Untitled Flashcard Set
The Nutcracker: A two-act ballet, often performed during Christmas. Choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, it tells the story of a young girl's Christmas Eve dream where toys come to life and she journeys to the Land of Sweets.
The Sleeping Beauty: A classical ballet in three acts, with music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and choreography by Marius Petipa. It's known for its grandeur, complex solos (like the Rose Adagio), and its portrayal of a fairy tale princess cursed to sleep for 100 years.
Coppélia: A comedic ballet first performed in 1870, with music by Léo Delibes and choreography by Arthur Saint-Léon. It's famous for its story about a young man who falls in love with a life-size doll and the chaos that ensues.
Giselle: A quintessential Romantic ballet first performed in 1841. Music by Adolphe Adam and choreography by Jules Perrot and Jean Coralli. It's a tragic tale of love, betrayal, and forgiveness, featuring the ghost-like Wilis. Its two acts contrast a vibrant peasant village with a spectral forest.
La Sylphide: Considered the first Romantic ballet, premiered in 1832. Choreographed by Filippo Taglioni for his daughter Marie, with music by Jean-Madeleine Schneitzhoeffer. It tells the story of a Scottish farmer who falls in love with a sylph (a mythical winged spirit), abandoning his mortal fiancée.
Firebird: A ballet premiered in 1910 by the Ballets Russes. Choreography by Michael Fokine with music by Igor Stravinsky. It's known for its vibrant score and dramatic portrayal of Russian folklore, where a prince captures a magical firebird.
Apollo: A neoclassical ballet choreographed by George Balanchine in 1928, with music by Igor Stravinsky. It depicts the young god Apollo's maturation, guided by three muses. It's notable for its minimalist aesthetic and focus on pure dance.
Petrouchka: A ballet premiered by the Ballets Russes in 1911. Choreography by Michael Fokine with music by Igor Stravinsky. It tells the tragic story of three puppets (Petrouchka, the Ballerina, and the Moor) brought to life during a carnival.
L'Apres Midi d'un Faun (The Afternoon of a Faun): A controversial ballet choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky in 1912 for the Ballets Russes, with music by Claude Debussy. It's known for its groundbreaking, overtly sensual and two-dimensional choreography.
Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring): Premiered in 1913 by the Ballets Russes, choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky with music by Igor Stravinsky. Its dissonant music and primitive, angular choreography depicting a pagan ritual and human sacrifice caused a riot at its premiere.
Les Sylphides: A one-act, plotless ballet (often called a 'ballet blanc') choreographed by Michael Fokine in 1909, set to music by Frédéric Chopin. It evokes the Romantic era with its ethereal white tutus and focus on mood and atmosphere.
Spectre de la Rose: A short ballet choreographed by Michael Fokine in 1911 for the Ballets Russes, featuring Vaslav Nijinsky. It depicts a young girl who dreams of dancing with the spirit of a rose she brought home from a ball.
The Prodigal Son: A ballet choreographed by George Balanchine in 1929 for the Ballets Russes, with music by Sergei Prokofiev. It's a dramatic retelling of the biblical parable.
The Three-Cornered Hat: A ballet premiered by the Ballets Russes in 1919, choreographed by Léonide Massine with music by Manuel de Falla. It's a colorful, Spanish-themed ballet.
Choreographers & Dancers
Pas de Quatre - Grisi, Taglioni, Cerrito, Grahn: A famous plotless ballet from 1845, choreographed by Jules Perrot, showcasing four of the greatest ballerinas of the Romantic era: Carlotta Grisi, Marie Taglioni, Fanny Cerrito, and Lucile Grahn. It was a display of virtuosity and grace.
Alexander Gorsky: Russian choreographer (early 20th century) who introduced more naturalistic movement and dramatic realism to the Bolshoi Ballet, moving away from Petipa's rigid classical formulas.
Anna Pavlova: Iconic Russian prima ballerina (early 20th century) known for her ethereal grace and dramatic intensity. Her signature role was "The Dying Swan."
August Bournonville: Danish choreographer (19th century) who developed a distinct romantic ballet style known as the Bournonville style, characterized by its light, elegant, and often joyful footwork and strong male roles. He preserved many Romantic ballets in their original form.
Auguste Vestris: Celebrated French dancer and teacher of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, known for his virtuosic technique and elevation. Often considered one of the greatest male dancers of all time.
Bronislava Nijinska: Polish dancer and choreographer (early 20th century), sister of Vaslav Nijinsky. She choreographed for the Ballets Russes after Fokine and Nijinsky, creating works like "Les Noces."
Carlo Blasis: Italian dancer, choreographer, and theorist of the early 19th century. Wrote "The Code of Terpsichore," a foundational text on ballet technique that standardized many classical ballet positions and movements.
Carlotta Grisi: Italian ballerina (Romantic era) renowned for her lyrical quality and dramatic expressiveness, one of the four stars of Pas de Quatre and the first Giselle.
Camargo & Salle: Two rival ballerinas of the 18th century. Marie Camargo was known for her dazzling technical virtuosity, shortening her skirts to display her footwork. Marie Sallé emphasized dramatic expression and a more naturalistic approach, famously abandoning restrictive costumes for "Pygmalion."
Charles Didelot: French dancer and choreographer (late 18th/early 19th century) instrumental in the development of Russian ballet. Introduced flying machines and pointe work, and emphasized storytelling through dance.
Filippo Taglioni: Italian choreographer (Romantic era), father of Marie Taglioni. Choreographed La Sylphide, often credited with pioneering the ballet blanc style.
Gaétan Vestris: French dancer and choreographer (18th century), father of Auguste Vestris. Renowned for his exceptional technique and noble bearing.
George Balanchine: Considered the father of American ballet (20th century). Co-founder of New York City Ballet, known for his neoclassical style, emphasis on musicality, abstract plots, and "plotless" ballets. He reshaped ballet for the modern era.
Jean-Georges Noverre & ballet d'action: French dancer and choreographer (18th century) who advocated for ballet d'action, a revolutionary reform that emphasized dramatic coherence and expression over decorative spectacle. His book "Letters on Dancing and Ballets" outlined his principles for ballets with strong narratives and character development.
Léonide Massine: Russian choreographer and dancer (early 20th century) for the Ballets Russes. Known for his character ballets and innovative use of folk themes and Cubist designs in his choreography.
Louis Dupré: Renowned French dancer and teacher of the 18th century, known as "the god of dance" for his noble style and majestic presence.
Marius Petipa and his choreographic formulas: French ballet master (mid to late 19th century) who dominated Russian ballet for decades, creating over 50 ballets including The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker. His "formulas" included grand classical pas de deux, divertissements, corps de ballet patterns, and a clear narrative structure, laying the foundation for classical ballet.
Michael Fokine (including choreographic reforms/style): Russian choreographer (early 20th century) for the Ballets Russes. He initiated significant reforms, moving away from Petipa's formulas. His style emphasized:
Unity of design (music, décor, costume, choreography)
Expressive use of the entire body, not just the hands and feet
Movement appropriate to the subject and character
Elimination of mime for purely danced drama
Increased role of the male dancer
Works include Firebird, Petrouchka, Les Sylphides, Spectre de la Rose.
Sergei Diaghilev: Russian impresario (early 20th century) who founded the Ballets Russes. He was a visionary who commissioned groundbreaking works from leading composers, choreographers, and artists, revolutionizing ballet and modern art.
Taglioni and Elssler: Two rival ballerinas of the Romantic era. Marie Taglioni (Italian/Swedish) epitomized the ethereal, spiritual sylph-like ballerina with her lightness and grace, famous for La Sylphide. Fanny Elssler (Austrian) was known for her fiery dramatic expression, earthy sensuality (especially in her cachucha), and dazzling technicality.
Vaslav Nijinsky: Legendary Russian dancer and choreographer (early 20th century) for the Ballets Russes. Known for his extraordinary leaps, intense stage presence, and groundbreaking, often controversial, choreography (L'Après-midi d'un Faune, Le Sacre du Printemps).
Ballet Institutions & Eras
Ballet Russes: An influential itinerant ballet company founded by Sergei Diaghilev in 1909. It brought together groundbreaking artists, composers, and choreographers (Fokine, Nijinsky, Massine, Balanchine) and revolutionized performing arts across Europe and beyond until 1929.
Bolshoi: One of the world's oldest and most prestigious ballet and opera companies, based in Moscow, Russia. Known for its spectacular productions and dramatic, athletic style.
Kirov/Mariinsky: The ballet and opera company based at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia. Historically known as the Kirov Ballet during the Soviet era. Renowned for its classical purity, elegant style, and preservation of Petipa's repertoire.
Opéra-Ballet: A French theatrical genre popular in the 17th and 18th centuries, combining elements of opera (singing) and ballet (dancing) within a single production, often with loose mythological or pastoral plots.
The 2 main traits of Romantic ballets:
Emphasis on the Supernatural and Ethereal: Focus on spirits, fairies, sylphs, and tragic love, often contrasting the mortal world with a magical, otherworldly realm.
Ballerina as the Central Figure: The female dancer (often en pointe, wearing a long, white bell-shaped tutu) became the star, embodying the idealized, often unattainable, feminine ideal.
The development of Russian ballet: Grew significantly in the 18th century with the establishment of ballet schools (like the Imperial Theatre School in St. Petersburg, which became the Mariinsky/Kirov). It flourished in the late 19th century under Marius Petipa, leading to the creation of many classical masterpieces. In the early 20th century, companies like the Ballets Russes innovated, and Russian ballet continued to evolve with distinct styles (Bolshoi's athleticism vs. Kirov's classicism).
The Dying Swan: A short, iconic solo choreographed by Michael Fokine in 1905 for Anna Pavlova, set to music by Camille Saint-Saëns. It is a powerful portrayal of a swan's final moments, symbolizing grace and fragility.
The French Revolution: (Late 18th century) Led to the decline of aristocratic patronage for ballet and a shift towards more accessible, larger public theaters. It also influenced themes, moving away from purely mythological subjects to more common folk and romantic tales.
The Industrial Revolution: (Late 18th to mid-19th century) Brought about social changes, a growing middle class, and technological advancements (like gas lighting in theaters that enhanced stage effects), which contributed to the rise of public ballet and its romantic themes that often served as an escape from industrial realities.
The Romantic Era: (Approx. 1830s-1850s in ballet) A period characterized by themes of escapism, exoticism, the supernatural, tragic love, and a focus on the ethereal ballerina. La Sylphide and Giselle are prime examples.
The three categories of dance styles during the 1700's, as ballet became professionalized:
Danse Noble (Noble Dance): Characterized by dignity, grace, and stately presence, suitable for heroic or mythological roles. Performed by lead male and female dancers.
Demi-Caractère (Half-Character Dance): A more lively and virtuosic style, often portraying mythological figures, shepherds, or village folk with more complex steps and jumps.
Comique/Grotesque (Comic/Grotesque Dance): Characterized by exaggerated movements and often used for comic, peasant, or character roles, emphasizing pantomime and humor rather than classical elegance.