George Balanchine Russia's contribution to the great effervescence of ballet in the United States is complete and comprehensive. The master of this long alliance was undoubtedly George Balanchine, one of the greatest if not the greatest choreographer of the twentieth century. Born in St. Petersburg in 1904 in a family of artists from Georgia, Balanchine met ballet and music from the cradle. Trained at the School of Imperial Ballet of St. Petersburg in the best classical tradition, Balanchine…
The two choreographers draw from stripping down classical movements by investing in the possibilities of what ballet can become. Classical ballet is founded on principles of the body. Some distinctive features include turnout of the outward rotation of the legs, positions of the feet with emphasis on flexibility and the point of the foot. Some of Balanchine’s innovations of classical ballet include the action of the extended foot, the extension of hands to the end of the fingertips, the tilting…
Swan Lake has been performed throughout the world for more than a hundred years by major ballet companies and famous ballet dancers. It is a satisfying saga of love, longing, betrayal, death, and transcendence, brought to the stage with beautiful choreography and wonderful music. According to Juhasz, although companies have usually made changes to Petipa and Ivanov’s nineteenth-century choreography to suit the aesthetic of the time or a particular choreographer’s vision, all in all most versions…
Orin Richardson: Composer Biography Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov was born into a Russian noble family with an extensive history of military and government service on the 18th of March, 1844 in the small village of Tikhvin. Even though both of his parents were illegitimate children, his father, Andrei Petrovich Rimsky-Korsakov, used his connection with a Russian general to regain his family’s noble status, and later worked in the Interior Ministry of the Russian Empire. His older brother, Voin…
Queensland Ballet Sets Fire to Brisbane Stage By MacKenzie Smith The Queensland Ballet astonishes audiences once again during their adaptation of the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet production ‘The Firebird’. This mesmerising performance pulsated with character, emotion and spectacular choreography from The Royal Ballet choreographic award winner, Liam Scarlett. Laura Hidalgo and Rian Thompson, share a palpable erotic charge in Firebird. Picture: David Kelly The Firebird follows a…
Kaylea Erwin Von Rothbart’s evil spell Swan Lake ballet happened to be Tchaikovsky’s first ballet that he had ever done, and which is turned out to be one awesome ballet. Swan Lake was a timeless and outstanding story that has magic, romance, and tragedy all into four different acts of the show. Prince Siegfried was the swan princess who was named Odette. Odette enjoyed her days as a swan swimming by the lake that was full of tears under the spell of sorcerer. As it is in most fairy tail…
For this assignment i have chosen two dance production, coppelia and Poetry in Dance. Coppelia is based on a story by E.T.A. Hoffman. It is a three-act ballet that tells the light-hearted story of the mysterious Dr Coppélius who owns a beautiful life-sized mechanical doll. The show had original choreography by Arthur St. Léon, Coppélia is staged with additional choreography by Janek Schergen. The second performance that i had watched was a Chinese dance from Poi Ching School, Hwa Chong…
From the 20th Century Russian Ballet expanded exponentially with the help of advocates such as Sergei Diaghilev and the Ballet Russes. The ballet Russes produced many works Petroukcha is a Russian ballet which is first performed in 1911 choreographed by Michael Fokine. Fokine saw to it that many “key” principles of the classical ballet style abandoned to portray a tormented puppet named Petrouchka. The story takes place at a Russian spring fair in Admirality Square, St Petersburg. The story…
Battleship Potemkin Battleship Potemkin is a revolutionary film that was shot in 1925 with a political purpose as well as protecting the blacks from the Abortive Revolution. Potemkin film is paramount in watching since it gives an experience that transcends on its landmark and its milestone status. Its dazzling technique makes it unique, and the revolutionary service gives a lot experience to the viewers. In this case, the filmmaker was trying to inform us how the massacre on the Odessa steps…
Kristy Wittig 8th Grade Orchestra 2/23/18 February Composer of the Week: Igor Stravinsky Stravinsky was born from June 17, 1882 to April 6, 1971 (88 when died) in Oranienbaum. He was a Russian-born composer, pianist, and conductor. He was known as one of the most important and influential composers in the 20th century. His father, Fyodor Stravinsky (1843-1902) was a well known bass player and his mother Anna (1854-1939) was a native Kiev. Stravinsky had two wives. The first one was his first…