Ballet

Ballet has its origins in Italy during the Renaissance and then in France in the 17th century. It was at the court of the 'Sun King' Louis XIV where balley reached its early height and where much of its technical terms derive from. French composers such as Rameau and Lully wrote ballet music and also incorporated it into their operas. Ballet was further developed and codified by the Frenchman Jean-Georges Noverre in the 18th century. Adam's Giselle (1841) was one of the first great ballets of the 19th century, followed by masterpieces by Minkus, Delibes, and especially Tchaikovsky. At the beginning of the 20th Century, the Ballets Russes, led by the impresario Sergei Diaghilev was responsible for re-invigorating the genre and had many fine dancers including the great Vaslav Nijinsky. Many 20th century composers have written for the ballet including Stravinsky, Prokofiev and Copland. Ballet has splintered into numerous styles over the centuries the most important of which is the French and Russian Schools. This process accelerated during the twentieth century with Neo-classicism, developed by the choreographer George Balanchine, becoming a dominant form. Jazz music and dancing has also been an influence. In the history of ballet the choreographer has often been as important as the composer and many have worked with the composer in a similar way as a librettist would do for an opera. Apart from Balanchine (who worked with Stravinsky) other notable classical choreographers include Frederick Ashton (Royal Ballet), Michel Fokine (Ballets Russe), Nijinsky (ditto), Martha Graham (Martha Graham Dance Company) and possibly the greatest of them all, Marius Pepita (Ballet of the Imperial Theatres). With the developement of film the legacy of many great 20th century ballet dancers has been preserved for posterity. Not Nijinsky though - all we have of photographs of his work as Diaghilev forbade any filming of the Ballets Russes as he feared the primitive technology would have not have done his ballet company full justice.

Key Works: Adam: Giselle, Copland: Appalachian Spring, Billy the Kid, Delibes: Coppelia, Sylvia, Glazunov: Raymonda, The Seasons, Khachaturian: Gayaneh, Spartacus, Milhaud: Le Boeuf sur le toit, La création du monde Minkus: La Bayadere, Don Quixote, Giselle: Prokofiev: Cinderella, Romeo & Juliet, Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé, Stravinsky: Petrushka, Pulcinella, Le sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake