Ballet Choreography Research Articles

Coppélia's Human-Objects: Winding Up Racialized Automata on the Ballet Stage

This article focuses on how dance companies have restaged three of the original automata characters from the ballet Coppélia (Arthur Saint-Léon, 1870), described as the “Negro,” the “Moor,” and the “Chinaman.” In conversation with scholarship on the racialization of objects and the object-ification of humans, I claim these characters embody and reenact the ontological effects of slavery and colonialism, in which notions of human and object collapse into one another. I further argue that such processes vary among the roles, illuminating ways the white colonialist perspective constructs the imagined Chinese body differently than the Black body through human-object relations. As a contribution to discussions within the ballet world surrounding the use of blackface and yellowface, this article exposes how ballet choreography both participates in and reveals object-centered acts of racism through embodiment practices.

New Perspectives on J. S. Bach's St. Matthew Passion : The Choreographic Vision of John Neumeier

Abstract: In 1980–1981, the American choreographer John Neumeier, director of the Hamburg Ballet since 1973, created a ballet to Bach's St. Matthew Passion . Aware that choreographing a revered icon of sacred music might be viewed as a violation of its sacrosanct status, he expressed his belief that "A choreographic realization of the Matthew Passion only appeared justified to me if it gives a new, unique dimension to the work … [and that like music] dance offers a means of escape from the grip of time and history to achieve inner reflection and a psychic state." In this essay, we discuss representative sections of the ballet and explore Neumeier's realization of these goals. Sometimes he focuses on visualizing a movement's structure and enhancing its affective and dramatic impact with contemporary ballet choreography. In other movements, he employs eclectic modern dance styles that, while contrasting in striking ways with the music, also enhance it. Both approaches inspire new dimensions and inner reflection. Ultimately, the choreography represents a visual corporeal transcription of the score and its timbres, which, without altering them, contributes new aesthetic perspectives. Our choreo/musical analysis will also address relationships between the ballet and issues in subsequent musicological scholarship, including aspects of Bach's performance practice, his cyclical versus linear approach to time, his occasional composition of works that threaten to stretch performers beyond their limits, and concerns about antisemitism in the turbae. The Hamburg Ballet has performed Matthäus-Passion , which has become one of Neumeier's most important and signature creations, throughout Europe, as well as in Japan, China, Canada, and the United States. The ballet reveals new and unexpected dimensions and affective experiences to audiences already familiar with the St. Matthew Passion and introduces it in a compelling manner to those who have never experienced one of Bach's most esteemed works.

Developing Kinesemiotics: Challenges and solutions using the Functional Grammar of Dance

This article aims to test the applicability and the possibility of adaptation of the Functional Grammar of Dance, which is at the core of the development of the new interdisciplinary research area called Kinesemiotics. As a model of analysis for movement-based communication, the Functional Grammar of Dance has already been used for the analysis of classical ballet choreography, and it is currently employed in a collaborative research project involving the authors of this article and their research group at Loughborough University in the UK, the University of Bremen in Germany, and the English National Ballet. The testing opportunity is provided by the challenging analysis of an iconic choreography of the 20th century: Lamentation, a solo piece created by Martha Graham. The analysis will show the applicability of the theory and the adaptability of the model of analysis, and it will also provide examples of the way a new type of annotation based on this grammar has been created and applied using the ELAN annotation software. The use of ELAN includes the implementation of a specifically compiled controlled vocabulary providing labels for coding the materiality, structure, and semantics of dance discourse systematically.

Women to the Placards! The Socio-economic Situation of Female Choreographers in the Male World of Ballet Art

The ballet environment is very specific – hermetic and small. Analysing the history and literature of ballet as well as looking at the contemporary repertoire of leading ballet companies, it is easy to notice the numerous domination of women, which does not determine their dominance in the creative (choreography) and management sphere. In Poland, in the season 2019/2020, 6 out of 9 largest, primer ballet companies are headed by men. As research has shown, it is the male gender that has been dominating in choreography for years, constituting the spectacles shown on the stages and, as a result, the ballet heritage. The article Women tothe placards! The socio-economic situation of female choreographers in the male world of ballet art shed light on the labour market of Polish choreographers working in leading ballet companies, pointing out the prevailing inequalities between men and women who are involved in ballet choreography. In this study, I apply the methods of social sciences (documentary evidence analysis – repertoire and labour force of 9 primer Polish ballet companies in the season 2019/2020), I analyse the data collected during the study Estimation of the number of artists, creators and performers in Poland (Ilczuk et al. 2018), whilst cultural economics is the theoretical framework of my study. This theoretical-methodical base allowed me to expose the inequalities, potential causes and dependencies that exist on the labour market of artists creating ballet choreographies. An immanent feature of this market is the deficit of women.

«Больше, чем в костюме»: танцовщицы-«босоножки» и костюм русского балета начала XX века

The beginning of reform in Russian ballet of the 1900s is connected by the most part of researchers with the first performances of Isadora Duncan in Russia (1904–1905). Her great influence on Russian ballet choreography and costume is explored well enough and indisputable. Nevertheless, free dance or “modern dance” became popular in the USA and in Europe because of Duncan’s predecessor, another American dancer Loie Fuller. It was a major tendency included creativity of such different performers as Loie Fuller, Isadora Duncan, Ruth St. Denis, Maud Allan, Mata Hari and many others. The author of the presented article uses the complex method to analyze the reforms of dancing costume carried out by so called “barefoot” dancers and their influence on Russian ballet costume at the beginning of the 20th century, revealing general transformations and some direct parallels between costumes of “barefoot” dancers and Russians ballet dancers.

The Limitations of the Archive: Lost Ballet Histories and the Case of Madame Mariquita

Dance historians have long relied on institutional archives when reconstructing the past. Yet archives are notoriously incomplete and biased, promoting certain voices and leaving others out. This article offers a case study of what is lost when we look only at official archives. My focus is on turn-of-the-twentieth-century Paris, a time and place long thought to have been devoid of creative ballet choreography. I begin with a brief inventory of the state archives and compare those records to information recovered from the press, then demonstrate how different historical narratives can be constructed when comparing these two documentary sources. I conclude with an example of how fragmentary archives can skew history through a case study of Madame Mariquita, a once celebrated choreographer who has been left out of canonic history.

Kinematic Analysis of Postural Stability During Ballet Turns (pirouettes) in Experienced and Novice Dancers.

Turning is an important but difficult movement, often performed in ballet choreography. Understanding the postural sway during ballet turns is beneficial to both dancers and dance teachers alike. Accordingly, this study evaluated the postural sway angle during ballet turns in female novice and experienced ballet dancers by means of the inclination angle, determined from the center of mass (COM) and center of pressure (COP). Thirteen experienced dancers and 13 novice dancers performed ballet turns (pirouettes). The COM-COP inclination angle was measured during the preparatory, double-leg support, and single-leg support phases of the turn. The novice dancers exhibited significantly greater ranges of the COM-COP inclination angle in the anterior-posterior (AP) and medial-lateral (ML) directions during the preparatory (AP direction, p < 0.001; ML direction p = 0.035), double-leg support (AP direction p < 0.038; ML direction p = 0.011), and ending phases (AP direction p < 0.001; ML direction p = 0.024). Moreover, during the preparatory phase, the novice dancers failed to adjust their posture in a timely manner, and therefore showed overshooting errors. Finally, during the ending phase, the novice dancers showed a greater standard deviation of the COM-COP inclination angles and performed continual postural adjustments, leading to a less smooth movement than the experienced dancers. In conclusion, the novice dancers were suggested to focus on the COM-COP adjustment during both preparatory and ending phases.

Dancing Up the Glass Escalator: Institutional Advantages for Men in Ballet Choreography

A dearth of women exists in the upper echelons of ballet choreography. Both academia and the popular press have noted and documented this phenomenon. For instance, in “Breaking the Glass Slipper,” New York Times journalist Michael Cooper recently noted, “When it comes to choreography, at least at most major companies, ballet remains overwhelmingly a man’s world” [1]. Similarly, critic Luke Jennings has noted, “In professional ballet companies, faced with heavier workloads and greater competitive stress than their male colleagues (not to mention the exigencies of pointe work), few women have the time, energy or inclination to consider choreography” [2]. And yet many arguments (such as Jennings’) as to why women do not become choreographers reflect back on women in ballet – claiming a lack of interest, ambition, or even ability – and fail to acknowledge the structural and systemic inequities that promote men in ballet at the expense of their female peers. Even women choreographers themselves tend to claim that women do not become choreographers because of their own choices, constraints, etc., instead of citing systemic structures of unequal opportunity [3]. Failing to acknowledge institutional inequality places the fault of discrimination upon its victims, and ignores the gendered hierarchy within ballet institutions. As an alternative, situating ballet choreography in the context of sociological theory can shed light on how institutions promote token men in ballet to artistic leadership positions, and may help disprove the notion that women do not become choreographers simply because of cultural reasons that relate back to the women themselves.

Lateral occipitotemporal cortex (LOTC) activity is greatest while viewing dance compared to visualization and movement: learning and expertise effects.

The lateral occipitotemporal cortex (LOTC) is comprised of subregions selectively activated by images of human bodies (extrastriate body area, EBA), objects (lateral occipital complex, LO), and motion (MT+). However, their role in motor imagery and movement processing is unclear, as are the influences of learning and expertise on its recruitment. The purpose of our study was to examine putative changes in LOTC activation during action processing following motor learning of novel choreography in professional ballet dancers. Subjects were scanned with functional magnetic resonance imaging up to four times over 34weeks and performed four tasks: viewing and visualizing a newly learned ballet dance, visualizing a dance that was not being learned, and movement of the foot. EBA, LO, and MT+ were activated most while viewing dance compared to visualization and movement. Significant increases in activation were observed over time in left LO only during visualization of the unlearned dance, and all subregions were activated bilaterally during the viewing task after 34weeks of performance, suggesting learning-induced plasticity. Finally, we provide novel evidence for modulation of EBA with dance experience during the motor task, with significant activation elicited in a comparison group of novice dancers only. These results provide a composite of LOTC activation during action processing of newly learned ballet choreography and movement of the foot. The role of these areas is confirmed as primarily subserving observation of complex sequences of whole-body movement, with new evidence for modification by experience and over the course of real world ballet learning.

Dancing Up the Glass Escalator: Institutional Advantages for Men in Ballet Choreography

A dearth of women exists in the upper echelons of ballet choreography. Both academia and the popular press have noted and documented this phenomenon. For instance, in “Breaking the Glass Slipper,” New York Times journalist Michael Cooper recently noted, “When it comes to choreography, at least at most major companies, ballet remains overwhelmingly a man’s world” [1]. Similarly, critic Luke Jennings has noted, “In professional ballet companies, faced with heavier workloads and greater competitive stress than their male colleagues (not to mention the exigencies of pointe work), few women have the time, energy or inclination to consider choreography” [2]. And yet many arguments (such as Jennings’) as to why women do not become choreographers reflect back on women in ballet – claiming a lack of interest, ambition, or even ability – and fail to acknowledge the structural and systemic inequities that promote men in ballet at the expense of their female peers. Even women choreographers themselves tend to claim that women do not become choreographers because of their own choices, constraints, etc., instead of citing systemic structures of unequal opportunity [3]. Failing to acknowledge institutional inequality places the fault of discrimination upon its victims, and ignores the gendered hierarchy within ballet institutions. As an alternative, situating ballet choreography in the context of sociological theory can shed light on how institutions promote token men in ballet to artistic leadership positions, and may help disprove the notion that women do not become choreographers simply because of cultural reasons that relate back to the women themselves.

Ballet dancers cardiorespiratory, oxidative and muscle damage responses to classes and rehearsals

This study aimed to describe and compare ballet dancers' cardiorespiratory responses, muscle damage and oxidative stress levels during a ballet class (practice of isolated ballet exercises performed with barre/hand-rail support and across-the-floor movements to improve technical skills) and rehearsal (practice of ballet choreography involving technical-artistic skills to improve dancers' performance for shows). The 12 advanced female ballet dancers undertook three exercise sessions: maximum effort test, class and rehearsal. Heart rate (HR) and oxygen consumption (V̇O2) were continuously measured. Lactate was determined before 15 min and after class and rehearsal. Blood was sampled pre, post and 48 h after class and rehearsal for creatine kinase (CK), lipid peroxides (LPO) and glutathione analysis (GSSG/GSH). Class was of lower intensity than rehearsal as shown by V̇O2, HR and lactate values: V̇O2 (mL.kg−1.min−1): 14.5±2.1 vs 19.1±1.7 (p < 0.001); HR (bpm.min−1): 145.7±17.9 vs 174.5±13.8 (p < 0.001); lactate (mmol.L−1): 4.2±1.1 vs 5.5±2.7 (p = 0.049). CK (IU) increased following class and rehearsal, remaining high 48 h after: class (pre = 109.3±48.5; post = 144±60; 48 h = 117.2±64.6); rehearsal (pre = 78.6±52.1; post = 122±70.7; 48 h = 104.9±89.5). LPO (µM) increased from pre-class (1.27±0.19) to post-class (1.41±0.19) and went down after 48 h (1.20±0.22). No LPO time-course changes followed the rehearsal. GSSG/GSH decreased 48 h after class and rehearsal. Greater increases in LPO post-class suggest it promotes CK release by an oxidative membrane-damage mechanism. Physiological increases of LPO and CK in class indicate it prepares the dancers for exercise-induced oxidative stress and muscle damage during rehearsals. Ballet dancers' muscle damage and oxidative stress responses seem not to be dependent on exercise intensity based on V̇O2 responses.

OutLINES for a Global Ballet Aesthetic

For many years Alonzo King and his company, Alonzo King's LINES Ballet, have worked with artists from around the world to present non-Western traditions alongside provocative ballet choreography. Arguing that LINES has forged a uniquely global identity through strategies of syncretism, this essay explores King's process and choreography in five ballets: Lila, The People of the Forest, Koto, Before the Blues, and Long River, High Sky. King's ballets encourage cross-cultural dialogue about identity, spirituality, and human interconnectedness.