The Prodigal Son By George Balanchine Essay

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The Prodigal son was choreographed by George Balanchine and performed in 1929, and was a work of his that is considered to be a strong story utilizing a lot of acrobatics. The movement displayed in the choreography displayed many types of movement, with modern being the basis. This particular work by Balanchine was considered to be in an “A-B-A” (Hunt 1982) form, due to the story line being an up, then a down, and then up again. If a spectator is familiar with the Biblical story of the Prodigal Son, one can see that the choreography portrayed the story very specifically, marking each part of the story, using the choreography and the movement of the body to portray the story. However, most of the choreography used in this particular ballet, …show more content…
It turns into one bald man holding the prodigal son and the other holding the siren. They have their legs wrapped around them as the prodigal son and the siren backbend bringing them upside down and facing. The bald men who are holding them then swing them side to side and flip them up into a standing in a bent leg position, with their legs slightly open, which then they are facing front and there is room enough for the bald men to crawl through each of the sons and the sirens legs. The siren runs off stage and the bald men proceed to circle around the prodigal son, with their legs bent, bodies leaned slightly forward, doing a hand movement waving their hands left to right in front of their faces, in an attempt to bully the prodigal son. The bald me spread out, and toss the prodigal son from corner to corner until he seems to be exhausted, but he stands back up, only to encounter the siren again. The prodigal son tries to run, but is taken captive by his friends who throw him back to the bald men up against a tall black wall. The bald me on both sides of the son each on a different level, and with straight arms and free flowing fingers raise their arms up and down as if putting the prodigal son in a trance. They then come along with his two friends, one at a time moving the arms up and down the …show more content…
As the bald men taunt him in a circular formation. They place him back on the wall, as the bald men and the two friends go back to play or gamble. This is shown in how they are all leaning forward with bent legs, walking into and out of a circle really quick. They also move their arms and hands in a shaking as if they are rolling dice or playing a card game. After this, one of the two friends, then stops to signal everyone in with a sharp arm movement of each arm, signaling to one side, and then the other until everyone is huddled in. They then proceed to interweave in and out of the circle with their hands together above their heads, as if they are paying reverence to something or someone. From the behind the wall comes one of the bald men, walking with the siren standing on his shoulders while still in the character of the plié. He then drops her off as she prowls through in a deep side lunge and makes her way

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