lat. ballo - I dance) - a type of stage art, the content of which is embodied in musical and choreographic images. It combines music, choreography, literary basis, visual arts (decorations, costumes, lighting). It originated in Italy at the end of the 15th century, but as an independent genre was formed by the 70s. 18th century
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BALLET
French ballet, from Italian. balletto), a type of stage art: a musical and choreographic theatrical performance in which all events, characters and feelings of the characters are conveyed through dance. A ballet performance is created by the joint efforts of the composer and choreographer, who develops the choreography and thinks through the movements of each actor. Ballet began to take shape in Europe in the 16th century. Its predecessors were theatrical festive processions and dances at court balls and knightly tournaments. During the Renaissance, musical performances were popular, which included pantomime, vocal and dance numbers. Ballet numbers were inserted into the first opera performances. As an independent form of performing arts, it developed in the second half. 18th century; flourished in the era of romanticism (Giselle, 1841, and Le Corsaire, 1856, A. Adana; Don Quixote by L. Minkus, 1869; choreographers F. Taglioni, J. Perrot, etc.).
In the 19th century Russian ballet moved to the first place in the world, which was facilitated by the music of P. I. Tchaikovsky, the high level of teaching in ballet schools, the talent and virtuosity of choreographers (Sh. dancers (A. I. Istomina, E. I. Andreyanova, E. A. Sankovskaya, M. F. Kshesinskaya, O. O. Preobrazhenskaya, etc.). Petipa's productions to Tchaikovsky's music have become classic examples of ballet performances for generations to come. At the turn of the 19th-20th centuries. Diaghilev's Russian Seasons in Paris became an important event in his artistic life. In the 20th century Russia retained its leading role in the field of ballet art (ballets Romeo and Juliet, 1936, and Cinderella, 1944, S. S. Prokofiev; The Golden Age by D. D. Shostakovich, 1930; Gayane, 1942 , and "Spartacus", 1954, A. I. Khachaturian; dancers V. V. Vasiliev, M. R. E. Liepa, R. Kh. Nureev, M. N. Baryshnikov; ballerinas O. V. Lepeshinskaya, G. S. Ulanova, M. M. Plisetskaya, M. T. Semenova, N. I. Bessmertnova, E. S. Maksimova, N. V. Pavlova, etc.). Outstanding choreographers of the 20th century. there were Frenchmen M. Bejart and R. Petit, immigrants from Russia S. Lifar (in France) and J. Balanchine (in America).
The art of dance in any of its directions is always a moving beauty. Its origins lie deep in history. Any rite, holiday, farewell to war in the ancient world was accompanied by various dances, individual elements of which are still found in one direction or another. Ballet is not only no exception, but is the clearest confirmation of this rule. ballet is known to everyone on this planet. Even children like to observe the unrealistic plasticity of the lightest hovering of figures on the stage.
The history of the origin of ballet
The emergence of ballet in its infancy dates back to the 8th-9th centuries, when Skomorokha dancers appeared in Kievan Rus. Their difference was that they were already professionals trained in dance skills. After Moscow became the capital of Rus', women also appeared in dances. Musical performances in masks amazed the imagination of all travelers coming to Russia.
Over time, closer to the 17th century, the dance became the final act in each performance. Orpheus is considered the first separate ballet performance, in which all the dances were learned by specially selected teenagers, who made up the first troupe of the royal ballet. In the Kremlin Theater, where the first performance was given, the first ballet theater appeared.
Thanks to the efforts of Peter I, dance became an obligatory science for the Russian elite, and professional dancers were revered and very popular. All the courtiers had to know what ballet was, every self-respecting intellectual considered it necessary to understand all the intricacies of this art form.
Unique Russian ballet
Russian ballet owes its emergence and establishment in the world to Empress Elizabeth I. It was solely through her efforts that the Academy of Ballet Art was first opened, and then in 1742, by decree, she established the first Russian professional ballet troupe. The stars of this troupe are the first professional dancers who studied at Her Majesty's Academy: Baskakova and Toporkov.
But over time, the entire ballet school became somewhat monotonous. Plotless disparate dances began to lose their popularity. As a result, the first plot productions arose in Russia in the 18th century, and here the Russian school was ahead of the European one by almost 20 years.
Until that moment, everyone knew what ballet was. with the performance of the obligatory set of pas, performed in beautiful costumes and to beautiful music. In the years of the Reformation, short productions with a single plot arose, and later Russian dramaturgy of ballet art appeared. A. Sumarokov became its founder, the first ballet performances based on his libretto were "New Lavra" and "Refuge of Virtue". By the end of the 18th century, almost all nobles had their own ballet serf troupes. The performances become public and gain more and more popularity.
From this moment begins the grandiose procession of the Russian ballet school on all stages of the world.
Modern Russian ballet
Having started its history a couple of centuries ago, the Russian ballet school still gives the world its discoveries and know-how in the field of dance. What is ballet, the performance can best tell.
And despite the fact that the traditions of Russian ballet have finally taken root and established themselves in the minds of the world community outside of Russia, no one disputes that the first place belongs to Russian dancers. and his "Russian Seasons" were the impetus that brought Russia to this pedestal.
Ballet is such a mysterious art that its popularity not only does not fall, but grows every day, increasing the number of fans. The names of the stars of the Russian ballet are known all over the world and not only to art historians. These are dancers whose talent can raise all emotions and impulses from the depths.
Ballet is a rather young art. It is a little over four hundred years old, although dance has been decorating human life since ancient times. Ballet was born in Northern Italy during the Renaissance. The Italian princes loved magnificent palace festivities, in which dance occupied an important place. Rural dances were not suitable for court ladies and gentlemen. Their robes, like the halls where they danced, did not allow for unorganized movement. Special teachers - dance masters - tried to put things in order in court dances. They rehearsed individual figures and movements of the dance with the nobles in advance and led groups of dancers. Gradually the dance became more and more theatrical.
The term "ballet" appeared at the end of the 16th century (from the Italian balletto - to dance). But then it did not mean a performance, but only a dance episode that conveys a certain mood. Such "ballets" usually consisted of little-connected "outputs" of characters - most often the heroes of Greek myths. After such "outputs" a common dance began - the "big ballet".
The first ballet performance was the Queen's Comedy Ballet, staged in France in 1581 by the Italian choreographer Baltazarini di Belgiojoso. It was in France that the further development of ballet took place. At first, these were masquerade ballets, and then pompous melodramatic ballets on chivalrous and fantastic plots, where dance episodes were replaced by vocal arias and recitation of poems. Do not be surprised, at that time the ballet was not only a dance performance.
During the reign of Louis XIV, the performances of the court ballet reached a special splendor. Louis himself loved to participate in ballets, and received his famous nickname "The Sun King" after playing the role of the Sun in the "Ballet of the Night".
In 1661 he created the Royal Academy of Music and Dance, which included 13 leading dancing masters. Their duty was to preserve the dance traditions. The director of the academy, the royal dance teacher Pierre Beauchamp, identified the five basic positions of classical dance.
Soon the Paris Opera was opened, the choreographer of which was the same Beauchamp. Under his leadership, a ballet troupe was formed. At first, it consisted of only men. Women appeared on the stage of the Paris Opera only in 1681.
The theater staged opera-ballets by the composer Lully and comedies-ballets by the playwright Molière. At first, courtiers took part in them, and the performances almost did not differ from palace performances. The already mentioned slow minuets, gavottes and pavanes were danced. Masks, heavy dresses, and high-heeled shoes made it difficult for women to perform complex movements. Therefore, men's dances were distinguished then by greater grace and grace.
By the middle of the 18th century, ballet was gaining great popularity in Europe. All the aristocratic courts of Europe sought to imitate the luxury of the French royal court. Opera houses opened in the cities. Numerous dancers and dance teachers easily found work.
Soon, under the influence of fashion, the women's ballet costume became much lighter and freer, the lines of the body were guessed under it. Dancers abandoned shoes with heels, replacing them with light heelless shoes. The men's costume also became less cumbersome: tight-fitting pantaloons to the knees and stockings made it possible to see the figure of the dancer.
Each innovation made dances more meaningful, and dance technique higher. Gradually, ballet separated from opera and turned into an independent art.
Although the French ballet school was famous for its grace and plasticity, it was characterized by a certain coldness and formality of performance. Therefore, choreographers and artists were looking for other means of expression.
At the end of the 18th century, a new trend in art was born - romanticism, which had a strong influence on ballet. In a romantic ballet, the dancer stood on pointe shoes. Maria Taglioni was the first to do this, completely changing the previous ideas about ballet. In the ballet "La Sylphide" she appeared as a fragile creature from the other world. The success was stunning.
At this time, many wonderful ballets appeared, but, unfortunately, the romantic ballet was the last heyday of dance art in the West. From the second half of the 19th century, ballet, having lost its former meaning, turned into an appendage to opera. Only in the 1930s, under the influence of Russian ballet, did the revival of this art form begin in Europe.
In Russia, the first ballet performance - "The Ballet of Orpheus and Eurydice" - was staged on February 8, 1673 at the court of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. Ceremonial and slow dances consisted of a change of graceful postures, bows and moves, alternating with singing and speech. He did not play any significant role in the development of stage dance. It was just another royal "fun" that attracted with its unusualness and novelty.
Only a quarter of a century later, thanks to the reforms of Peter I, music and dance entered the life of Russian society. Compulsory dance training was introduced into noble schools. Musicians discharged from abroad, opera artists and ballet troupes began to perform at the court.
In 1738, the first ballet school in Russia was opened, and three years later 12 boys and 12 girls from the palace servants became the first professional dancers in Russia. At first, they performed in the ballets of foreign masters as figurants (as the corps de ballet dancers were called), and later in the main parts. The remarkable dancer of that time, Timofey Bublikov, shone not only in St. Petersburg, but also in Vienna.
At the beginning of the 19th century, Russian ballet art reached its creative maturity. Russian dancers brought expressiveness and spirituality to the dance. Feeling this very accurately, A. S. Pushkin called the dance of his contemporary Avdotya Istomina "a flight filled with soul."
Ballet at that time occupied a privileged position among other types of theatrical art. The authorities paid great attention to it, provided state subsidies. Moscow and St. Petersburg ballet troupes performed in well-equipped theaters, and graduates of theater schools annually replenished the staff of dancers, musicians and decorators.
In the history of our ballet theatre, there are often the names of foreign masters who played a significant role in the development of Russian ballet. First of all, these are Charles Didelot, Arthur Saint-Leon and Marius Petipa. They helped create the Russian ballet school. But talented Russian artists also made it possible to reveal the talents of their teachers. This invariably attracted the largest choreographers of Europe to Moscow and St. Petersburg. Nowhere in the world could they meet such a large, talented and well-trained troupe as in Russia.
In the middle of the 19th century, realism came to Russian literature and art. Choreographers feverishly, but to no avail, tried to create realistic performances. They did not take into account that ballet is a conditional art and realism in ballet differs significantly from realism in painting and literature. The crisis of ballet art began.
A new stage in the history of Russian ballet began when the great Russian composer P. Tchaikovsky first composed music for the ballet. It was Swan Lake. Prior to that, ballet music was not taken seriously. She was considered the lowest form of musical creativity, just an accompaniment to dancing.
Thanks to Tchaikovsky, ballet music became a serious art along with opera and symphony music. Previously, music was completely dependent on dance, now dance had to obey music. New means of expression and a new approach to creating a performance were required.
The further development of Russian ballet is connected with the name of the Moscow choreographer A. Gorsky, who, having abandoned the outdated techniques of pantomime, used the techniques of modern directing in a ballet performance. Attaching great importance to the pictorial design of the performance, he attracted the best artists to work.
But the true reformer of ballet art is Mikhail Fokin, who rebelled against the traditional construction of a ballet performance. He argued that the theme of the performance, its music, the era in which the action takes place, each time require different dance movements, a different dance pattern. When staging the ballet "Egyptian Nights" Fokine was inspired by the poetry of V. Bryusov and ancient Egyptian drawings, and the images of the ballet "Petrushka" were inspired by the poetry of A. Blok. In the ballet "Daphnis and Chloe" he abandoned pointe dancing and in free, plastic movements revived ancient frescoes. His "Chopiniana" revived the atmosphere of romantic ballet. Fokin wrote that he "dreams of creating a ballet-drama from ballet-fun, from dance - an understandable, speaking language." And he succeeded.
In 1908, the annual performances of Russian ballet dancers in Paris began, organized by the theater figure S. P. Diaghilev. The names of dancers from Russia - Vaslav Nijinsky, Tamara Karsavina, Adolf Bolm - became known all over the world. But the first in this row is the name of the incomparable Anna Pavlova.
Pavlova - lyrical, fragile, with elongated body lines, huge eyes - evoked engravings depicting romantic ballerinas. Her heroines conveyed a purely Russian dream of a harmonious, spiritualized life or longing and sadness for an unfulfilled one. The Dying Swan, created by the great ballerina Pavlova, is a poetic symbol of Russian ballet at the beginning of the 20th century.
It was then, under the influence of the skill of Russian artists, that Western ballet shook itself and gained a second wind.
After the October Revolution of 1917, many figures of the ballet theater left Russia, but despite this, the school of Russian ballet survived. The pathos of the movement towards a new life, revolutionary themes, and most importantly the scope for creative experiment inspired the ballet masters. Their task was to bring choreographic art closer to the people, to make it more vital and accessible.
This is how the genre of dramatic ballet arose. These were performances, usually based on the plots of well-known literary works, which were built according to the laws of a dramatic performance. The content in them was presented with the help of pantomime and pictorial dance. In the middle of the 20th century, dramatic ballet was in crisis. The choreographers made attempts to preserve this genre of ballet, enhancing the spectacle of the performances with the help of stage effects, but, alas, in vain.
In the late 1950s, a turning point came. Choreographers and dancers of a new generation have revived forgotten genres - one-act ballet, ballet symphony, choreographic miniature. And since the 1970s, independent ballet troupes have arisen, independent of opera and ballet theaters. Their number is constantly increasing, among them there are studios of free dance and modern dance. But the academic ballet and the school of classical dance are still leading in our country.
THIS IS INTERESTING
In the ballets of the past, there was a whole system of symbols. If an artist, for example, stroked his forehead with the edge of his hand, implying that he had a crown on his head, this meant "king"; folded his arms crosswise on his chest, which means "died"; pointed to the ring finger of the hand, where they usually wear a ring - "I want to get married" or "married"; began to make wave-like movements with his hands, which means he "sailed on a ship" and so on. Of course, all these gestures were understandable only to choreographers, artists and a handful of balletomanes - regular visitors to ballets.
What is ballet, history of ballet
“We want not just to dance, but to speak with dance”
G. Ulanova
The amazing, beautiful and multifaceted world of ballet will not leave anyone indifferent. For the first time this word was heard in Italy, the genre itself originated in France, in addition, ballet is the real pride of Russia, moreover, in the 19th century it was the Russian performance created by P.I. Tchaikovsky became a true example.
Read about the history and significance of this genre in the cultural enrichment of a person on our page.
What is ballet?
This is a musical and theatrical genre in which several types of art are closely intertwined. Thus, music, dance, painting, dramatic and visual arts are combined with each other, building a well-coordinated performance that unfolds before the public on the theater stage. Translated from Italian, the word "ballet" means - "I dance."
When did ballet originate?
The first mention of ballet dates back to the 15th century; there is evidence that the court dance teacher Domenico da Piacenza proposed to combine several dances for the next ball, writing a solemn finale for them and designating them as ballet.
However, the genre itself arose a little later in Italy. The year 1581 is recognized as the starting point, it was at this time in Paris that Baltazarini staged his performance based on dance and music.In the 17th century, mixed performances (opera-ballet) gained popularity. At the same time, more importance in such productions is given to music, and not to dance. Only thanks to the reformist work of the choreographer from France, Jean Georges Nover, the genre acquires a classical outline with its own “choreographic language”.
Formation of the genre in Russia
Information has been preserved that the first performance of "The Ballet of Orpheus and Eurydice" was presented in February 1673 at the court of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. The talented choreographer Charles-Louis Didelot made a great contribution to the formation of the genre. However, the famous composer is considered to be a real reformer. P.I. Tchaikovsky
. It is in his work that the formation of romantic ballet takes place. P.I. Tchaikovsky paid special attention to music, turning it from an accompanying element into a powerful tool that helps the dance subtly capture and reveal emotions and feelings. The composer transformed the form of ballet music and also built a unified symphonic development.The work of A. Glazunov also played a significant role in the development of ballet (“ Raymond
”), I. Stravinsky (“ Firebird
", "Sacred spring", " Parsley
”), as well as the work of choreographers M. Petipa
, L. Ivanova, M. Fokina. Creativity stands out in the new century S. Prokofieva
, D. Shostakovich, R. Gliera
, A. Khachaturian.
In XX, composers begin their quest to overcome stereotypes and set rules.
Who is a ballerina?
Ballerinas used to be called not everyone who dances in ballet. This is the highest title that dancers received after reaching a certain amount of artistic merit, as well as a few years after working in the theater. Initially, everyone who graduated from the Theater School was accepted as corps de ballet dancers, with rare exceptions - soloists. Some of them managed to achieve the title of ballerina after two or three years of work, some only before retirement.
Main Components
The main components of the ballet are classical dance, characteristic dance and pantomime.Classical dance originates in France. It is incredibly plastic and elegant. Solo dances are called variations and adagios. For example, the well-known Adagio from the ballet by P. I. Tchaikovsky. Moreover, these numbers can be in ensemble dances.
In addition to the soloists, the corps de ballet takes part in the action, which creates mass scenes.
Often the dances of the corps de ballet are characteristic. For example, "Spanish Dance" from "Swan Lake". This term refers to folk dances introduced into the performance.
Films about ballet
Ballet is a very popular art form, which is also reflected in cinema. There are many beautiful paintings about ballet that can be divided into three broad categories:
- Documentaries are a captured ballet performance, thanks to which you can get acquainted with the work of great dancers.
- Film-ballet - such films also show the performance itself, but the action is no longer on the stage. For example, the tape "Romeo and Juliet" (1982), directed by Paul Zinner, where the famous R. Nureyev and K. Fracci played the main roles; "The Tale of the Humpbacked Horse" (1961), where the main role was played by Maya Plisetskaya.
- Feature films related to ballet. Such films allow you to immerse yourself in the world of this art and sometimes the events in them unfold against the backdrop of a performance, or they tell about everything that happens in the theater. Among such films, Proscenium, an American film directed by Nicholas Hytner, which the public saw in 2000, deserves special attention.
- Separately, biographical paintings should be mentioned: “Margot Fontaine” (2005), “Anna Pavlova” and many others.
It is impossible to ignore the picture of 1948 "The Red Shoes" directed by M. Powell and E. Pressburger. The film introduces the audience to the performance based on Andersen's famous fairy tale and immerses the audience into the world of ballet.
Director Stephen Daldry in 2001 presented to the public the tape "Billy Elliot". It tells the story of an 11-year-old boy from a mining family who decides to become a dancer. He gets a unique chance and enters the Royal Ballet School.
The film Giselle Mania (1995), directed by Alexei Uchitel, will introduce viewers to the life of the legendary Russian dancer Olga Spesivtseva, who was nicknamed Red Giselle by her contemporaries.
In 2011, the sensational film "The Black Swan" by Darren Aronofsky was released on television, which shows the life of the ballet theater from the inside.
Contemporary ballet and its future
Modern ballet differs greatly from classical ballet in bolder costumes and free dance interpretation. The classics included very strict movements, in contrast to the modern, which is most appropriately called acrobatic. A lot in this case depends on the chosen theme and the idea of the performance. Based on it, the director already chooses a set of choreographic movements. In modern performances, movements can be borrowed from national dances, new directions in plastic arts, and ultramodern dance trends. The interpretation is also made in a new way, for example, the sensational production of Matthew Byrne "Swan Lake", in which the girls were replaced by men. The works of the choreographer B. Eifman are a real philosophy in dance, since each of his ballets contains a deep meaning. Another trend in the modern performance is the blurring of the boundaries of the genre, and it would be more correct to call it multi-genre. It is more symbolic than the classical one, and uses many quotes and references. Some performances use the montage principle of construction, and the production consists of disparate fragments (frames), which together form a common text.
In addition, throughout modern culture there is a huge interest in various remakes, and ballet is no exception. Therefore, many directors are trying to make the audience look at the classic version from the other side. New readings are welcome, and the more original they are, the more success awaits them.
Pantomime is an expressive game with the help of gestures and facial expressions.
In modern productions, choreographers expand the established framework and boundaries, in addition to classical components, gymnastic and acrobatic numbers are added, as well as modern dancing (modern, free dance). This trend emerged in the 20th century and has not lost its relevance.
Ballet- a complex and multifaceted genre in which several types of art are closely intertwined. The graceful movements of the dancers, their expressive play and the enchanting sounds of classical music cannot leave anyone indifferent. Just imagine how the ballet will decorate the holiday, it will become a real gem of any event.
kind of performing arts. The specificity of ballet is the transfer of content by means of dance, in musical and choreographic images. As a rule, music is composed by composers specifically for a given ballet on the basis of a literary script (libretto).
European ballet, whose homeland is Italy, began to take shape in the Renaissance. It was finally formed in the 18th century.
In Russia, ballet performances have become regular since the 30s of the 18th century. Mastering the experience of foreign choreographers, studying the folk culture of dance, Russian artists gradually created an original style of performance, an original school of dance, which finally took shape in the second half of the 19th century. The pinnacle of this art of the 19th century was the work of Russian choreographers M. Petipa and L. Ivanov, who created the style of academic ballet ("Swan Lake", "The Nutcracker", "Sleeping Beauty").
Great Definition
Incomplete definition ↓
BALLET
fr.-ballet, from late Latin. ballo-dancing) - a type of musical theater. The specificity of B. is the transfer of content by means of dance, in musical and choreographic images (Choreography). B. - synthetic art: its content, along with dance, is determined by the script, music and theatrical means of expression (design, directing, acting); sometimes it can include vocals - both as independent numbers, and as an additional or only musical accompaniment. As a result of interaction with cinematography, a new genre is currently being born - film ballet. The nature of B. is dual: on the one hand, it gravitates towards music and the corresponding methods of expressiveness, on the other hand, it develops as a theatrical art. The history of B. knows the periods when K.-l. from two beginnings it became the leading one, determining the originality of the performances created at that time and their genre: from dance symphony to choreodrama. As a rule, music is composed by a composer specifically for a given B. on the basis of a literary script, less often it is selected from ready-made works. In the traditional European culture B. along with classical and folk-characteristic dance, pantomime can be used. In the XX century. The material for creating choreographic images is also “free dance”, “modern” dance, other types of dance or elements of them in combination with classical dance. European B., whose homeland is Italy, began to take shape in the Renaissance. Later appeared in England, Austria, France. It finally took shape in the 18th century. In Russia, ballet performances have become regular since the 1930s. 18th century Mastering the experience of foreign choreographers, studying folk choreographic culture, Rus. dance masters gradually created an original style of performance, rus. national dance school, which finally took shape in the second half of the 19th century. The pinnacle of the ballet theater of the XIX century. was the creativity of the Russian. choreographers M. I. Petipa and L. I. Ivanov, who created the style of academic ballet (Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Raymonda, The Nutcracker). Complex symphonic forms of classical dance appeared, and B. met with the music of the symphonic composers P. I. Tchaikovsky and A. K. Glazunov. By the beginning of the XX century. B. entered the treasury of the national Russian. culture, while the ballet theater in the West fell into decay, degenerated into an entertaining spectacle. Foreign tours rus. B. at that time (the Paris seasons of S. P. Diaghilev) were, in essence, the rediscovery of this type of art for Western viewers, gave impetus to the revival of B. in many countries. Soviet B. inherited all the best from Russian. B., developed his achievements, proposed new ideological and aesthetic principles. Based on Russian B. were born national B. of the Union republics, together with him making up the multinational Soviet ballet art.
