neoclassical ballet

Q: how do movements reflect the purpose of your chosen dance genre

Movement is one of the biggest distinctions between classical and neoclassical ballet. The purpose of neoclassical ballet was to break the boundaries and rules with-in classical ballet while keeping the foundations of traditional ballet. Breaking the rules of traditional ballet created something more unique and un-predictable, keeping both the audience and dancers entertained while ensuring dance remained a core part of a now modernized society, contributing to the success of the genre. One of the biggest changes was removing the need to always have turned out feet/nice lines. Through the evolution of neoclassical ballet, parallel feet, flexed hands/feet and bending of the arms/legs became far more common. This allowed contrasting, thought provoking shapes to be created. An example of this is in George Balanchine’s Serenade (1934). The opening pose for all the dancers on stage consists of parallel legs/feet pointing towards the audience, a straight arm pointing diagonally up with a flexed hand on the end of it. The other arm was relaxed at the side of the body, in no particular position. This pose being the first thing the audience sees captures the attention of the audience as parallel feet and flexed hands were something that was never common in traditional ballet. Traditional ballet had a large focus on ‘lines’, meaning positions of the arms and legs that complimented the dancers physique and physical ability. Neoclassical kept this idea, but expanded it so that positions didn’t only consist of turned out feet and specific arm positions. The beginning pose of serenade  represents the purpose of neoclassical ballet, new and unique movements/poses were introduced, but core technique and foundational ballet is still kept. This is shown as moments after the opening position, the dancers turn out their feet and there arms meet in traditional ‘bra bra’ positions. This demonstrates the introduction of new abstract movements in cohesion with keeping the foundations of traditional ballet. This contributed to the success of neoclassical ballet as it kept the familiarity of ballet, allowing the audience to still feel connected to the historic art, while adding in new modernized aspects to keep the ballet moving with the changing society. Balanchine was also focused on breaking the boundaries of ballet in more substantial ways. Although parallel feet is definitely  a difference, other larger differences were produced to create ‘wow moments’ or moments of wonder. These moments contributed to the success of the genre as the cycle of repetition with-in ballets was broken. A great example of this is during Balanchine’s agon (1957), a pa de deux with no story, focused on geometric moves and testing the relationships of move sequences. With-in traditional ballet, pa de deux often used repeated movements surrounding turns, jumps and extensions, with some different pa de deux blurring together. Balanchine’s neoclassical pieces became memorable as he introduced movements that shied away from the traditionalism of neoclassical ballet. We see this in agon during a moment where the female is put onto the floor on her back, he legs stretched out in a middle split. The male then kneels on his knees, bending into a backbend with his arms stretched out. Floor work was never common in pa de deux and the abstract shapes created by Balanchine’s choreography created ‘wow moments’ for the audience as it was something never seen before, making it much more memorable and demonstrating breaking the boundaries of traditional ballet.

How has sound changed with-in your chosen dance genre

Sound is one of the biggest differences between traditional classical ballet and neoclassical ballet. Unlike supporting a narrative such as swan lake, sound became central to neoclassical choreography with the movements responding to the rhythm, tempo, dynamics or accents of the music. Balanchine believed in ‘see the music, hear the dance’. He wanted the music of neoclassical ballet to be visually experienced through the dancers movements. For example a fast rhythm would be reflected through rapid foot work, strong music accents promoted sharp movement, changes in musical dynamics produced changes in movements energy or size. Balanchine believed music was the forefront of dance, rather than the background music to a storyline. Through the times of neoclassical ballet, sound has changed an evolved. At the beginning of neoclassical ballet, there were evident contrasts between the music used for traditional ballet. Traditional ballet focused on the use of orchestral music with a storng, memorable melody. The music followed a distinct pattern, made up of balanced phrases supporting the mood of the tale the dancers were telling. This is evident in music composed by Tchaikovsky for swan lake. Neoclassical ballet music was very different to this. Instead of a memorable melody or tune, the music was rhythm focused. The pulses, accents and timing of the notes are the most important elements driving the musical pieces, rather than a flowing melody. This was reflected on stage. This is evident in older neoclassical ballets such as Agon (1954) with music by Igor Stravinsky. The music has lots of accents and doesn’t follow a pattern. This nature unpredictability kept the audience engaged as the music didn’t flow off into the background, it was the forefront of what was happening on stage. Movements followed the accents, for example during a specific beat, the female does a fast penche, during a long lift, a note is held for the duration. The music is never what you expect. However during these times traditional instruments seen in classical ballet such as the violin were still  sometimes used, as in agon. These instruments were just used differently to how they were in classical, with move sharp, angular notes. Another example of this is during apollo, traditional instruments were still used, however they were used differently compared to traditional ballet, making it a much more unique experience for the audience. As times/technology has modernized, the types of instruments used to compliment neoclassical ballet has changed a lot, especially with the introduction of technology. Some pieces completed shied away from any traditional orchestral movements, focusing solely on rhythms created through technology or less traditional instruments such as the drums. The introduction of this music reflects the ever changing world of dance, even though neoclassical ballet originated through innovations, the sounds are still changing. This is evident in Justin pecks ‘Times are racing’  where music by the American indie-rock band, dan deacon is used. Instead of traditional instruments, times are racing uses an electronic music school. Drum machines and sequencers create heavy, pulsating and fast electronic percussion loops.. Digital audio editing soft swear creates manipulated audio samples and heavily altered vocal tracks are woven into the electronic features. These sounds are unlike anything used in traditional ballet and is also different to original sounds used in neoclassical ballet. The movements reflect this change. At the start the music is controlled, a female is lifted up and everything is very controlled. When the beat drops she falls and the music picks up, shown in the choreography by jumping and sharp movements.

Q: How has a significant person contributed to the changes within your chosen dance genre

George Balanchine is the founder of Neoclassical ballet and was the choreographer that introduced more modern/contemporary aspects to the world of traditional classical ballet. Balanchine trained at the imperial school of ballet in St Petersburg, starting at just 9 years old where he found a passion for choreographing. He arrived at American in 1934 where he founded the American school of ballet and later in 1948 co-founded the new York city ballet. He has choreographed over 400 ballets, with many still performed today by prestigious ballet companies with fresh adaptations/changes to fit in with the ever changing society. The times of the 1920s (commonly reffered to as the roaring 20s) were a time of growth, change and innovation. Caused by the aftermath of world war 1, the 1920s were a time of cultural liberation with women gaining the right to vote, flappers challenging traditional gender roles and the increase of night life, music and dance. This wave of modernism was seen in many areas of the arts, with abstract paintings, music and dance becoming more popular thanks to Martha graham and fred astair. Ballet had been the same for a long time with traditional ballets seeming repetitive and not attracting enough audience, despite others entertainment areas/style of dance thriving/gaining more popularity. Balanchine recognized the boundaries of other aspects of society being broken and the innovations that were occurring. Balanchine felt inspired to do the same for traditional ballet, creating something connecting to society that came with the excitment and innovation traditional ballet once had. Balanchine moved away from performances focused around a narrative or story line and instead focused on what was happening directly on stage. He wanted the moves to reflect the times, innovative, exciting and something never done before. He wanted movement to be the sole focus of the art form. He did this by removing costumes, focusing on a simple leotard and tights as to not create distractions towards the movement. He also simplified the surrounding on stage, removing ‘sets’, accessories and excess lighting. With the support of intricate music that shied away from traditional orchestral ballet. Balanchine and Stravinsky worked closely together to create a cohesion of sound and dance that produced a different feeling to traditional ballet and make it more entraining and fresh for both the audience, dancers and choreographers. Together they wanted to break the boundaries of traditional ballet, creating exicment and joy, producing something that everyone wanted to be apart of. Balanchine’s influence extends far beyond his year with many of his pieces till being performed and evolving today.