Backes-and-Strauss-Ballet-Guide

BACKES & STRAUSSGUIDE TO BALLET 1

INTRODUCTIONIn a Meeting of Masters, Backes & Strauss has proudly supported English National Balletfor four years. Backes & Strauss and English National Ballet share a rich British heritageand a desire to craft both beautiful and precise products – whether the best of ballet, orstriking timepieces.English National Ballet is a world-class company living through the most dynamic periodof its 67-year history. The Company is bringing the powerful, emotional, innovative andlife-changing language of dance to more people than ever before. As a touring company,their mission is to take world-class ballet to as many people as possible. Backes & Straussand English National Ballet believe that ballet is for everyone, everywhere and seek tobreak down barriers to participation, championing access for everyone.English National Ballet is a company of firsts. They were the first ballet company toset up an Engagement department. They were the first dance company to perform onGlastonbury’s Pyramid Stage in 2014. In 2016 they were the first British company to beinvited to perform at the Palais Garnier in Paris since 1970. In 2017 they were the firstUK company to perform Pina Bausch’s iconic Rite of Spring. 2

A Brief History of BAllet 3

Ballet as recognised today has its origin in the spectacles of the Renaissance courts in Italy and thenFrance. These were long, elaborately designed and involved the participation of courtiers. The four-teen-year-old French King Louis XIV (1638 – 1715) famously appeared as Apollo in the Ballet de lanuit (1653) leading to his designation as the Sun King. It was later in his reign, along with the growthof public theatres that, in 1661, the Academie Royale de Danse was founded to turn ballet into aprofession for men, aiming to improve the quality and ability of the dancers. It was French dancerand choreographer, Pierre Beauchamp, who developed his method of teaching while codifying theexisting ballet technique recognised today, including the five positions of the arms and feet as wellas turn out. However, from the 1860s ballet also became an acceptable profession for women and bythe nineteenth century, female dancers dominated the art form.Few ballets from before the nineteenth century survive and more tangible heritage of ballet beginswith Romantic ballets of the 1830s and 1840s such as La Sylphide and Giselle. In part these balletswere a reaction to social and technical developments. Theatres benefitted from controllable gas light-ing, and as a result, growing urban audiences chose to escape industrialisation to world of the super-natural experiences and Arcadian folklore. 4

Female dancers were made to appear as light and fragile, dancing effortlessly. This effect was en-hanced by the development of pointe work (dancing on the tips of their toes) and wearing light,layered dresses.As pointe work was developed by French and Italian ballerinas these star dancers and the ballets theycreated travelled to great opera houses. In Russia, where court and audiences favoured long, spectac-ular productions, dancers’ technique developed further. Multi-act narrative ballets with impressiveeffects (the shipwreck of Le Corsaire and collapsing temple of La Bayadère) were favoured. Withcollaborations between the French choreographer, Marius Petipa (assisted by the Russian Lev Ivanov)and the composer Piotr Tchaikovsky a trio of ballets which became the accepted ‘canon’ of ‘classi-cal ballet’ - Swan Lake. The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker were created. In the 20th centurythese iconic pieces came to be performed internationally.While ballet in Russian opera houses, most notably in St Petersburg, flourished, in Western Europeit was presented in music halls and variety theatre or as opera ballets. The international dance scenewas revitalised with the arrival of prima ballerina Anna Pavlova’s touring company and ‘animateur’Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. Diaghilev promoted the most influential choreographers, MichelFokine, Vaslav Nijinsky, Léonide Massine, Bronislava Nijinska, and George Balanchine and commis-sioned scores from major composers including Igor Stravinsky, Claude Debussy and Serge Prokofiev.He also invited major artists from Léon Bak st and Natalia Goncharova to Pablo Picasso and HenriMatisse to design his ballets. 5

The Ballets Russes revived an interest in the art of ballet in Britain as well as finding audiences else-where. The leading companies in Britain were founded by dancers from Diaghilev’s company, Ninettede Valois (The Royal Ballet), Marie Rambert and Alicia Markova and Anton Dolin the co-founders ofEnglish National Ballet. It was these companies which nurtured the talent of choreographers includingFrederick Ashton and Kenneth MacMillan. After the Second World War, a new range of influences camein from abroad with a wide range of visiting companies. Roland Petit continued the creative collab-orations of Diaghilev; George Balanchine’s New York City Ballet extended movements on tall elegantdancers and the Royal Danish Ballet brought in fleet footwork and skimming steps while the Sovietcompanies developed great acrobatic leaps and overhead lifts. Other dance forms enriched the balletvocabulary with modern dance from America and Central Europe and adaptations of traditional danc-es from Spain and South East Asia. Evidence of all these strands may be identified in the repertoire ofEnglish National Ballet. 6

englisH nAtionAlBAllet’s PerformAnces 7

LA SYLPHIDEcHoreogrAPHy August Bournonville 1836 Design Kikael Melbyemusic Hermann Løvenskjold restAging Eva Kloborg and Frank Andersenstory La Sylphide is a two-act narrative ballet, one of the seminal work s of Romantic ballet, in which a Sylph (spirit/ synoPsis of the air) who has fallen in love with a Scottish farmer, James, lures him away from his fiancée to a glen in the highlands where both meet their doom. Typically of the period the ballet epitomised the Romantic ballet’s dual fascination with the supernatural (the world of the sylphs portrayed in the ballet blanc of the second act) and the customs of a remote exotic country (here the Highlands of Scotland). August Bournonville (1805-1879) spent the greater part of his career as a dancer, ballet master and cho- reographer in Copenhagen where his creations for the Royal Danish Ballet encapsulated many of the ideas promoted by the Romantic movement in dance. His elegant and relaxed dances, in which there are equal opportunities for men and women are noted for their lightness, flow, control and overall joie de vivre. The ballet is restaged by Frank Andersen who has devoted his life to keeping Bournonville’s choreography ‘alive’ for C21st audiences with his wife, Eva Kloborg. They danced many of the roles in the ballet and have staged La Sylphide world-wide from China to Sweden. English National Ballet has a long history of successful stagings of Bournonville’s choreography since its first in 1954 and were the first Company to bring this work to the UK.next on Palace Theatre, Manchester London Coliseum 11 October 2017 – 14 October 2017 9 January 2018 – 20 January 2018 Milton Keynes Theatre 17 October 2017 – 21 October 2017 8

SONG OF THE EARTHcHoreogrAPHy Kenneth MacMillan 1965 Design Nicholas Georgiadismusic Gustav Mahlerstory Choreographer Kenneth MacMillan created Song of the Earth for Stuttgart Ballet in 1965. Inspired by/ synoPsis Gustav Mahler’s powerful score, which sets Chinese poems of Li-Tai-Po (702-763) to music, the ballet in six movements draws on the poet’s philosophy of a lifetime. Supported by a corps de ballet Song of the Earth focuses on a trio of dancers, a man, a woman and an enigmatic messenger, ‘Der Ewige’ - a masked figure of the Eternal or gentle death. In MacMillan’s own words he described Song of the Earth as de- picting ‘a man and a woman; death takes the man; they both return to her and at the end of the ballet, we find that in death there is the promise of renewal. It is a sort of revelation achieved through death’. Song of the Earth, which is new to English National Ballet, is the 10th ballet by MacMillan to join the Company’s repertoire and is arguably one of his more revered work s.next on Palace Theatre, Manchester London Coliseum 11 October 2017 – 14 October 2017 9 January 2018 – 13 January 2018 Milton Keynes Theatre 17 October 2017 – 21 October 2017 9

ROMEO & JULIETcHoreogrAPHy Rudolf Nureyev 1977 ligHting Tharon Musser restAging Élisabeth Maurin and Lionel Delanoëmusic Sergei ProkofievDesign Ezio Frigeriostory Shakespeare’s heartbreaking tale, Nureyev’s blazing ballet./ synoPsis English National Ballet brings the world’s greatest love story to the to the stage with Rudolf Nureyev’s inventive and passionate choreography and Prokofiev’s exhilarating score performed live by English National Ballet Phil- harmonic. Faithfully telling Shakespeare’s narrative this Romeo, with its sumptuous costumes and sets, transport you to Renaissance Verona, its piazza bustling with market traders, street entertainers and the restless factions of the Capulet and Montague families. Amidst the grandeur of the Capulet’s ball, our star-crossed lovers meet, unleashing a fateful sequence of events, from the romantic bedroom scene to their tragic final embrace. Full of action, humour and drama, Rudolf Nureyev’s award-winning production of Romeo & Juliet was especial- ly created for us forty years ago to celebrate the Queen’s Silver Jubilee. The Company has since performed it worldwide to critical acclaim.next on Bristol Hippodrome 21 November 2017 – 25 November 2017 10

N UTCRACKERconcePt AnD Wayne Eagling 2010 music Pyotr Ilyich TchaikovskycHoreogrAPHy Design Peter Farmer ligHting David RichardsonconcePt Toer van Schaykstory The magical Christmas ballet for all the family./ synoPsis English National Ballet has had versions of Nutcracker at the heart of its repertoire since its foundation in 1950, and the Company has performed it every year since. Wayne Eagling’s production takes a traditional per- spective, in an Edwardian Christmas card setting, but with its own individual twist. The Christmas Eve party, the battle between the soldiers and the mice, the transformation of the nutcracker doll Clara is given by her godfather, Drosselmeyer, into a handsome man and the journeys to the Land of Snow and Kingdom of Sweets are all included. But Eagling has set the ballet on the bank s of a frozen canal and Drosselmeyer provides a hot air balloon for Clara’s journeys. Nutcracker comes to Southampton in 2017, and returns to the London Coliseum, following a record breaking 2016 run where over 100,000 audience members – young and old – made it part of their holiday celebrations last year.next on Mayflower Theatre, Southampton London Coliseum 29 November 2017 – 2 December 2017 9 January 2018 – 13 January 2018 London Coliseum 13 December 2017 – 6 January 2017 11

LE JEUNE HOMME ET LA MORTcHoreogrAPHy Roland Petit 1946 Design Georges Wakhevitchmusic Johann Sebastian Bachstory Jean Cocteau’s existentialist fable of unrequited passion leading to suicide provides superb dramatic/ synoPsis roles for its two protagonists and its creation in 1946 brought a new gritty realism to the world of dance. A young Parisian artist in his garret waits for his love. A chic woman arrives and appears to seduce him but leaves him with a noose to succumb to his despair. As he dies the walls of the garret vanish and the woman, now wearing the mask of death, leads him over the rooftops. Performed to Bach’s Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor, Le Jeune Homme et la Mort (The Young Man and Death) was first danced by Eng- lish National Ballet in 2011 and provides a superb vehicle for dramatic and technical virtuosity.next on London Coliseum 16 January 2018 – 20 January 2018 12

otHer fAmous BAlletsin englisH nAtionAl BAllet’s rePertoire 13

SWAN LAKEcHoreogrAPHy Derek Deane after Marius Petipa music Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Lev Ivanov Design Peter Farmer ligHting Howard HarrisonADDitionAl Frederick AshtoncHoreogrAPHystory The story of Prince Siegfried’s love for the Swan Queen Odette, their battle against the evil sorcerer, Roth-/ synoPsis bart, and a fateful encounter with the manipulative Odile is revealed in English National Ballet’s acclaimed production of Swan Lake. Beloved for its exquisite dancing, beautiful sets and Tchaikovsky’s glorious music, played by the English National Ballet Philharmonic, this Swan Lake is a thrill for the dedicated ballet fan or first-time ballet-goer. 14

GISELLEProDuction AnD Mary Skeaping music Adolphe AdamcHoreogrAPHy Design David Walker ligHting David MohroriginAl Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot,cHoreogrAPHy revised by Marius Petipastory A classic production of one of the greatest Romantic ballets/ synoPsis Giselle is a haunting story of innocence and betrayal, a timeless tale about the redemptive power of love. Moving from the sunny optimism of Giselle’s idyllic village life to a moonlit world of mystery and menace, Mary Skeaping’s production of Giselle features some of ballet’s most dramatic scenes and otherworldly images. Adolphe Adam’s score, performed live by English National Ballet Philharmonic, adds to the lush atmosphere. 15

glossAry of BAllet terminology 16

AT THE BARREPlié: bending of the legs, creating a diamond shape above the anklebone of the supporting leg), then striking the floor with the ball of the foot to aRise: pushing the floor away on to the demi-pointe pointed position just off of the floorand resisting to lower gRand Battement: throw of the leg lowered withBattement tendu: stretching the leg and foot resistancealong the floor to devant (front) seconde (side) and déveloPPé: drawing the foot to the retiré positionderriere (behind) (working foot placed beneath the knee of the sup-Battement glissé: similar to a tendu but with the porting leg held in turn out) then unfolding to an extended position in the airfoot extended just off the floor Relevé: snatching both feet beneath you to theRond de jamBe: extending the toe away from the demi-pointebody and creating a semi-circle with the leg demi détouRné: a snatch of the feet on to demi-Battement fRaPPe: The step commences with pointe to make a half turnthe foot flexed in coup de pied position (heel just 17

IN THE CENTREPoRt de BRas: movement of the arms Changement: jumps changing the position of the feetChassé: sliding the foot across the floor, bending and souBResaut: a jump on the spot where both feetstraightening the legs, to transfer the weight cling togetherClassiCal walk: walking transferring the weight glissade: extending both legs into a small jump tofrom a bent and a stretched leg on to two straight legs transfer the weight sidewaysPiRouette: Spinning on one leg, often with the foot BalanCé: a waltz step, whereby the emphasis is down,in the retiré position up, downPetit allegRo: Small jumps gRande allegRo: large jumps that often travelsauté: jumps in first position 18

BALLET CLASS STRUCTUREA ballet class is divided into four sections, each section includes specific exercises.1. BaRRe. The barre is used for support. Dancers stand sideways and exercise one side, thenturn around and repeat the exercise to work the other side of the body. Exercises include,plie, Battement tendue, rond de jamb and Grande Battement.2. CentRe afteR the BaRRe, the dancer moves to the centre of the studio. The exerciseshere are similar to the ones at the barre but dancers also use this time to practise turns andbalance. Exercises include, Port de bras, grand battement and pirouettes.3. adage slow, sustained movements which make the dancer think about the lines theyare creating with their upper and lower body and test the dancers balance. Exercises include,developpe whereby the dancers extend their legs into the air slowly.4. allegRo. This section introduces jumps, small jumps, medium jumps and large jumps(petit allegro, grand allegro) exercises include, saute, petit assemble, grande jete,The class ends with a reverence, a special bow or curtsey which is to say thank you to theteacher and musician. 19