Ballet

Ballet is a stylized form of Western theatrical dance based on a codified system of movement. It can be used to tell a story, evoke a mood, illustrate a piece of music, or simply provide a presentation of theatrical movement that is entertaining or intriguing in itself. It is mostly, although not necessarily, performed to music, and when combined with sets and costumes is capable of creating lavish stage spectacles.

Watch a brief video profile of celebrated Canadian ballet dancer Chan Hon Goh. From Skills for Change on YouTube.

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Today, the word ballet is used more loosely to describe not only the classic academic dance with its well-defined technique but also more contemporary, free-ranging forms of theatrical dancing. Ballet, in its traditional form, evolved from the early court entertainments of Renaissance Italy. These dances were introduced to France by Italian masters in the 16th century. The ballet de cour (court ballet) developed from social dancing for the aristocracy to become elaborate, spectacular, and highly theatrical presentations used symbolically to demonstrate the wealth and power of French monarchs. The most famous was Le Ballet comique de la Reine Louise, mounted in Paris (1581) as part of 2 weeks of celebration marking an important royal marriage. The 5-hour performance was remarkable in offering a continuous dramatic narrative.

Although these court dances continued, the development of ballet as a theatrical art gained momentum with the emergence of the popular opera-ballet in late 17th-century France. Dance interludes were placed between the vocal scenes. Ballet increasingly became a professional activity for trained dancers. The opera-ballet allowed little room for the independent development of ballet. In the 18th century, however, dance masters began to create entertainments in which a story was told solely through movement, both mime and dance.

The work of French choreographer and theorist Jean-Georges Noverre (1727-1810) was particularly influential in advancing the cause of the ballet d'action. His Letters on Dancing and Ballets (1760) rejected the subservient role of dancing within the tradition of the opera-ballet and strongly advocated the more dramatic style. This required a more expressive style of dancing than the rather formal dance movements of the opera-ballet. The ballet d'action had as its aim the establishment of dance as a discrete theatrical art. Passages of dancing have continued to be included in operas into the present era both as a diversion and as a narrative component, but from the late 18th century ballet progressively asserted its right to a place of its own among the theatrical arts. La Fille mal gardée (1789) is among the earliest ballets from this period to have survived, albeit in reworked form, into our age.

The first half of the 19th century witnessed important developments in ballet. The Italian dancer, choreographer and teacher Carlo Blasis (1797-1878) wrote extensively about his theories of ballet and published an important codification of its technique.

At the same time, European middle-class audiences flocked to see such famous ballerinas as Marie Taglioni, Fanny Elssler and Carlotta Grisi. The technical developments that allowed ballerinas to simulate ethereal lightness by dancing on the tips of their toes in specially constructed shoes gave ballet one of its most enduring motifs. Indeed, as the century progressed, the art of ballet in France and much of Europe came to be dominated by the ballerina, with male dancers taking a secondary role. Men were so marginalized that it was not uncommon for lead male roles to be performed en travestie by women. Although the intellectual and aesthetic concerns of the Romantic Movement were slow to touch ballet, works such as Les Sylphides (1832) and Giselle (1841), with their mix of natural and super natural elements, captured the public imagination and remain audience favourites even today.

Ballet in France degenerated artistically during the latter part of the 19th century but thrived in Denmark, under the brilliant ballet master August Bournonville (1805-79), and in Russia, where the French-born Marius Petipa created, among many others, such enduringly popular ballets as The Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake.

Even in Russia, by the end of the 19th century a younger generation sought to purge ballet of what they saw as the rigid formality and superficiality of Petipa's work. Some of these joined the great Russian impresario Serge Diaghilev, who helped to restore the art of ballet in Western Europe by bringing groups of Russian dancers to Paris and other leading capitals in the years before WWI with choreography that was often innovative and avant-garde. His well-trained dancers performed exciting new works by such choreographers as Vaslav Nijinsky (also a dancer of legendary gifts), Mikhail Fokine and Leonide Massine, and in later years by Bronislava Nijinska and George Balanchine.

Under Diaghilev's leadership, great artists, writers, composers and choreographers were brought together to create new works in which theme, movement, decor, costumes and music formed an authentic whole. This did much to excite audience interest and to fortify ballet's right to be considered a true theatrical art form. After the Russian Revolution of 1917 the Diaghilev company remained in the West. Even after Diaghilev's premature death in 1929, groups of Russian dancers continued to make extensive tours of North America until the 1950s. Many important figures of the Russian ballet emigrated to settle in Europe, Asia and North America, doing much as teachers and choreographers to advance the cause of ballet.

Even as Diaghilev was helping to restore and rejuvenate ballet in the West, other very different forms of theatrical dance were being developed in Europe and North America. In large part these forms rejected ballet on the grounds that it was antique and irrelevant. What came to be known generically as MODERN DANCE grew from a different set of ideas about human movement and produced its own distinct type of dance theatre. These two streams of Western theatrical dance, classical and modern, continued to develop independently and often in vocal opposition. Ballet aficionados would commonly deride modern dance as "barefoot ballet" and modern dance advocates would depict the ballerina's blocked pointe shoe as unnatural and as an instrument of torture. From the 1960s on, however, the division between ballet and modern dance has steadily melted away. A process of cross-fertilization has seen a partial blending of techniques and styles. Ballet and modern-dance choreographers often draw on movement from each other's traditions. Many of today's ballet dancers study some modern dance and modern dancers often take ballet classes.

Until the middle of the 20th century Canadians were more often spectators than participants in the art of ballet. The French colonization of the St Lawrence Valley from the 17th century onwards had seen the introduction of dance masters to Canada, but their activities were directed mostly to teaching children of the rich. The real beginnings of professional ballet in Canada date from the 1930s, when such important teachers as Boris VOLKOFF in Toronto, Gwendolen Osborne in Ottawa, Gérald Crevier in Montréal and June Roper in Vancouver began to produce dancers equipped to pursue professional careers.

Without Canadian companies for them to dance in, however, these talented artists had to find work abroad. Patricia Wilde from Ottawa and Melissa HAYDEN from Toronto are 2 outstanding examples. During the early 1950s both rose to international stardom dancing in American ballet companies. More than a decade later, Lynn SEYMOUR, who was born in Alberta and initially trained in Vancouver, felt it necessary to pursue her career overseas, in England. As a dancer in the Royal Ballet she came to be hailed as one of the century's greatest dramatic ballerinas.

In 1938, however, 2 English ballet teachers, Gweneth LLOYD and Betty FARRALLY, established a ballet club that by 1949 had evolved into Canada's first truly professional company, the Winnipeg (from 1953, Royal Winnipeg) Ballet. In Toronto, a distinguished British dancer and choreographer, Celia FRANCA, was invited by local ballet supporters to establish the NATIONAL BALLET OF CANADA (1951); and 7 years later Les GRANDS BALLETS CANADIENS was founded in Montréal by another immigrant, Ludmilla CHIRIAEFF. Also in 1958, Canadian Ruth CARSE founded a small amateur company in Edmonton, which within a decade had grown to become the fully professional ALBERTA BALLET. By the early 1990s the company, relocated in Calgary, was touring nationally and overseas. After various aborted attempts to establish a permanent ballet troupe in Vancouver, BALLET BRITISH COLUMBIA was firmly established in 1986. At the same time, BALLET JÖRGEN, a small, highly mobile troupe with a mandate to develop new choreographers, was gaining strength in Toronto. Each of these ballet companies has developed its own particular identity and together they now provide work for about 160 dancers.

Canadian ballet choreographers have also emerged in parallel with the growth of companies across the country. In the early 1960s, Brian MACDONALD and Fernand NAULT were among the first Canadian choreographers to establish international reputations, to be followed by Norbert VESAK and later by James KUDELKA, John ALLEYNE, Mark GODDEN and Jean GRAND-MAÎTRE.

Despite its relatively short history and chronic funding problems, ballet in Canada has established remarkably deep roots. Schools such as those associated with the National Ballet and Royal Winnipeg Ballet have proved able to train dancers of international calibre. Canadian dancers trained in these schools, such as Veronica TENNANT, Karen KAIN, Frank AUGUSTYN, Evelyn HART and Rex HARRINGTON, have won international acclaim without the need to join foreign companies. Canadian dancers who have felt the urge to work abroad have earned respect for their sound training and performance abilities.

Author MICHAEL CRABB

Links to Other Sites
National Ballet of Canada
The website for the National Ballet of Canada. Features a performance calendar and profiles of the principal members of the company. Check out the extensive multimedia educational resources about ballet.

Karen Kain
A rather dated profile of dancer Karen Kain. From Library and Archives Canada.

40 Years of One Night Stands
Watch the trailer for "40 Years of One Night Stands," a documentary film about the internationally acclaimed Royal Winnipeg Ballet. Click on the "News & Events" link at the top of the page for the latest information on other films at docspace.ca.

Royal Winnipeg Ballet
The website for the internationally renowned Royal Winnipeg Ballet. Features news about current productions, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, a history of the company, video clips, and more.

Rex Harrington
This CBC website features an extensive profile of Rex Harrington, former principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada. Includes video interviews and other resources.

Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal
This stylish website for Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal features a current program dates, repertory and biographies of current dancers in the company.

Ballet British Columbia
This extensive Ballet British Columbia website features an overview of the current season, bios, video clips, educational resources, and much more.

Into a fantasy world: A history of ballet
This "CBC Indepth" feature offers a brief history of ballet in Canada and links to Canadian ballet companies.

BJM DANSE MONTRÉAL
This interactive website for the innovative BJM DANSE MONTRÉAL features an illustrated history of the company, notes about the current season's productions, and bios of the artistic team and interpretive artists.

Bengt Jörgen
The website for Toronto’s Ballet Jörgen Canada. Features the company’s performance schedule, repertoire, video clips, and more.

Canada Dance Festival
The CDF showcases and promotes professional dance in Canada through events such as The Canada Dance Festival and various educational initiatives.

Le Groupe Dance Lab to close
A brief notice about the closure of Le Groupe Dance Lab. From thedancecurrentnews.blogspot.com.

Canadian Women in Theatre and Dance
This Library and Archives Canada site features biographies of prominent women in Canadian theatre and dance. Also offers teaching guides and reference sources.

CBC: Norman Campbell
Norman Campbell reminisces about his prolific career in music and television in this 1982 audio clip from CBC Radio's "Variety Tonight."

Chorème
This website features a searchable database of multimedia files pertaining to Québec's dance heritage, biographies of noteworthy personalities in dance, a guide to dance movement, and more. From la Bibliothèque de la danse Vincent-Warren.

Chan Han Goh
The website for the talented dancer Chan Hon Goh. Features her biography, repertoire, reviews, performance schedule, and information about her autobiography “Beyond the Dance: A Ballerina's Life.”

Atlantic Ballet Theatre of Canada
The website for the Atlantic Ballet Theatre of Canada, a professional touring company of international calibre in Atlantic Canada.

Dance
An extensive multimedia website devoted to the rich and varied world of dance. Features biographies of prominent dance artists, video clips of interviews and dance performances, the "Virtual Dance Studio" where you can create original choreography on your computer, and much more. From ArtsAlive.ca, a National Arts Centre website.

Destination dance-danse
A bilingual, searchable, Canada-wide performance database from Dance Media Group/Groupe Danse Média, publishers of "The Dance Current" magazine.

Love Lies Bleeding: Elton John ballet is a blast
A review of the Alberta Ballet Company's production of "Love Lies Bleeding." From thestar.com.

Chan Hon Goh
Watch a brief video profile of celebrated Canadian ballet dancer Chan Hon Goh. From Skills for Change on YouTube.

Chan Hon Goh
The website for Chan Hon Goh, ballet dancer, entrepreneur, and revered role model to aspiring dancers. Features a biography, repertoire, reviews, product descriptions, and more.

A life in dance: Karen Kain at 60
This news story features highlights of Karen Kain's multifaceted ballet career. With an online photo gallery. From thestar.com

International Resource Centre For Performing Artists
The website for IRCPA, an organization devoted to the professional development of artists in classical music and dance.

Dancer’s aching body of work
An article about dancer/choreographer Peggy Baker and her take on occupational hazards that plague professional dancers. From thestar.com.