Ballet appeared in Positions of classical dance

Introduction. 3

1. Ballet before 1900 4

1.1. The origin of ballet as a court spectacle. 4

1.2. Ballet in the Age of Enlightenment. 5

1.3. Romantic ballet. 7

2. Ballet 20th century 9

2.1. Russian ballet S.P. Diaghilev. 9

2.2. Ballet in the USA.. 10

3. World ballet. 12

3.1. Great Britain. 12

3.2. Soviet Russia and other countries.. 13

3.3. France. 14

Germany. 15

Conclusion. 16

List of references.. 18

Ballet - view theatrical art, where the main expressive means is the so-called "classical" (historically established, subject to a strict code of rules) dance; stage work belonging to this type of art.

The plot of the ballet is presented in the libretto (scenario). Based on the libretto, music is written that expresses the emotional and semantic content of the work, then dance and pantomime scenery and costumes are created. A screenwriter, composer, choreographer and artist take part in the creation of the ballet. Ballets are also plotless, where the choreography expresses exclusively the content of the music. Quite often, the ballet uses music that was not originally intended by the composer for dance (Scheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov, Carnival by Schumann, etc.). Dance is the main ingredient ballet performance. The ballet includes classical dances and characteristic dances, ballroom, folk, in some cases acrobatic and rhythmic-plastic Ghanaians. There are performances built only on classical or only on characteristic dance, but in modern Western ballet.

Ballet originated at the princely courts of Italy during the Renaissance and, as its popularity grew and its technique improved, it spread throughout Europe, and later also conquered Northern and South America, Asia and Australia.

For most of the 18th century ballet developed mainly in Italy; at the beginning of the 19th century France became famous for its ballet troupes, and later Russia. In the 20th century ballet occupied a firm place on the stages of the USA (especially in New York), Great Britain and the Soviet Union.

The purpose of the essay is to trace the history of the emergence and development of ballet as a type of theatrical art.

The task is to study and analyze the literature on the topic of the essay.

1. Ballet before 1900

1.1. The origin of ballet as a court spectacle

At the end of the Middle Ages, the Italian princes paid great attention magnificent palace festivities. Dance occupied an important place in them, which created a need for professional dance masters.

The skill of the early Italian dance teachers impressed the noble French who accompanied the army of Charles VIII when, in 1494, he entered Italy, presenting his claim to the throne of the kingdom of Naples. As a result, Italian dancing masters began to be invited to the French court. The dance flourished in the era of Catherine de Medici, wife of Henry II (reigned 1547–1559) and mother of Charles IX (reigned 1560–1574) and Henry III(reigned 1574–1589). At the invitation of Catherine de Medici, the Italian Baldasarino di Belgiojoso (in France he was called Balthazar de Beaujoieux) staged court performances, the most famous of which was called the Queen's Comedy Ballet (1581) and is usually considered the first in history musical theater ballet performance. During the reign of three French kings - Henry IV (1533-1610), Louis XIII (1601-1643) and Louis XIV (1638-1715) - dance teachers showed themselves both in the field of ballroom dancing, and in those of its forms that developed in within the court ballet. In England in the same era, i.e. in the reign of Elizabeth I, there was a similar process, which found expression in the productions of the so-called. masks at court in Whitehall. In Italy, technology professional dance continued to enrich itself, the first works on dance appeared (Il Ballarino by Fabrizio Caroso, 1581 and Le Gratie d "Amore by Cesare Negri, 1602).

In the middle of the 17th century. there has been a departure from the strict forms inherent in court ballet. ballet dancers they now performed on a stage raised above the level of the hall and separated from the audience, as was the case, for example, in the theater built by Cardinal Richelieu at the beginning of the 17th century. This theater is Italian style was located in his palace and had a proscenium, which opened up additional opportunities for creating stage illusion and spectacular effects. So it was produced purely theatrical form dance.

During the reign of Louis XIV, the performances of the court ballet reached a special splendor both in Paris and in Palace of Versailles. The "Sun King" appeared, in particular, as the Sun in the Ballet of the Night (1653).

Many features of ballet dances that have survived to this day are explained by the origin of ballet, the behavioral style of its first performers - courtiers trained in noble manners. All the nobles were familiar with the art of fencing, and many of its techniques were used in dances: for example, “eversion”, i.e. the position of the legs in which they are turned outward from the hip to the foot. The obligatory positions of the legs, head and arms in ballet also resemble those of swordsmen.

In 1661, Louis XIV created the Royal Academy of Music and Dance, which united 13 leading dance masters who were called upon to observe dance traditions.

1.2. Ballet in the Age of Enlightenment

In the 18th century Both styles of dance developed rapidly - noble and virtuoso. In the field of theatrical dance, masters appeared who formed their own individual style. Along with Dupré, it was the brilliant Gaetan Vestris (1729–1808), the highly technical Pierre Gardel (1758–1840) and the innovator Auguste Vestris (1760–1842), distinguished by his unusual appearance and phenomenal elevation (i.e., the ability to jump high). The simpler and lighter clothes that came into fashion on the eve of the French Revolution gave more freedom to perform pirouettes and drifts (special jumping movements), and their fascination became universal, which annoyed the adherents of the tradition.

However, even more essential for the development of ballet than the growth of technology, was the new attitude towards this art, generated by the Enlightenment. There was a separation of ballet from opera, a the new kind theatrical performance where dance and pantomime were expressive means. Jean Georges Noverre (1727-1810) was the most significant choreographer of this trend, not only an innovative practitioner, but also the author of very convincing publications. His Letters on Dance and Ballets (1760) laid aesthetic foundations the art of ballet, and many of his statements do not lose their significance even today. Noverre became famous as the director of many ballets d "action," effective ballets "(that is, ballets with a plot) in Stuttgart in the 1760s, and in 1776 he was invited as a choreographer to the Paris Opera. Having overcome considerable difficulties, he managed to approve the ballet How independent form performance at this famous opera house.

Ballet began to spread throughout Europe. By the middle of the 18th century. princely courts everywhere sought to imitate the luxury of Versailles, at the same time in many cities opened opera houses, so that dancers and dance teachers, of which there were more and more, easily found a use for themselves. Not only in France, but also in other countries, choreographers proposed innovations important for the development of ballet. In Austria, Franz Hilferding (1710–1768) was one of the first to create productions where the plot was presented by means of facial expressions and dance. The Italian teacher, Gennaro Magri, published a detailed textbook of theatrical dance, which he became in last years before the fall of the old regime in France.

When the revolution of 1789 broke out, ballet had already established itself as special kind in art. The audience got used to the conventions of stage mimicry, and the dance, under the influence of the ideas of the Enlightenment, freed itself from the artificiality that Noverre fought against. Ballet was no longer perceived as a phenomenon of court life.

Russian influence manifested itself in the fact that Charles Louis Didelot, who had previously worked as a choreographer in St. Petersburg, was invited to stage his most famous ballet Flora and Zephyr (music by C.A. Cavos) at the Paris Opera. Returning to St. Petersburg and having worked there for several years, Didelot left to the theater not only a huge new repertoire, including ballets on Russian subjects, as Prisoner of the Caucasus(music by Kavos, 1823), but also the high level of teaching at the ballet school, which would later be recognized as the best in the world.

In the 1790s, under the influence modern fashion, the women's ballet costume has become much lighter and freer, so that under it the lines of the body were guessed; at the same time, they abandoned shoes with heels, replacing them with a light heelless shoe.

1.3. Romantic ballet

By the time peace was established in Europe (1815), a new generation had grown up with little interest in the past. What was inherent in the previous era was forgotten, a new aesthetics of romanticism was born, which spread to all arts. Romanticism not only destroyed old forms that seemed old-fashioned and out of place, but sought new sources of inspiration. Young romantic artists turned to supernatural and exotic phenomena, they were attracted by culture distant countries and hoary antiquity. The first manifestations of romanticism were especially impressive, and ballet was influenced by it longer than many other types of theatrical art.

Many ideas about the art of ballet changed completely under the influence of Marie Taglioni (1804–1884). Appearing in the Sylphide staged by her father (1832), she opened the stage to a new type of ballet heroine: the air guest from underworld. Her dance had a grace that contributed to the creation of this ideal being. Although Taglioni was not the first to stand on her toes, as historians have repeatedly erroneously claimed, she managed to turn what before her was just a trick into means of expression to convey the special properties inherent in elusive, incorporeal images.

The music of most ballets of the Romantic era was written by composers who specialized in light genres. The most significant among them was A. Adam, composer of Giselle and Corsair. Ballet music in those days was written to order, and it was not supposed to be serious enough to be performed in concerts; the passages intended for dancing were melodic, and their construction was distinguished by simplicity, while the music was only supposed to accompany the episodes, creating general mood performance.

It all started over five hundred years ago in Northern Italy. It was the renaissance hallmarks which were the secular nature of culture, humanism and anthropocentrism, that is, interest, first of all, in a person and his activities.

During the Renaissance, the Italian princes held palace festivities, in which dance occupied an important place. However, the magnificent robes, like the halls, did not allow unorganized movement. Therefore, there were special teachers - dance masters who rehearsed movements and individual figures with the nobles, in order to then lead the dancers. Gradually, the dance became more and more theatrical, and the word "ballet" itself meant compositions that conveyed not a plot, but a property or state of character.

By the end of the 15th century, this kind of ballet was part of the spectacle created by famous poets and artists. In 1496, Leonardo da Vinci designed dancers' costumes and invented stage effects for the feast of the Duke of Milan.

In 1494, when King Charles VIII of France entered Italy claiming the throne of Naples, his courtiers were impressed by the skill of the Italian dance teachers. As a result, dancing masters were invited to the French court. At the same time, there was a need for notation - a system for recording dance. The author of the first known system was Tuan Arbo. He recorded dance steps with musical signs.

Development continued in France...

The French Queen Catherine de Medici invited the Italian Baldasarino di Belgiojoso (in France he was called Balthazar de Beaujoieux) to stage court performances. Ballet then established itself as a genre, where drama, "singing story" (recitative) and dance formed a continuous action. The first in this genre and the most famous is considered "Circe, or the Queen's Comedy Ballet", delivered in 1581. The plot was taken from ancient mythology. Dances were performed in magnificent costumes and masks by noble ladies and nobles.

In the 16th century, as development instrumental music the technique of dance became more complicated. Masquerade ballets began to appear in France in the 17th century, and then pompous melodramatic ballets on chivalrous and fantastic plots, where dance episodes were interspersed with vocal arias and recitation of poems - “The Ballet of Alcina” (1610), “The Triumph of Minerva” (1615), “ The release of Rinaldo "(1617). Such ballets consisted of different numbers, which today resembles divertissement, and will later become one of the important structural forms of the future ballet.

Later, the King of France, Louis XIII, who was fond of dancing and received an excellent musical education, was the author of the ballet performance "Merleson Ballet" (March 15, 1635). The plot was adventures while hunting for thrushes - one of the king's favorite pastimes. The ballet consisted of 16 acts. His Majesty not only composed the libretto, music, choreography, sketched scenery and costumes, but also played two roles: a bait merchant and a peasant.

The first steps of young art. Great Pierre Beauchamp

The performances of the court ballet reached a special splendor during the time of King Louis XIV. Because only then the dance began to be performed according to certain rules. They were first formulated by the French choreographer Pierre Beauchamp (1637–1705).

Louis XIV received his famous nickname "Sun King" after playing the role of the Sun in the Ballet of the Night. He loved to dance and participate in performances. In 1661, he opened the Royal Academy of Music and Dance, where 13 leading dancing masters were invited. Their duty was to preserve dance traditions.

The director of the academy, Pierre Beauchamp, wrote down the canons of the noble manner of dance, the basis of which was the eversion of the legs (en dehors). This position gave human body opportunity to move freely different sides. He divided all the movements into groups: squats (plié), jumps (swings, entresha, cabrioles, jette, the ability to hang in a jump - elevation), rotations (pirouettes, fouettes), body positions (attitudes, arabesques). The execution of these movements was carried out on the basis of five positions of the legs and three positions of the hands (port de bras). All pa classical dance derived from these foot and hand positions.

His classification is alive to this day, and the French terminology has become common for artists around the world, like Latin for doctors.

Beauchamp made an invaluable contribution to classical ballet by dividing dances into three main types: serious, semi-characteristic and comic. Serious dance (the prototype of modern classical) required academic rigor of performance, external beauty, grace - even on the verge of affectation. It was a "noble" dance that was used to play the role of a king, god, mythological hero. Semi-characteristic - combined pastoral, peisan and fantastic dances, which were to depict the forces of nature or personified human passions. The dances of the furies, nymphs and satyrs also obeyed his laws. Finally, the comic dance was remarkable for its virtuosity, allowing for exaggerated movements and improvisation. It was needed for the grotesque and exotic dances found in the comedies of the theater of classicism.

Thus began the formation of ballet, which XVIII century From interludes and divertissements it developed into an independent art.

First theatre. First troupe

Gaining more and more popularity, the ballet became crowded in the palace halls. Under the leadership of Beauchamp, the Paris Opera was created, where he was a choreographer, but the performances did not differ much from previous performances. They were attended by the same courtiers who performed slow minuets, gavottes and pavanes. Heavy dresses, high-heeled shoes and masks prevented women from performing complex movements. Then Pierre Beauchamp formed a ballet troupe of only male dancers. Their dances were more graceful and graceful. Women on stage Paris Opera appeared only in 1681. Large groups the dancers began to simultaneously perform complex movements and accompanied the soloists; the solo dance meaningfully conveyed the loftiness of the characters, the strength of emotions; pair dance formed into a pas de deux. Highly conditioned, gravitating toward virtuosity, dance depended on music and achieved equal rights with it in practice and theory.

French choreography was greatly enriched by the playwright Molière and the composer J. B. Lully, who first collaborated with Molière as a choreographer and dancer in the comedies-ballets Marriage involuntarily (1664), Georges Dandin (1668), and The Tradesman in the Nobility (1670). ). Becoming a composer, Lully created a genre musical tragedy, where the aesthetics of classicism affected: the monumentality of images, the clear logic of development, the severity of taste, the chasing of forms. The action of lyrical tragedies was reinforced by plastic and decorative processions, pantomimes, and dances.

The reform of the ballet theater caused an upsurge in performing skills - dancers L. Pecourt and J. Ballon appeared. Mademoiselle Lafontaine became the first professional dancer, performing in Lully's opera-ballet Triumph of Love. She was later known as the "Queen of the Dance".

Serious dances were performed in a wide skirt, which was held on reed hoops. The toes of her shoes peeked out from under her. The men wore brocade cuirasses and short skirts on reed frames, which were called "barrels". Everyone had high heels. In addition, they covered their faces with round masks. different colors, depending on the nature of the character.

In semi-characteristic ballets, the costumes were lightweight, but attributes that characterize the dance were added - sickles, baskets, shoulder blades, leopard skins and others. The costume for comic dances was not so strictly regulated - the director trusted the artist's imagination.

At the same time, a whole system of symbols was born. If an artist, for example, stroked his forehead with the edge of his hand, this meant a crown, i.e. king; cross-folded hands on the chest - "died"; pointed to the ring finger of the hand - “I want to get married” or “married”; hand image of wave-like movements - “sailed on a ship”.

Ballet enchants Europe

Simultaneously with the development of ballet in all major cities their own theaters, choreographers and performers began to appear. So, the ballet returned to its homeland - to Italy, where by the 18th century its own style of performance had developed, which differed from the French mannerism in technical virtuosity and greater immediacy. French and Italian schools in classical ballet will continue for more than one century.

In the 17th century, ballet appeared in the Netherlands. In England, due to the bourgeois revolution and the ban on spectacles, the ballet theater developed a little later - only with the restoration of the monarchy. In 1722, the first court theater in Denmark was established, where professional dancers participated in Molière's comedies and ballets. And only by the end of the 18th century did Danish ballet gain independence. In the 18th century, ballet also existed in Germany, Sweden and Holland. The forms of execution, which were borrowed from the Italians and the French, were enriched with national color.

Ballet came to Russia later than to others European countries, but it was here that he was caught by the heyday, and this is the history of other centuries, which deserves a separate chapter.

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 heroes Greek myths. After such "outputs" began common dance- "big ballet".

The first ballet performance was the Queen's Comedy Ballet, staged in 1581 in France. Italian choreographer Baltazarini di Belgiojoso. It was in France that further development ballet. 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. That's why male dances were distinguished then by greater grace and grace.

TO mid-eighteenth century ballet gained 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. became less cumbersome and men's suit: close-fitting pantaloons to the knees and stockings made it possible to see the figure of the dancer.

Each innovation made dancing more meaningful, and dance technique- higher. Gradually, ballet separated from opera and turned into an independent art.

Although the French ballet school famous for its grace and plasticity, it was characterized by a certain coldness, formality of execution. Therefore, choreographers and artists were looking for other means of expression.

IN late XVIII 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. dance art in the West. From the second half of XIX century ballet, having lost its former meaning, has become an appendage to the 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. No significant role he did not play 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. In the nobility educational establishments introduced compulsory dance instruction. At the court, musicians discharged from abroad, opera artists and ballet companies.

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 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 him, provided government subsidies. The Moscow and St. Petersburg ballet troupes performed in well-equipped theaters, and graduates 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 mid-nineteenth 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"Before that, ballet music was not taken seriously. It was considered the lowest kind musical creativity, just an accompaniment to dancing.

Thanks to Tchaikovsky ballet music became a serious art along with opera and symphonic music. Formerly music completely dependent on the dance, now the dance had to obey the 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. Giving great importance the picturesque 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 moves, 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 antique frescoes. His "Chopiniana" revived the atmosphere 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 theatrical 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" 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 October revolution In 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 to the people, to make them more vital and accessible.

This is how the genre of dramatic ballet arose. These were performances, usually based on the plots of famous 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 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 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.

Ballet (French ballet, from Latin ballo - I dance) is a type of performing art, the main expressive means of which are music and dance, which are inextricably linked.

Most often, a ballet is based on some kind of plot, dramatic design, libretto, but there are also ballets without a plot. The main types of dance in ballet are classical dance and character dance. An important role here is played by pantomime, with the help of which the actors convey the feelings of the characters, their "conversation" among themselves, the essence of what is happening. IN contemporary ballet Elements of gymnastics and acrobatics are also widely used.

The birth of ballet

Ballet originated in Italy during the Renaissance (XVI century), at first as a dance scene united by a single action or mood, an episode in musical performance, opera. Borrowed from Italy in France, the court ballet flourishes as a magnificent solemn spectacle. Musical basis the first ballets (The Comedy Ballet of the Queen, 1581) were folk and court dances, which were part of the old suite. In the second half of the 17th century, new theatrical genres appeared, such as comedy-ballet, opera-ballet, in which significant place is given to ballet music and attempts are made to dramatize it. But ballet became an independent type of stage art only in the second half of the 18th century thanks to the reforms carried out by the French choreographer J. J. Nover. Based on the aesthetics of the French enlighteners, he created performances in which the content is revealed in dramatic expressive plastic images, approved the active role of music as "a program that determines the movements and actions of the dancer."

Further development of ballet

The further development and flourishing of ballet falls on the era of romanticism.

Modern ballet costume (costume of the fairy Dragee from the play "The Nutcracker")

Back in the 30s XVIII years V. The French ballerina Camargo shortened her skirt (tutu) and abandoned heels, which allowed her to introduce slippers into her dance. By the end of the XVIII century. the ballet costume becomes much lighter and freer, which to a large extent contributes to the rapid development of dance technique. Trying to make their dance more airy, the performers tried to stand on their fingertips, which led to the invention of pointe shoes. In the future, finger technique female dance is actively developing. The first to use pointe dance as a means of expression was Maria Taglioni.

The dramatization of ballet required the development of ballet music. Beethoven, in his ballet The Creations of Prometheus (1801), made the first attempt at symphonizing a ballet. The romantic direction is established in Adam's ballets Giselle (1841) and Le Corsaire (1856). Delibes' ballets Coppelia (1870) and Sylvia (1876) are considered the first symphonic ballets. At the same time, a simplified approach to ballet music was also outlined (in the ballets of C. Pugna, L. Minkus, R. Drigo, etc.), as melodic music, clear in rhythm, serving only as an accompaniment to dance.

Ballet penetrates into Russia and begins to spread even under Peter I at the beginning. 18th century In 1738, at the request of the French dance master Jean-Baptiste Lande, the first ballet dance school in Russia was opened in St. Petersburg (now the Academy of Russian Ballet named after A. Ya. Vaganova).

The history of Russian ballet begins in 1738. It was then, thanks to the petition of Mr. Lande, that the first school of ballet art in Russia appeared - the St. Petersburg Academy of Dance named after Agrippina Yakovlevna Vaganova, now known to the whole world. The rulers of the Russian throne have always cared about the development of dance art. Mikhail Fedorovich was the first of the Russian tsars to introduce a new position of a dancer into the staff of his court. They became Ivan Lodygin. He had to not only dance himself, but also to teach this craft to others. Twenty-nine youths were placed at his disposal. The first theater appeared under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. Then it was customary to show a stage dance between the acts of the play, which was called ballet. Later, by special decree of Emperor Peter the Great, dancing became an integral part of court etiquette. In the 30s of the eighteenth century, the youth of the nobility was obliged to learn dancing. In Petersburg ballroom dance became a compulsory discipline in the gentry cadet corps. With the opening of the summer theater in summer garden, winter - in the wing Winter Palace cadets begin to participate in ballet dances. The dance instructor in the building was Jean-Baptiste Landet. He was well aware that the nobles would not devote themselves to ballet in the future. Although they, along with professionals, danced in ballets. Lande, like no one else, saw the need for a Russian ballet theater. In September 1737, he filed a petition in which he managed to justify the need to create a new special school, where girls and boys simple origin learn choreography. Soon such permission was given. Twelve girls and twelve slender young men were selected from the palace servants, whom Lande began to teach. Daily work brought results, the audience was delighted with what they saw. From 1743, Lande's former students began to be paid salaries as ballet dancers. The school very quickly managed to give the Russian stage excellent corps de ballet dancers and excellent soloists. Names left in history best students first set: Aksinya Sergeeva, Avdotya Timofeeva, Elizaveta Zorina, Afanasy Toporkov, Andrey Nesterov

national identity Russian ballet began to take shape at the beginning of the 19th century thanks to the activities of French choreographer Sh.-L. Didlo. Didlo enhances the role of the corps de ballet, the connection between dance and pantomime, asserts the priority of female dance.

A real revolution in ballet music was made by Tchaikovsky, who introduced continuous symphonic development, deep figurative content, and dramatic expressiveness into it. The music of his ballets Swan Lake (1877), The Sleeping Beauty (1890), The Nutcracker (1892) acquired, along with symphonic music, the ability to reveal the inner flow of the action, to embody the characters of the characters in their interaction, development, and struggle. In choreography, Tchaikovsky's innovation was embodied by choreographers Marius Petipa and L.I. Ivanov, who initiated the symphonization of dance. The tradition of symphonizing ballet music was continued by Glazunov in the ballets Raymonda (1898), The Young Maid (1900), and The Seasons (1900).

The beginning of the 20th century was marked by innovative searches, the desire to overcome stereotypes, the conventions of academic ballet XIX century. In his ballets, the choreographer Bolshoi Theater A. A. Gorsky sought to achieve a consistent development dramatic action, historical authenticity, tried to strengthen the role of the corps de ballet as a mass actor to overcome the separation of pantomime and dance. M. M. Fokin made a major contribution to Russian ballet art by significantly expanding the range of ideas and images in ballet, enriching it with new forms and styles. His performances for the "Russian Seasons" ballets "Chopiniana", "Petrushka", "The Firebird" and others brought fame to Russian ballet abroad. Conquered world fame Fokin created for Anna Pavlova the miniature "The Dying Swan" (1907). In 1911-13, on the basis of the Russian Seasons, a permanent troupe Russian Ballet of Diaghilev. After leaving Fokine's troupe, Vaslav Nijinsky became its choreographer. His most famous production was the ballet The Rite of Spring to music by Stravinsky.

Modern dance

Modern dance is a direction in dance art that appeared at the beginning of the 20th century as a result of a departure from the strict norms of ballet, in favor of the creative freedom of choreographers.

Ballet inspired free dance, the creators of which were interested not so much in new technology dance or choreography, how much dance as a special philosophy that can change life. This movement, which arose at the beginning of the twentieth century (Isadora Duncan is considered its ancestor), served as the source of many directions contemporary dance and gave impetus to the reform of the ballet itself.

Submitted by copypaster on Wed, 15/08/2007 - 01:11

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-related "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.

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", which 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.

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 took 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.

Arthur St. Leon

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 antique 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.

Anna Pavlova

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 performances with the help of stage effects, but, alas, in vain.