Balanchine Ballet Notes - The National Ballet of Canada

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al anchine: see the music George Balanchine, co-founder and director of the New York City Ballet until his death in 1983, is one of the most renowned and prolific choreographers of the 20th century. Balanchine created a new genre of classical ballet that is synonymous today with the New York City Ballet. Though that company is without a doubt the greatest repository of Balanchine’s works, his ballets are also in the repertoires of more companies than any other choreographer’s. Balanchine’s ballets not only add diversity to a company’s repertoire, but also challenge dancers to a new level of technical brilliance. Balanchine was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, and received his dance training at the Imperial Ballet School there. Nurtured in the ballet traditions of the turn of the century, particularly the ballets and pedagogy of the Russian ballet master Marius Petipa, Balanchine received a classical education. After leaving Russia in 1924, Balanchine was exposed to the work of Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, and in turn created works for Diaghilev’s company. The artistic milieu of the Ballets Russes was highly stimulating, as Diaghilev brought his choreographers into collaboration with the composers Igor Stravinsky, Sergei Prokofiev, Erik Satie and Maurice Ravel and such artists as Pablo Picasso, Jean Cocteau and Marc Chagall. Later, with his own company, Les Ballets 1933, Balanchine collaborated with such leading artistic figures as Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weill, Pavel Tchelitchev and composers Darius Milhaud and Henri Sauget. In 1933, at the invitation of Lincoln Kirstein, Balanchine travelled to the United States, where he and Kirstein established the School of American Ballet in 1934 and the New York City Ballet in 1948. Through the creation of these two institutions, Balanchine was able to invent a very distinct style of American dance. Writes dance critic Marilyn Hunt: “When Balanchine first came to the United States, he devised a way for Americans to appear on stage without feeling weighed down by traditions of court and ballet that they weren’t born to.” Balanchine’s style has been described as neo-classic, a reaction to the Romantic anti-classicism (which had turned into exaggerated theatricality) that was the prevailing style in Russian and European ballet when he had begun to dance. The beauty of Balanchine’s dances is found in their patterning, structure and in their relationship to the music. The majority of Balanchine’s works are abstract, one-act ballets. But for a handful, most of his works are non-narrative, the music and the dance conveying all necessary meaning. Some of Balanchine’s ballets pay homage to his Russian heritage, including Ballet Imperial (1941) and the Diamonds section of the three-act, full-evening work Jewels (1967). While others proved provocative (The Four Temperaments in 1946 and Agon in 1957), romantic (Serenade in 1934) and spectacular audience pleasers (Stars and Stripes in 1958, Union Jack in 1976 and Vienna Waltzes in 1977), all were achieved within his extended framework of classical ballet. Balanchine’s use of movement organically links the music and the dancers’ bodies. His work is always inventive and nothing superfluous is ever included. It is as if no step other than the one choreographed could possibly work within the structure of the piece. “Dance can be enjoyed and understood without any verbal intro- duction or explanation,” Balanchine said. “The important thing in ballet is the movement itself, as it is sound which is important in a symphony. A ballet may contain a story, but the visual spectacle, not the story, is the essential element.” Balanchine created a distinctive vocabulary and style of movement that closely reflects the structure of the music he used. Commenting on Balanchine’s use of music, dance critic Kenneth LaFave has noted: “Balanchine has explored the interactions of music and dance with almost every ballet, and has approached their combination afresh countless times. Look at his ballets superficially and they may seem to be illustrations of the music. Look at them closely and they appear as they really are: works that dance in the music, not merely to the beat.” Traits inherent in the Balanchine style: The movements are athletic and emphasized by their speed, sharp attack and absorption of space. The body takes on new dimensions through an elongated line, uplifted chest and high leg extensions. The music is illustrated in the choreography, but Balanchine also invents movement that provides his own personal visualization of the music. Balanchine’s relationship with music stemmed from his early childhood, when his musical studies were as important as his dance training. His understanding of musical theory, composition and playing enabled him to develop intimate working relationships with his composers. The National Ballet of Canada’s late Artistic Director, Erik Bruhn, once noted: “He unravelled the intricate structure and emotional texture of music. Using the music of Bach, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, and of course his close friend Igor Stravinsky, Balanchine actually made ballet more aware of its musical potential.” Balanchine’s understanding of music allowed him to reach into the inner life of the music. It is not the obvious beat but the harmony in the music that motivates the dance. Said Balanchine of his use of music previously untouched by ballet choreographers: “If the dance designer sees in the development of classical dancing a counterpart in the development of music and has studied them both, he will derive continual inspiration from great scores.” In 1970, U.S. News and World Report wrote of Balanchine, “The greatest choreographer of our time, George Balanchine is responsible for the successful fusion of modern concepts with older ideas of classical ballet. Balanchine received his training in Imperial Russia before coming to America in 1933. Here, the free-flowing U.S. dance forms stimulated him to develop new techniques in dance design and presentation which have altered the thinking of the world of dance. Often working with modern music, and the simplest of themes, he has created ballets that are celebrated for their imagination and originality. His company, the New York City Ballet, is the leading dance group of the United States and one of the greatest companies in the world.”
and hear the dancing clockwise from top left: george balanchine with igor stravinsky, ca. 1957 photo by martha swope; chan hon goh with suzanne farrell in rehearsal for jewels, 2000 photo by cylla von tiedemann; martine lamy in theme and variations, 1998 photo by lydia pawelak; jennifer founier, greta hodgkinson, jaimie tapper and rex harrington in apollo, 1999 photo by andrew oxenham
Page 1 and 2: the balanchine season Ballet Notes
Page 3: Balanchine Season jewels February 2
Page 7 and 8: Softly focused, Emeralds is Balanch
Page 9 and 10: George Balanchine’s The Four Temp
Page 11: theme and variations George Balanch

Balanchine Ballet Notes - The National Ballet of Canada

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