Ballet

Question 1

Ancient Greece

Answer 1

• Plato thought dance = educated
• “Divinely inspired” - held dance at esteem of the gods
• Romans under Caeser Augustas - developed Pantomime because no common language
• Fall of Roman empire - Caligula & Nero. Dance banned except in worship. Pantomimes became lonely class and became wandering entertainers

Question 2

Caligula and Nero

Answer 2

came out of fall of the Roman Empire. Wanted violent spectacles where dance was used. Dance was turned obscene

Question 3

Pantomimes

Answer 3

developed when Romans took over. Told a story w/ gestures and costumes because no longer common language after Roman takeover. When dance was banned after Fall, became wandering entertainers

Question 4

Renaissance

Answer 4

• 1350-1600 “rebirth’
• great wealth and exploration
• Pre-classic form of ballet
• Court dances
• Dance masters got dances from watching and refining folk dances of people
• dancers = amateurs. Dance masters = pros
• a search for luxurious life, promoted social behavior, etiquette, importance, wealth
• sketched ballet as we know it today
• emphasis on male dancer
• masks, costumes, stage craft

Question 5

Renaissance - Italy

Answer 5

• 1350
• Comedia dell’ arte’ - fun theater. Acting, dancing, mime
• Catherine de Medici - wealthy Italian that supported arts & war. Moved to France with Balthazar de Beaujoyeux

Question 6

Comedia dell’ arte’

Answer 6

Italy 1350, Renaissance

-fun theater. Acting, dancing, mime

Question 7

Catherine de Medici

Answer 7

• Italy 1350 Renaissance

- wealthy Italian that support arts and war. Moved to France with Balthazar de Beaujoyeux

Question 8

Renaissance - France

Answer 8

• 1450
• Ballet Comique de la Reine - 1st ballet created by Balthazar de Beaujoyeux. Grand costuming. Spread over Europe. Musical theater, but was seeds of ballet

Question 9

Balthazar de Beaujoyeux

Answer 9

• moved to France with Catherine de Medici

- created Ballet Comique de la Reine in 1581

Question 10

Ballet Comique de la Reine

Answer 10

• France Renaissance
• 1581
• 1st ballet
• created by Balthazar de Beaujoyeux
• grand costuming
• spread over Europe
• musical theater, but was seed of ballet

Question 11

Renaissance - England

Answer 11

• 1500
• Masques
• Indigo Jones
• Ben Johnson

Question 12

Indigo Jones

Answer 12

• England 1500 Renaissance

- stage craft, costuming, masks for Masques

Question 13

Ben Johnson

Answer 13

• England 1500 Renaissance
• playwright
• developed idea of contrasting scenes

Question 14

Baroque

Answer 14

• King Louis XIV of France (Sun King) Excellent dancer. Employed musicians and dance masters
• Jean B Lully - music director
• Pierre Beauchemps - dance master. Skill over emotion. Technical groundwork for ballet as we know it
• Royal Paris Opera of 1671 - dance became a profession. Still about male dancer
• Jean G Noverre - ballet master, became choreographer, reformer, critic. Believe of emotion and story in ballet (ballet d’action)
• Ballet d’action - ballet communicated idea, story, emotions

Question 15

King Louis XIV

Answer 15

sun king in La Ballet de la Nuit 1653. Baroque era. Excellent dancer, employed musicians and dance masters (Jean B Lully & Pierre Beauchemps). Royal Paris Opera 1671

Question 16

Jean B Lully

Answer 16

Music director in Baroque era. Hired by King Louis XIV. Worked with Pierre Beauchemps to create Royal Paris Opera

Question 17

Pierre Beauchemps

Answer 17

Dance master in Baroque. Skill > emotion. Hired by King Louis XIV. Created Royal Paris Opera with Jean B Lully (music director)

Question 18

Jean G Noverre

Answer 18

• ballet master, became a writer, critic, choreographer, reformist in Baroque
• emotion and a story in dance
• Ballet d’action

Question 19

Romantic era

Answer 19

• “La Sylphide” - ballet watched in class. Man in love with sylph
• 1815
• escape from Napoleon Era
• emotional expression over skill
• FEMALE DANCER HIGHLIGHTED
• moonlight forest scenes (Ciceri & Duponchel)
• supernatural
• pantomime and literal gestures
• ballet blanc. Shortened costumes
• pointe shoes
• large orchestral works
• hierarchy
• ghosts, willies sylph

Question 20

La Sylphide

Answer 20

Classic ballet of Romantic Era. Man falls in love with a sylph

Question 21

Ciceri and Dupanchel

Answer 21

Moonlit forest scene creators in Romantic Era

Question 22

Classical ballet era

Answer 22

• Russia invited dancers and choreographers across Europe to develop ballet in Russia
• golden age of European ballet (1850)
• returning to technicality. No emotions, just entertainment
• Petipa - father of classical ballet. Created Classical Narrative Ballet format
• Tchaikovsky
• Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Nutcracker
• tells story. Usually fairy tale (from court of Louis XIV)
• Grand Pas de Deux
• symmetry, same size
• spectacle, reminder of grandeur from Renaissance and Baroque surrounding King Louis XIV
• hierarchy
• about the female

Question 23

Marius Petipa

Answer 23

Father of classical ballet. Created the Classical Narrative Ballet format. Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Nutcracker. Technical skill

Question 24

Tchaikovsky

Answer 24

Composer during classical ballet era. Composer for Petipa ballets: Swan Lake, Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty

Question 25

Modern Ballet

Answer 25

• Russia
• reaction to rigid classical. Alley
• movement headed by Mikael Fokine, promoted by Serge Diaghilev. Developed Ballet Russes
• Fokine inspired by Noverre. Thought dance should be expressive and mirror life. Not crowd please
• Nijinsky and Pavlova - dancers in Petrouchka
• Petrouchka - doll dance
• Stravinsky - composer
• base is ballet, but more modern expression
• turned in limbs, freedom of body
• circular spatial staging of dancers
• no hierarchy