When is ballet going to expand its' choreographic concept? It's obvious that jazz and hip hop have developed a hybrid by using concert concepts of space and time. Ballet depends on story-telling, but only looks to fairy tales to convey an idea. Why not use epic theater? Greek tragedy, Shakespeare, Harold Pinter, Tennessee Williams, and the list of suggestions goes on and on. Ballet needs to stop relying on Balanchine to express contemporary substance. Space, time, and movement invention should be reexamined and discovered anew. Ballet choreographers should have a personal investment in the work.
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I agree with your original
I agree with your original post. All dance should be able to move beyond the realm of space and time and the ideal form/line on stage, there should be sustenance to a piece of art work. You don't have to rely on old school fairy tales to create a good choreographic work. Ballet has been trapped in an elitist bubble for many years and the expansion of this genre is going to take work for sure. One should be able to take something meaningful away, no matter what that may be from a choreographic work.
ALL SWEET ANDY, now.....you
ALL SWEET ANDY, now.....you hit the "nail on the head" and thanks for bringing up the "training". ALL NEW MATERIAL COMES FROM A NEW FOUNDATION, a new vocabulary (if you will), THEN comes the choreography. And, yes, truly, everything old is new again. There really is only 7 plots (EVER) in literature, in drama, in life.
Technique by itself (for itself) is boring. Passion by itself (for itself) is chaos. The two MUST be bound to each others efforts for a balanced art exhibit. So, yes, create (re-create) vocabulary, then the choreography will issue forth.
I want to respond to "explanation of origin"paragraph. The way I see it...The teacher is very important in the development of technique and the range of knowledge that a dancer must bring to the fore. All teachers that have been given the blessings of the "role" are obligated to, but possibly forget to include in the dialogue, that ALL INFORMATION IS PROGRESSIVE, that the best training in the new world of dance is to give one's dancer the understanding of PAST/PRESENT/FUTURE and the idea of CHOICE/OPTION. Present balance is realized and expressed for the future by weighing one's options from past, informed choices.
An added thought... the more we "master the technique" the more we leave the art behind. I think that's where the material "leaves" me. The movement invention is superficial to the possibilities of the expression. The "choreography" in general, is not investigated enough...define/re-define/refine...never happens (in my opinion).
Hm, well for ME to assume
Hm, well for ME to assume that I knew enough history or enough about choreography in any style would be overly ambitious and certainly foolish of me (to respond back cleverly enough)! But re-creating ballet? I guess I don't understand what it is you would like to re-create about it aside from meaning that we should invest more time into pursuing material using the tools and technique in existence for it. In that case! OF COURSE THAT WOULD BE MARVELOUS!
I will say, however, the traditional ballets are amazing and are tailored to every new dancer's personal technique, which is truly becoming a wonder in itself! Go from one original dancer doing 32 fouettes (excuse my atrocious spelling) to now a newer dancer doing a variation on that sequence. It's astonishing the limitless goals we have and how much better the technique in the new generation of dancers is.
And, I suppose, that saying THAT in itself is also lending an ear to your question. The more and more we find ourselves mastering the technique and tightening up at a younger age, the less and less the teachers are needed. I myself find that due to having taken so many ballet techniques through various workshops, schools, individual teachers, etc. I was having to pick/ choose and develop my own technique from what I was supplied with. To this day I couldn't tell you what was what that I learned at neither ballet OR jazz. I just did as I was told with no real explanation as to it's origin.
Maybe that is a probable next step for the re-creation in ballet. A combination of the different techniques, a "mutt" if you will to supply to the newest generation of dancers, and THEN the development of newer works instead of the application to the traditional. Not scrapping in any sense, but instead a new traditional! :-P
Please do forgive me if I completely missed the point in this one, I am just replying in a whim, although I do gain SO much by forums such as this one. And thank you so much for your time on this subject matter, it makes ME better at what I do because it keeps me thinking!
;-)
OK Andy, Cool, now we're
OK Andy, Cool, now we're talking!!!!......The HYBRIDS are brilliant (and happening in ALL genres) and I'm thrilled to be experiencing this generation of dance. I've been around lots of dance style and been around a long time....I am truly THRILLED at the developments. (Although I will say that jazz has gained in contemporary line and spacial awareness, but LOST in height/jumps)....but, let's back to the point:
Ballet IS keeping "same" to protect it's legitimacy, of which I agree to do as regards to technique. It's imperative that ballet maintain the (very long, arduous effort) MIND of technique. It's actually quite BRILLIANT in it's exploration and development, none like it. It is THE UNDERSTANDING of the INSTRUMENT>>>>>>except>>>except>>>except for the Graham technique (Martha for those that don't know...yet).
Graham brings me to my next statement....Graham developed an entire VOCABULARY to give a new LANGUAGE to movement, not; hybrid, used, re-examined, stolen!!! Where are the new artist with new developments in vocabulary to express the conditions we all experience? Movement formula. Martha developed a TECHNIQUE not a style......and if any one out there says what about Balanchine or Fosse, you don't know what you're talking about....they both NEVER developed a separate vocabulary of technique to support their choreographic ideas and compositions. Balanchine was aware of and used perfectly understood composition (space/time/etc) BUT only quickened the barre, and Fosse borrowed everything from Cole (the REAL father of jazz).......If you have objections to this statement, you'll have to call me on this via cell phone, 'cuz it's too lengthy for a typed blurb:)
My question: IS THERE A WAY FOR BALLET TO BECOME RE-CREATED?
I work form the forms that are in my being, ballet/graham (very much like the original Netherlands Ballet material) and try to inter-work the SCULPTING of LINE, TRANSITION, and SHAPE for my own aesthetic hybrid. I just wish that ballet would invest in more poignant material. If I could really find the way (company, money, time, brain) to bring to light the human condition, the human motivation, the paths that make themselves available to us, I almost think I would be dumbstruck! Good God, nee another Nutcracker??? Really!!!
You've got me teased, Andy, and my moth can't keep up with my brain! Come back "at me"...L
That was a great response
That was a great response Andy! Wow!
On The Formula: What has
On The Formula:
What has been apparent to me is that ballet has evolved into many different styles of dance, and I know that is an obvious roundabout statement, but it truly has. It has sprung off into the modern, contemporary, and jazz choreography that we use today and has had influences from other cultures and forms of dance to create even MORE forms, or should I say STYLES of dance!
If you take a look at the new form of hip- hop that is emerging, you can see traces of contemporary in it. It definitely explores other art forms to keep it a liberating form of dance. Maybe we did it backwards as dancers! We inspired individuals to find their own style, and that's what we ended up with! A plethora of styles based off one form of dance! Perhaps this is why it is kept so traditional: to keep it from losing it's legitimacy. You can only do a fendu so many ways before it becomes just another combination of movements (AKA "steps"). Maybe now we have to resort to breaking the rules in strict ballet a little bit! UTILIZE the behemoth of styles we have to explore creating more options for choreography and story- telling. Use the same formula with different antidotes.
On The Subject Matter:
I can agree with you! Ballet should expand from the traditional and break it's boundaries (if that is what you were implying to begin with). Hence! My babbling on in the first section of this response! (Sorry :-P)
Currently we are seeing a choreographic progression, but I do not think that there are enough brilliant minds out there who are shifting their focus to it other than to maintain strong dance technique. LA of course has an astounding amount of influence on what dancers want to learn and choreograph. Currently the trend is contemporary. And why not? It's a great form of expression and in my experience/ opinion, the easiest way to break in a new dancer to the art of dancing (respectively). One doesn't need years of training to begin as a contemporary dancer because the focus is on natural human movement fused into technique.
In short: ballet choreography suffers due to a lack of attention to improve on it. The young look for what is in (and I am of course guilty of that myself). However, also knowing from experience and experimentation, it's hard to diverge from the traditional path. I taught ballet at my dance studio (for students who had hardly had ballet classes but were advanced jazz dancers) in the form of "lyrical" so that I could use modern music to influence their movement. All of a sudden, they were thinking of it as what THEY knew as dance as opposed to "Monday night 4PM...yikes!"
Time to spoon feed it back into the system I suppose!
(Sorry for the crazy response!!!)
First...Anthony, you're one
First...Anthony, you're one of the most eloquent expressers of the written word I have been fortunate enough to come across in a really long time!
Second...Matthew Borne...at least he is hitting us with, if nothing else, new versions and new spins on the classics. He still utilizes enough of the familiar to hopefully appeal to older viewers while integrating some forward thinking movement and concepts to likely appeal to the up-and-comers (can we say 'all-male swan lake', ladies? ;)
And now he's playing with newer stories that, while still having the fairy-tale feel are definitely more current in nature...aka Edward Scissorhands
Whether you enjoy his take on the ballet or not, perhaps he can be an example for others to diverge from what has gone before while still maintaining the integrity of the medium at hand.
Or what about the time that Britney Spears danced with that snake around her neck at that award show...oh wait, sorry i was momentarily hit in the head with the stupid stick...k i'm better now...
Yes, I agree. Do you
Yes, I agree. Do you remember the article that L.A Times dance critic Lewis Segal wrote on Ballet?
Ouch! But I think there is some truth to what he is saying. Dont get me wrong, I personally love the classics. La Bayadere is one of my favorite Ballets of all time. It was Tetsuya Kamakawas, golden idol that got me to recognize the strength and power of a man in ballet. Now as timeless as that is, I do think it would be really cool to update the Golden Idol sequence with a little Jaaaaazzzz!
Perhaps it is up to us to be
Perhaps it is up to us to be the change we want to see in ballet. What we see and what we've seen is exaclty that - past. In the now, we have the power, creativity and - most importantly, the means and wherewithall to push the evolution. When I say the 'means', i refer to new and upcoming, younger, dance students. Yes, many will go on and want to work with classical ballet - and yes, we do provide this for them. However, this can be our muse and media for exploration of the non-classical/non-story-telling - cookie-cutter ballet. Henceforth, these students will progress, evelove and take this experience forward into their professional lives and provide a more mature and expanded version of this 'new ballet'.
What better time to begin with such an experiment like this, but now? With dance peaking in the media and saturated on television... the 'outside of the box' or even 'there is no box' thinking, will propel the next generation of ballet dancers (and dancers in general) to the next level.
I hope I have not fallen off-subject here, but I'm sure we can all agree that to understand contemporary works and to feel comfortable with the difference between that and classical, the run-of-the-mill must be a part of every dancer's training and must continue on.
Tara! This is a great
Tara! This is a great question..."why does ballet have to be about story-telling at all...?" I am of the mind that the human condition is experienced by all of us (redundant- we are human, it is our experience). That we express, retell, and rejuvenate our experiences in order to survive. It is a primal sharing. There are many reasons that the human emotion is a relived.The expression is necessary through art, in symmetrical form as well as asymmetrical, in linear form or juxtaposed, in story telling or abstract.
I don't believe, artistically, it is a cultural inclination. Ballet's use of fairy-tale plots began with the first hundred years of ballet...I don't think America was around:)....it's just that there is this "stay put to what works" attitude. You see it in the film industry...it makes money!
When will the audience be granted a position of intelligence? That's my next question:)
Thanks for your thoughts! Cheers-L
Why does ballet have to be
Why does ballet have to be about story-telling at all in this day-n-age? or Is it that the US seems to keep ballet traditional story-telling? If you look at European artists/choreographers they seem to combine the concepts of modern and ballet. Or is it just me?
oh, here's the link to the
oh, here's the link to the News page: http://www.danceplug.com/news/world-dance-news-canada
Check out our news page :-)
Check out our news page :-) There's a link to an article about a ballet company performing Shakespeare's King Lear, in Canada.
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