theatre.
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