Ballet Crash - Tights and Tiaras

presents
BALLET
Crash
A crash-cour se of all things ballet
!
!
© Henrik Lamark 2011 - All Rights Reserved
INTRODUCTION
When I started writing the Tights and Tiaras blog, it was for many reasons. As I wrote in the first post on the blog, one of the reasons was
as simple as I wanted to practice my English. But another, and in the long run, a more important reason was that I wanted to share some
of the knowledge I happen to have on ballet.
I am a social guy. I like to talk, and I like to meet new people. So I tend to talk to strangers quite often. I'm one of those who talks to
people on the bus, or starts a conversation with the neighbor seat on the plane. Or walks up to you in a bar and ask how you are doing,
regardless that we never met before. I can't help it, it's just the way I am.
But what on earth has that to do with anything?
Well, when talking to these people, a natural ice-breaker is the question "what do you do for a living". It's just one of those things we tend
to ask when talking to strangers, right?! The answer tells you something about the person you just met, and opens opportunities to a
bunch of other topics for the further conversation. Thing is, when they ask me what I do, my answer more often than not does not lead to
much conversation. At best it leads to a monologue. You see, when I say I am a ballet-dancer, the responses I get are more often than
not one of the following four:
1. They smile, thinking I'm a guy with a peculiar humor, and then continue to ask me what I really do, like as a job..
2. They look at me again, like they are re-evaluating their first impression, re-measuring me to make sure they haven't misunderstood
anything in the conversation so far, and then asks me something like "so, you are gay, then?"
3. They start making fun of it, joking about Billy Elliot or if I wear those tulle skirts, put their hands over their heads and starts turning,
imitating their impression of what a pirouette looks like
OR (and this is the majority, and the reason I started writing Tights and Tiaras)
4. They are delighted to meet a real ballet dancer, and a male one even, and starts asking how it's like to live like a dancer. They are
genuinely interested, but knows little or nothing about ballet. They rarely go to the theatre, never even, and what used to be a
conversation quickly evolves into me telling about life as a ballet dancer, and ballet as such.
This e-book is a continuation, or let's call it a contribution, to my work at Tights and Tiaras. Educating you all on ballet, without making it
dull and unapproachable, but (hopefully) fun, entertaining and modern. I hope you enjoy it!
2
Content
Dictionary !
4
History of Ballet!
6
Ballet Theaters !
10
American Ballet Theatre and New York City Ballet!
10
The British Royal Ballet!
11
Paris Opera Ballet!
13
Bolshoi and Mariinsky!
14
Famous Ballets !
15
Swan Lake!
16
Giselle!
19
The Nutcracker!
21
Sources And Notes!
23
3
Dictionary
First of all, let's learn some words. The column "Henrik Teaches
French" on Tights and Tiaras explain some of the most important
phrases and titles of ballet in several posts. The ballet terminology
is French, hence the title. But for you to be able to understand and
enjoy this crash-course, there's a few words you will have to learn;
ballet ¦ba lā¦
noun
an artistic dance form performed to music using precise and highly
formalized set steps and gestures. Classical ballet, which originated in
Renaissance Italy and established its present form during the 19th
century, is characterized by light, graceful, fluid movements and the use
of pointe shoes.
Pas de deux ¦ pä də do!¦
Pas de deux means step for two, or dance for two. And that's exactly what it is. A pas de deux is a choreographed dance for two dancers,
often (but not always) with a romantic theme. Almost all of the famous ballets has at least one pas de deux.
Read the post on Pas de Deux, with more details on the dances and the structure of a classical Pas de Deux
Read Miami City Ballet-dancer Rebecca King's and Henrik Lamark's "Virtual Pas de Deux", looking at the joys and challenging of partnering
Corps de Ballet ¦ kôr də ba lā¦
The Corps de Ballet is the basic rank in any ballet-theatre, and the biggest group of dancers in a ballet company. The dancers of the
corps usually dances together in groups, and makes up the surrounding environment for the key characters in any ballet. Examples are
the swans in Swan Lake, the villagers of Giselle or the citizens of Verona in Romeo and Juliet. Occasionally, the dancers of the corps get
to do smaller solos and more outstanding parts.
Read more about the corps de ballet, and why they are the working-class heroes of ballet
Read about the Hierarchy in the Theatre
4
Ballerina ¦ balə rēnə¦
A ballerina is really just a title for any female dancer, it means nothing more than "female dancer". Traditionally, it is used for the great
female dancers of a theatre, or any female performing a solo or an outstanding role. A variation is the Prima Ballerina Assoluta - the first
and absolute dancer. Ballerina is actually Italian, and one of the words that has stuck with ballet since way back.
Read more about the titles we dancers love to flaunt, and why we love them
Read Tights and Tiaras post on the International Woman's Day, celebrating the beauty of ballerinas
Choreographer ¦ kôrēə graf¦
A choreographer is a person that makes dances. He or she puts together movements in a certain order to create a dance. The
choreographer often represent an authority in a theatre, as he or she has a say in who gets the parts of the up coming ballets.
Read the (somewhat ironic) post on the characters found in a ballet theatre
That's about what you need to know for now. Wasn't that hard, was it? Now, lets move on to a brief on the history of this fine art
5
History of Ballet
Don't worry, This is not going to be a long and boring history lesson. Instead, you will find a bunch of important dates and years in the
history of ballet on the cork-board below. How cool is that? Ballet CRASH proudly presents:
The Cork-board History of Ballet
Late 15th
c
emerges entury: Ballet
in Renais
sance
Italy as a
d a n ce
interpreta
tio
It became n of fencing.
a
of enterta popular form
inment am
ongst
Italian an
d later Fr
e
nch
aristocrac
y.
An old friend: Louis XIV of France as
the Sun King in Ballet de la nuit (1653)
as a
developed rance
t
e
ll
a
B
:
y
r
F
17th centu -focused art form in
,
e
c
o
n
nd f ours
ie
fr
ld
o
performa
n
a
reign of
ncer. One
during the IV, a passionate da ified the
X
od
King Louis ierre Beauchamp c
P
,
tablished
of his men , and King Louis es d, the
ns
orl
five positio ol of dance in the w 1.
6
o
h
anse in 16
the first sc
D
e
D
le
a
Roy
Acedémie
Awesome blog
on ballet:
Tights and Tiaras.com
Did you see the post on the
hierarchy in the theater
earlier, where good old Louie
6
plays an important part (pun
intended). Find it here!
29th April 172
7: Jean-George
s Noverre is bo
considered the
rn. He is today
father of narrativ
e ballet, and his
of April is now o
birthday, 29th
bserved as the
International Da
nce Day.
Jean-Georges
Noverre, the father
of narrative ballet
on
is theories
h
s
e
h
s
li
b
called
erre pu
in a book
t,
e
ll
a
b
1760: Nov
g
.
nd showin s et sure les ballets
a
g
in
h
c
a
te
an
s sure la d ethod of teaching
Les Lettre
m
e
contains a how ballet should b
k
o
o
b
e
h
T
n
lot,
opinions o
pment of p
ballet, and ith a logical develo
to the
(w
ts suitable ntion
h
g
presented
li
d
n
a
r
to me
, déco
of masks
costumes
l
a
v
en
o
m
re
the
ok has be
o
b
e
h
T
.
story and
e
e audienc
ean
some) to th almost every Europ is
to
eories
translated
st of his th
o
.
m
d
n
a
,
e teaching
c
n
a
d
language
s
y
a
ted in tod
implemen
ds a
towar be
d
e
p
n to
velo
llet de t, and bega d
a
B
:
y
r
entur
nce a
s calle
18th c e performa s interlude
a
iv
narrat d in operas
e
featur sements.
The 19th century brought great social
is
divert
change, which was reflected in the ballet as
well with it moving away from the aristocratic
sensibilities that earlier dominated. Ballerinas
like Marie Taglioni and Fanny Elssler
experimented with new techniques, like
beating their legs in the air while jumping, and
another technique that should become one of
ballets trademark ever since: the pointe-work.
Ballet training was codified into the basic form
that we see in the studios still today.
With the R
omantic pe
rio
going in th
e whole Eu d
ro
pe,
ballet was
now to tell
great
stories of e
thereal cre
atures
and light s
ylphs flying
across
stage. With
new techn
iq
how to ligh
ue on
t a theatre,
and the
ballerinas
tiptoeing a
cross
stage in th
eir pointe-s
hoes,
the romanti
c ballets w
e
re
great succ
esses not
only for
the aristoc
racy, but fo
rn
people all
over Europ ormal
e.
7
Marie Taglioni, a pioneer of the Pointe Technique
Tc h a i k o v s k y
ily
-class fam
le
d
id
m
n
ia
40 A Russ families wishes, he
May 7 18
is
h
t
ry of
. Agains
onservato
C
rg
u
b
got a son
rs
e St. Pete
yotr Ilyich
entered th 2. He was called P one of the
e
86
uld becom osers,
Music in 1
o
h
s
d
n
a
ky,
comp
Tchaikovs
l
influential
t
s
o
m
for severa
ry
19th centu closest companion
a's
any
and Petip
enjoyed m beautiful
e
h
h
g
u
o
h
most
years. Alt
wrote the
d
n
e, The
a
,
s
e
s
Swan Lak
e
succes
fe
th
e
k
li
auty, his li
allets
music to b nd the Sleeping Be
ra
ses and
Nutcracke ted by personal cri
nly at
tua
ied sudde any
d
e
H
.
was punc
n
io
ut m
f depress
cholera, b
to
periods o
y
ll
ia
c
ffi
f 53, o
the age o
e.
as a suicid
attribute it
Petipa
r and
al ballet maste in France. Victor
ti
n
e
u
fl
in
t
s
o
arseille
822 the m
was born in M
11th March 1
,
was a
d
e
liv
r
e
v
e
t
tha
is father, who
r
h
e
h
m
p
o
fr
ra
t
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o
lle
a
re
on,
b
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ch
arseille. The s
etipa learned
M
P
e
in
s
r
n
e
o
c
h
n
a
lp
d
A
s
cer
Mariu
r and principle
a famous dan
te
e
s
a
m
o
M
c
t
e
b
lle
a
ld
B
u
urg to
tipa, sho
renowned
as Marius Pe
to St. Petersb
d
ly
e
n
v
o
o
n
m
w
o
9
n
2
k
t
d.
today
r really starte
ot before he a
e
n
re
s
a
a
c
w
is
it
h
t
t
u
a
b
,
anseur th
in France
as Premier D
n
io
it
s
o
p
ir
e
take th
in 1871, after several years as the Russian Imperial Ballet's main dancer, Petipa was appointed the
house choreographer, a title he should hold until 1903. He created over fifty ballets, some of which are
still on the repertoire of most opera houses around the world today. Ballets like Don Quixote, La
Bayadére, and the Sleeping Beauty are all his work. Petipa also revived a substantial number of ballets
created by other ballet-masters. The most influential was a four-act ballet he created with his assistant
at the time, Lev Ivanov, a story of a girl turned swan and the prince that loved her; The Swan Lake
Nijinsky in la
Spectre de la
rose and
L'apres midi
d'un Faune
m
ev brought dancers fro
hil
ag
Di
ei
rg
Se
ts
ar
et success,
, a Russian patron-of-th
Diaghilev. Due to grea
by
ed
ng
ra
In the summer of 1909
ar
ce
an
rm
mous Ballets
to Paris for a perfo
ballet company, the fa
the Mariinsky theater
n
ow
his
o
int
d
lea
what
at
dition th
world at the time, both
e
th
of
t
tis
this became a yearly tra
ar
st
te
ea
ge
gr
consisted of the
e Mikhail Fokine, Geor
ar
es
on
ial
nt
ue
Russes. The company
infl
t
os
m
was..8
hy is concerned. The
ntial Diaghilev actually
ue
infl
w
dance and choreograp
ho
on
t
ar
ch
is
v Nijinsky. See th
Balanchine and Vacla
dies. The Ballet
1929 Sergei Diaghilev
era is over.
Russes falls apart. An
1933 Hitle
r
Balanchin comes to power.
e moves
to Americ
founds th
a,
e School
of Americ and
with Linc
an B
oln
Balanchin Kirstein. It's first e allet
e's Seren
xam is
ad
New York
City Balle e. In 1948, The
t is found
the SAB.
ed out of
From Balanchine's Serenade
ers,
ograph to
e
r
o
h
c
ilevs
bout
f Diagh , is in 1929 a aster
o
t
s
la
tm
The
hine
Balanc f the first balle means
e
g
r
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o
G
h
position
et, whic
get the ris Opera Ball BUT he gets
a
t.
of the P tor of the balle mends Serge
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the dire sis, and reco Lifar is
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Lifa
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, be
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3
t
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gin
. Ba
ce. Ima
ld-men
great-o r takes the pla k like if he
o
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but nev world could lo k…
e
ic
what th have gotten s
't
n
would
Diag
beco hilev or
ig
the me a co inally w
g re a
Kors
t commposer anted to
.
a
k
for m ov to poser R But his
l
d
t
u
alleg sic". D him he imsky- eacher,
beco edly res iaghilev had "no
p
but me the onded got furio talent
my n
: "I m
g re a
us, a
your
a
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s is me wil est com ight not nd
lb
long
p
forg e spok oser ev
en w
otte
e
n"
hen r,
George Balanchine
Tights and Tiaras
A blog on ballet for anyone
Let's stop here. Not that there isn't
more. Not that no-one was forgotten.
There is. And they were! But this was a
basic introduction, suitable for a crashcourse like this one. Did you like it?
Why don't you tell your friends about
this e-book - Spread the love!
9
Ballet Theaters
A crash introduction to the biggest, most influential ballet theaters in the world
American Ballet Theatre and New York City Ballet
The two largest, most influential American ballet companies are both based in New York. The older of the two, the American Ballet Theatre, was
founded in 1937. Eleven years later, the famous choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein founded the School of American
Ballet, with a vision to establish a major American classical ballet company. That company became the New York City Ballet.
Both of the companies are based in the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on Manhattan. The ABT is the resident company of the
Metropolitan Opera House.
Ranks:
Unlike most European ballet companies, both the ABT and the NYCB divides their dancers into only three ranks; The Corps de Ballet, Soloists
and Principles. The ABT also has a second, or youth-company known as ABT II, where young dancers between 16 and 20 years of age gets to
dance in own productions, as well as in the main companies repertoire.
Profiles
Through the years, many world famous dancers has been principals at the two houses. Names like Erik Bruhn, Mikhail Baryshnikov (who was
also directing the ABT from 1980-89), Cynthia Harvey, Gelsey Kirkland, Peter Martins (currently the Balletmaster-in-chief at the NYCB) and
Sofiane Sylve are all connected to both the theaters.Today, their troupes consists of many of the leading ballet dancers in the world, and the two
companies are considered equals to most of the leading European ballet-companies.
Schools
NYCB's associated school is the already-mentioned School of American Ballet, while the ABT's school of ballet is called the Jacqueline
Kennedy Onassis School, after John F. Kennedy's wife, popularly known as "Jackie O".
Celebrity-factor.
Both the American companies are affiliated with celebrities from time to time. The actress Sarah Jessica Parker, most known for her role as
Carrie Bradshaw from the series Sex and the City, is in NYCB's board of directors, while the artist Prince just made a major donation to ABT.
10
The British Royal Ballet
Based in the Covent Garden (the theatre, not the fruit-market), the Royal Ballet is the biggest of three British companies, the other two being
the English National Ballet and the Birmingham Royal Ballet.
History:
It was founded in 1931 by now knighted dame Ninette de Valois, an Irish born ballet-dancer, who used to dance with Serge Diaghilev's
Ballets Russes. But wait a minute?! Yes, you read correctly, Irish. She was born Edris Stannus, but that just didn't work so well with the
French aristocracy, for some reason…
The company founded by de Valois became the resident ballet company of the Royal British Opera House in 1946, and was recognized as
the national ballet company in 1956
Profiles:
Many great stars has been engaged with the company, that has been considered to be one of the absolute best companies in the world for
a man's age. Already from the start, Mrs de Valois recruited stars like Alicia Markova and Anton Dolin from the remains after Ballets Russes
after the death of it's mentor, Diaghilev. Margot Fonteyn danced her whole career in the theatre, sometimes partnered by a certain fellow
named Nureyev… Darcey Bussel, Anthony Dowell (Artistic Director between 86 and 2001) and Lynn Seymour are other former great stars
of the Royal Ballet. Recent names associated with the Royal Ballet is Alina Cojocaru, Roberto Bolle, Alessandra Ferri and Carlos Acosta All current leading dancers in the world.
On the director/choreographer side, there's also been a couple of people to mention.
Sir Fredrick Ashton was the founder choreographer for the Royal Ballet, and created most of their early works. Ashton was a hard-working
fellow, and created more then 100 original ballets. Amongst his most famous are Cinderella, Daphnis and Chloe, La fille mal gardée,
Romeo and Juliet and The Dream.
Sir Kenneth MacMillian succeeded Ashton as the artistic director in 1970, and held the position for 7 years. Also a famous choreographer, he
continued as a Principle Choreographer until his death (he had a heart attack backstage during a performance) in 1992. Some of his most
famous ballets are his 65-version of Romeo and Juliet, Manon, Mayerling, The Rite of Spring, Elite Syncopations and his last ballet, the
Judas Tree.
Last (but not least) of the choreographers that has shaped the Royal Ballet into one of the most prestigious ballet theaters in the world is
Wayne McGregor. He has created several pieces for the company from 2000 and out, and was appointed Resident Choreographer of the
Royal Ballet in 2006, the first person to hold this post for 16 years, and the first of the world of contemporary dance.
11
Ranks:
The dancers at Royal Ballet are divided into six ranks;
- Artist is the lowest rank, a member of the corps de ballet.
- First Artist, a higher rank within the corps, performing
more featured roles in the corps.
- Soloist, performing the majority of the solo roles.
- First soloist, for those Soloist dancers who are
considered for the principle title. Will perform the most
featured solo roles in a performance, sometimes also
the principle roles.
- Principle character artist, performing the most
important character roles. Most of the dancers with this
rank are older dancers who have been high ranking
members of the company
- Principle, the leading stars of the company, performing
the most featured roles in the ballets.
School
The Royal Ballet's resident school is the Royal Ballet
School, one of the worlds most famous ballet schools. It
is known for having trained some of the most
celebrated dancers of the 20th century, most of them
already mentioned here, like Fonteyn, MacMillan,
Bussel and Ferri. Names like John Neumeier, Jiri Kilián
and Wayne Eagling are all Royal Ballet School alumni.
Rumors
Royal Ballets current director is Monica Mason. There
has been talk that the current principle dancer Johan
Kobborg is to take over as director when Mason's tenure
ends i 2012.
The Royal Opera House in Londons Covent Garden district after it's 1990's
reconstruction, with the statue of Dame Ninette de Valois in the foreground.
The current house is the third theatre that stands on this ground. The original
theatre was built in 1728.
12
Paris Opera Ballet
It is almost impossible to write a short, to-the-point presentation of the Paris Opera Ballet. For that, the company is too extensive, too
influential and, quite frankly, too old! Forgive if this introduction don't cover the house in it's complete glory. This is a crash-course, right,
not a doctorate thesis. The Paris Opera Ballet is nevertheless a grand old name in the world of ballet, it's roots can be traced to the Ballet
de l'Opéra in 1713, founded by no other than good-old Louis XIV of France, the main star of our post on hierarchy in the theatre.
In the last 300 years or so, the Paris Opera Ballet has been the most influential ballet theatre in the world. Most of the pioneers of ballet
was connected to the house, and choreographers like Marie Taglioni's father Philippe, Jules Perrot, Jean Coralli and Arthur Saint-Léon
were choreographing for the house.
Ranks
The Paris Opera Ballet divides their dancers into a system of 5 ranks, ranging from the lowest quadrille (which is really the name of a
square dance), through coryphée (higher corps rank), sujet (soloists) and premier danseur (first soloists). On the top, there are a couple
of étoiles - stars. They are appointed by the opera director, and are the leading dancers of the company. The Étoiles of the Paris Opera
Ballet are at all times amongst the best dancers in the world. The company hold an annual examination of the corps de ballet dancers,
which allows them to present their skills, and get considered for a promotion inside the theatre.
The dancers at the Paris Opera Ballet are practically exclusively trained at the Paris Opera Ballet School. The chosen dancers each year
gets admitted into the company, and it is very rare for a dancer to leave the company to work elsewhere. There are very few examples of
the Paris Opera Ballet accepting dancers trained elsewhere into their company.
With a company of 154 dancers, 18 étoiles and 16 premier danseurs, it is one of the largest ballet companies in the world. They perform
some 180 performances per season. But with that number of dancers, they can cast a show 3 or 4 times, so not all the dancers performs
in all the shows.
Legend
As I mentioned earlier, the list of names worth mentioning is just too long, so I'm just going to gallantly skip them. Except for one.
In 1984, the Paris Opera Ballet promoted a 19 year old young girl to become their youngest ever étoile. Her name was Sylvie Guillem.
She was the top-ranking female dancer for 5 years, before becoming a principle guest artist with the Royal Ballet in London. At 18, she
won the acclaimed Varna International Ballet Competition. In 87, she was the lead female in the legendary Forsythe performance In the
middle, Somewhat elevated. Still today, she is one of the worlds most sought-after dancers for modern dance - at 46!
Fun fact:
The rehearsal studios of the Paris Opera Ballet are named after earlier great étoiles, namely Serge Lifar, Rudolf Nureyev (or Noureev, as
they call him), Yvette Chauviré and Carlotta Zambelli. The latter caused a sensation in 1896 when she performed fifteen consequent
fouetté turns, never before seen in Paris. Ballet-legend Marius Petipa has two rehearsal studios named after him.
13
Bolshoi and Mariinsky
When a lot of people think of ballet, they think of Russia. And not without reason. The russians has been leading the development of
ballet in several periods since the French artists started moving to St. Petersburg in the mid 19th century.
The two biggest, most famous Russian ballet theaters are the Bolshoi (meaning big) theatre in Moscow, and the Mariinsky theatre in St.
Petersburg. The Mariinsky ballet is the older company of the two, founded in the 1740s. It was originally known as the Imperial Russian
Ballet. Many of the great ballets has premiered with these two great companies. For instance, the Swan Lake had it's original premiere in
the Bolshoi Theatre on March 4, 1877.
Soviet era
Following the Russian revolution, the new Soviet government decided the ballet was unwanted symbols of the Tsarist regime, and
continued to close both the schools and ballet theaters. The Mariinsky ballet was re-established later as the Soviet Ballet, and was
renamed the Kirov Ballet (a name which many still associate with the company today still) by Stalin after the assassination of the
Bolshevik leader Sergey Kirov in 1934. After the fall of the Soviet empire the company was again called the Mariinsky ballet.
During the Soviet era, many dancers defected from the Russian troupes while touring in the western countries, running away from
oppression and limited artistic freedoms in Soviet Russia. While the Russian theaters still today claims this has been a great loss for
Russian ballet, the defected dancers did in fact also increase the Russian theaters reputation in the western world. Europe had simply at
the time never seen dancers with such strength and skill as the Russian defectors, and obviously, the esteem for the Russian theaters
and schools grew.
Schools
Both the Bolshoi Ballet Academy and the Mariinsky Ballets school the Vaganova Ballet Academy are considered two of the finest ballet
schools in the world. Teaching by the Russian standards, they provide their students with their long traditions of strong and agile dancers,
educating some of the biggest stars of the ballet world, like Rudolf Nureyev, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Ivan Vasiliev, Natalia Osipova, Olyana
Lopatkina and Svetlana Zakharova to mention a few…
Reconstruction
The Bolshoi's original theatre has been under reconstruction since August 2007, still to be finished. It was stripped down to it's walls from
the inside, completely renovating the interior that had been neglected for several years during the Soviet era. On the outside facade, a
giant two-headed eagle, the Russian coat of arms, has been installed to replace the Soviet hammer and sickle hung there decades ago.
Bolshoi has a new scene in a modern building close to the historical theatre where todays shows are performed.
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Famous Ballets
The plots of the most famous ballets, Tights and Tiaras-style
On Tights and Tiaras, we have a
column called Bedtime Stories,
where you can read the stories of
many famous ballets. Of course,
there are a bunch of books out there
that tells you the stories, why would
you read Ballet CRASH? Well,
whats the common denominator for
all those books? Thei're boring!
Tights and Tiaras' Bedtime Stories
are written in a language you don't
have to be balletomane to relate to.
You'll read why Siegfried, the prince
in Swan Lake, would be an emo-kid
in todays tales, and why the
cavalliere of the Nutcrackers Sugar
Plum Fairy has a sad name. For the
complete coverage, head over to
Tights and Tiaras. But here are the
Bedtime Stories on some of the
most famous ballets out there - only
to you, only in this e-book (and of
course, on Tights and Tiaras)
Nikola Marova and Michal Stipa in Giselle
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Swan Lake
The protagonist in this epic tale is the sensitive, fragile dreamer Siegfried, a
young prince living with his mother. The performance starts at his 21st
birthday-party at the castle. His mother arrives, and presents him with a
new crossbow as a gift. Siegfried is thrilled, but thereʼs a hitch to the deal;
His mother expects him to choose a woman to marry at an upcoming royal
ball. Siegfried, troubled with some serious father-complexes, does not find
any of the royal girls interesting, and prefers spending his afternoons
hunting with his friend Benno (Brokeback mountain, anyone?). Still, his
mother demands him to marry as it is expected of princes at a certain age.
Depressed, he heads off hunting into the woods with Benno. It strikes me –
if Siegfried was living today, Iʼm sure he would have been one of those
Emo-kids, watching Twilight-vampires through their long, black hair cut in a
straight line cross their faces. But it's getting off-topic here – letʼs get back
to our bedtime story, alright!
Livia Kodolányi in Swan Lake
In the forest, Benno and Siegfried gets separated. Searching for his friend,
Siegfried suddenly sees a beautiful swan swimming in a lake. He prepares
to shoot it, but somehow canʼt make himself – thereʼs just something about
it. Getting closer, the swan transforms into a creature, more human than
bird, a gorgeous young girl dressed in white feathers. She is Odette, queen
of the cursed swans. The young prince cannot take his eyes off her. His
little fling with Benno is instantly forgotten, he has never seen anything this
gorgeous, and he falls in love immediately, deeply and strongly like only
fragile princes can. Odette tells him she (and a whole bunch of other girls)
has been turned into a swan by the evil sorcerer Rothbart, and can only
attain her human form at night. Rothbart appears, in the shape of an owl,
and Siegfried, full of passionate emotions, dramatically wants to shoot him
dead with his new crossbow. Luckily, Odette stops him, and explains that if
he kills the sorcerer, the curse on the young swan-maidens will never be
broken. Only a vow of eternal love is strong enough to brake the evil spell.
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The two royalties spends the night together, dancing and doing what princes and swan princesses usually do when they meet, falling
deeper and deeper in love with each others. Siegfried vows to love Odette forever, and invites her to the upcoming ball in at his castle.
There he will pronounce her as his bride, confirm his vow, and brake the curse on the young girls. What a hero! As morning brakes,
Odette has to turn into a swan again and return to her lake. The last thing she tells him is that if the vow is broken, she will forever be lost
to Rothbart, unable to turn to her human form ever again.
Back in the castle, itʼs ball night. The queen presents her son with several potential brides, but Siegfried denies them all, thinking only of
his Odette. The festivities continues, and suddenly, a stranger appears with a young woman. Siegfried sees them, and is thrilled: The girl
is the creature from the woods, his beloved swan princess. He doesnʼt realize that the stranger is Rothbart himself, in a human shape,
with a plan to trick Siegfried to doom Odette to him forever. He has turned his own daughter Odile into Odetteʼs shape, in an attempt to
make Siegfried swear his love to the wrong swan – or was it girl? Odile is danced by the same ballerina as Odette, although with a
completely different, evil approach. Sometimes the roles are separated by the colour of their dress, Odette being white, while Odile
wearing a black tutu. The idea is nevertheless that Rothbart has magically made Odile to look exactly like Odette. Siegfried falls for
Rothbartʼs deception and, after a passionate pas de deux, declares that he will marry Odile, who he thinks is his true love. Triumphantly,
Rothbart reveals himself, and Siegfried realizes his mistake, but too late – too late.. In despair, he flees back to the lake to his true
girlfriend.
By the lake of the swans, Siegfried meets his Odette, in her human shape for the last time. He begs her to forgive his mistake, and she
does. They stay together until the sun sets, and itʼs time for Odette to become a swan under the sorcerers power for all eternity.
NOW, dear readers, you have to choose what path to go from here. If you are really telling the story as a bedtime story, hence to a child,
you might want to stick with ending number 1. If you on the other hand prefers the original tales, and donʼt fear a little tears and tragedy –
go with number two. After all, it is the true ending.
Ending number 1: Rothbart appears, and there is a fight between Siegfried and the sorcerer. Siegfried, strengthened by the love of his
princess, tears off one of Rothbartʼs wings, a wound that evidentially kills him. The love between the two has defeated the evil magician,
and Odette and her fellow swans are turned into their original, human form. Everyone is happy, but the people in the audience still paying
attention is left thinking why it wouldnʼt have been easier just shooting Rothbart in the first place.
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Ending number 2: The two lovers are devastated, knowing that Odette will be left under Rothbarts power forever. The only way to avoid it
is that Odette commits suicide by throwing herself into the lake to drown. Prince Siegfried, unable to live without his loved one, throws
himself in the lake as well, and the loving couple dies together. This sacrifice is so strong it causes the evil Rothbart to lose his power,
and die. The remaining swans are free from their curse, and can return home to their grieving families in human shape.
There are several other endings used out there, ranging from bitterly tragic to honey-sweet romantic ones. My second ending is
nevertheless the original one, and will be the end of our little tale today.
Facts from the lake:
Music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
Originally premiered in Moscow in 1877, with a choreography by Julius/
Wenzel Reisinger. Not a big success.
In 1893, Tchaikovsky dies, and a renewal of some parts plus the whole
the second act is made for his memory, choreographed by Lev Ivanov.
This performance was a great success, and led to the 1895 premiere of
the version known today. The two masters of the St. Petersburg theatre
couldnʼt agree on who would make the ballet, so they decided to split it.
The house choreographer Marius Petipa choreographed the 1st and
3rd act, while Lev Ivanov made the 2nd and 4th act (the white acts),
and the performance premiered in the great Mariinsky theatre.
Swan lake has been restaged a million times. It has been rechoreographed in several styles within the traditional genres, but has
also been restaged for (amongst others) circus, ice-dancing and
bachelorette-parties all over the globe. It is one of the most challenging
ballets for the members of the female corps de ballet, and has several
solo parts and pas de deuxʼs often used in gala performances and
competitions.
Fun fact: The original Siegfried (in the Petipa/Ivanov version) was a famous dancer called Pavel Gerdt. A great star, there was never a
question who would portray the male lead in the new ballet. However, Gerdt was 55 years old at the time of the premiere. The role of
Benno is actually written into the ballet to help Siegfried, old Gerdt that is, to perform the heavier lifts.
18
Giselle
Meet Giselle, a peasant girl from Rhineland. She lives in her little cottage together with her mom, and as anyone else in Rhineland, they
are harvesting grapes in the spring. Giselle is a beautiful young lady, and is very popular among the wine-harvesting men, specially by a
certain Hilarion. But her mother is strict, and doesnʼt let Giselle just run around flirting all day. You see, Giselle has a heart condition. And
her ever-loving mother does anything to prevent her from getting too upset, as it can be dangerous.
Now, one day, Giselle meets this boy called Loyd. He is kind and sweet with her, and Giselle falls completely in love with him. While
dancing with Loyd, Giselle picks the petals from a daisy-flower to decide whether he loves her or not. Even though the result is negative,
Loyd quickly pulls out an extra petal while Giselle isnʼt watching, and pam – the flower says he loves her. There you have for believing in
superstition.
You see, what Giselle doesnʼt know, is that Loyd is really a duke, and his name is not Loyd at all, but Albrecht, duke of Silesia. He is
supposed to get married to a princess, and dressed up as a peasant for some last entertainment before his marriage (I guess as a kind of
medieval version of a Bachelorʼs party, although without all the drunken friends).
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Barbora Kaufmanova as Giselle
Hilarion, the wine-harvester who was especially attracted to Giselle, finds Albrectʼs sword and cape hidden in his cottage (the story
doesnʼt say anything of what Hilarion was doing in Albrechtʼs cottage in the first place – but he is later punished for his snooping around
anyway), and putʼs the threads together. But before he can warn poor Giselle, a noble hunting party is arriving their little town, and myoh-my, amongst them is Bathilde, Albrechtʼs fiance (you get where this is going?). As expected of them, the grape-harvesters sets up a
celebration for the noblemen, and everything seems quite merry until Hilarion canʼt take it anymore, and reveals Albrechtʼs true identity by
showing everyone his sword with his royal ingravements. Albrecht getʼs quite an explanation problem, especially when it turns out, his
fiance is there as well to confirm Hilarionʼs allegations.
The shock is just too much for a poor country-girl like Giselle, and she goes reaving mad. Although she takes Albrechtʼs sword, and want
to kill herself, what finally gets to her is her weak heart, giving up knowing that the man she loved is engaged to someone else. The first
act ends with Giselle collapsing in front of all the shocked villagers.
The second act is set at night, at Giselleʼs grave. Her spirit is summoned by a group of mean, female spirits called the Wilis. They are the
ghosts of women betrayed by their loved oneʼs before their wedding day, and they are out for revenge. These are mean ghosts all right,
and they mean business. When Hilarion arrives to mourn the death of poor Giselle, the Wilis makes him dance to the point of complete
exhaustion, and then throw him to die in a nearby lake. Not long after, Albrecht arrives to the grave. The Wilis, lead by their queen
Myrtha, sentences him to death as well. Albrecht is begging for forgiveness, but Myrtha refuses to listen. Giselle, though, still in love with
him, protects him from the mean ghosts when they force him to dance.
Day brakes, and the mean Wilis have to return to their graves. After a tear-breaking farewell, Giselle returns to her grave to rest in peace.
By not succumbing to feeling of vengeance and hatred, she has freed herself from the curse of the Wilis. Albrect, on the other side, is left
by the grave. Her love has saved him, but Iʼll guess he have some soul searching to do before he seduces another peasant girl for fun…
Facts on Giselle:
Rated R for minor violence, long second act white-ballet and mean-ass Wilis.
Choreographed by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot, revival by Marius Petipa
Music composed by Adolphe Adam
Premiered in Paris, the 28th of june 1841
The original cast was Carlotta Grisi as Giselle, and Lucien Petipa as Albrect.
The performance Giselle also plays a central role in the SYTYCD-disease known as Revenging Wili disorder
20
The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker is about, well, yes, itʼs a story of a nutcracker doll. Or rather the
story of the little girl that gets it. Sounds incredibly fascinating, doesnʼt it? Well, letʼs
go.
Weʼre set at a christmas party at the Stahlbaumsʼ. Clara, the daughter of the
Stahlbaumsʼ (such a catchy name!), and her brother Fritz are running around the
prominent guests, until their mystical godfather Herr Drosselmeyer arrives the
party, fashionable late. Charming as always, he brings gifts for all the kids, Clara
getʼs a nutcracker doll. Fritz gets jealous of Claraʼs new toy, and brakes it, but Herr
Drosselmeyer, now also handyman, fixes it with a handkerchief. He also bring three
real-sized dolls, that does their little dance, to great amusement for both kids, party
members and (supposedly) to the audience. In some versions of the ballet, he also
plays a puppet-show, telling the tale of the ballet to come. What a spoiler!
As the party end, the Stahlbaumsʼ retire to their bedrooms. Clara sneaks out of bed
to watch her new toy again, and just as the clock strikes midnight, the christmas
tree grows enormous, and a bunch of evil mice, led by their Mice King, appears.
The nutcracker also comes to life, and with his band of soldiers, they are protecting
Clara from the evil mice. A battle of huge (or was it tiny?) dimensions is fought, until
finally Clara throws her shoe at the Mice King, killing him instantly (those pointe
shoes, you know. Hard as hell). In some versions, this only paralyses the Mice King
long enough for the Nutcracker to stab him to death. Bottom line is: evil mice king
dies, and the other mice retreat the battle. Victory is a fact.
Upon defeating the mice king, Clara and her nutcracker prince (his name may
actually be nothing less than Prince Coqueluche, but thereʼs some confusion going
on here, Iʼll explain it all later. Letʼs just stick to Prince for now, shall we?) goes for a
travel to another world where dancing snowflakes and fairies awaits. Curtain falls.
Time for some snacks.
Lili Felmeri and Richard Szabó in The Nutcracker
In the second act, Clara and the Prince arrives the Land of the Sugar Plum Fairy,
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Sovereign of all sweets. They are greeted by the Fairy herself, who instantly holds a party celebrating her new guests. Several dances
are danced, like Russian, Arabian, Chinese and Spanish dance, a Walz of the flowers, and finally a grand pas de deux of the Sugar Plum
Fairy and her Cavalier – sometimes being the same Nutcracker Prince. Afterwards, they all dance a big-old happy finale, before the ballet
ends with little Clara waking up under the christmas tree with her Nutcraker toy in her arms. And thatʼs really all there is to it. In some
performances, we get to see the the prince taking Clara home in a santa-style flying sleigh, and supposedly, in the original ballet story,
Clara stays in lala-land to reign as a princess with her Prince Coqueluche.
Prince-Problem: Depending on what story one follow, you might have a little prince-problem following the Nutcracker plot. Letʼs clear
things up: In the original tale by E.T.A Hoffmann, the Sugar Plum Fairy has no partner or prince. The Nutcracker only turns into a prince
at the end of the tale, and marries Clara (or Mairie, as she is called Hoffmanns tale). No problem. But for staging a ballet, they needed a
prince to partner S-P-Fairy. This cavalier was named prince Coqueluche, and is therefore not the same prince as the Nutcracker doll
turns into, but a separate prince. In this variation of the plot, the Nutcracker in human form is called simply Nutcracker prince. Problems
comes in those versions where the Nutcracker prince it is the same dancer/character doing the grand pas de deux with Sugar Plum Fairy,
hence Prince Coqueluche. Is the dancer shaping two different roles in one performance, or is the Nutcracker Prince in fact having an
affair? Since this is all just a result of the fantasy of a little girl, I think weʼll pend it on just a slight confusion on her behalf. After all, she
has been traveling to alternate worlds, and seen live snowflakes and whatsnot. Not to forget that she snuck out of bed, hence not
sleeping a second tonight, no wonder if she mixes up the character-gallery a bit.
Cracked facts:
Premiered on 18th of December, 1892, as a double bill with a less famous Tchaikovsy opera, Iolanta.
Plot: Based E.T.A. Hoffmanns tale “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King”. The original story apparently is much more complex (doesnʼt
take much). The piece is typically staged around Christmas, and has become a tradition for families all over the world.
Choreography: Marius Petipa – or? Petipa started the choreography, but got sick, and his assistant, Lev Ivanov, continued the work. The
latter was earlier often credited as the choreographer, although it is under Petipaʼs famous name the piece is usually credited today).
Music: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Before the ballets premiere in 1892, Tchaikovsky selected 8 numbers from the score, and put them
together in a suite intended for concert performance. He named it The Nutcracker Suite, op. 71a. It was first performed under his own
conduction in march 1982 (ballet premiered in december), and became instantly popular. This has most of the honor for the music being
so internationally famous, as the ballet itself didnʼt really become popular until much later. The piece is noted for itʼs use of the instrument
Celesta (a picking type piano), giving the “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” itʼs typical ring. Celesta is also used elsewhere in the second
act.
Over-rehearsing the Nutcracker is the cause of a SYTYCD-disease known as Cracked Nuts disorder
22
Sources And Notes
All the pictures in this e-book are copyrighted by their owners, and not for further use without permission.
The Tights and Tiaras Logo is the property of the Tights and Tiaras Blog.
The drawing in the content-section is the property of Flickr user Elle Tulip.
The picture in Dictionary section is taken by photographer Jorgen Mathisen, all rights reserved.
All the pictures in the History section are taken from Wikipedia.org. They are copyrighted on various levels.
The picture of the Royal Opera House is taken by photographer Russ London.
The pictures in the Famous Ballets section are all taken by photographer Tamara Cerna, except from the Nutcracker picture, which is
taken by photographer Daniel Bolla. All rights reserved on all pictures.
The facts presented in the Famous Ballets section are taken from Wikipedia.org
All text in this e-book, including the ballet plots taken from the Tights and Tiaras column Bedtime Stories, is written by Henrik Lamark. Not
for further use without permission.
You are free to copy, distribute and transmit this e-book in it's original form, under the condition that the work is attributed to the author.
You may not render or in any way edit the look or content of this e-book.
© Henrik Lamark 2011 - All Rights Reserved
About the author:
Henrik Lamark is a professional ballet dancer, and the author of the Tights and Tiaras
blog. After recieving his Bachelor in classical ballet from the reknown Hungarian Dance
Academy in Budapest, he has danced for and with companies in both America, Europe
and China. His list of roles span from classical princes, through known modern
repertoire, to more contemporary works with promising, upcoming choreographers.
Read more about Henrik Lamark on Tights and Tiaras about page
23
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