To all non-dancing friends. As this is what I do, I think it would be nice for me to do some educational work. The following ballet/film is the version of that ballet Swan Lake (that you might have heard of...) by Matthew Bourne:
"Thrilling, audacious and totally original, Matthew Bourne's legendary production transforms one of ballet's best -loved stories into a stylish, witty, poignant, contemporary tale with extravagant, award-winning designs by Lez Brotherston."
Read more about it here: New Adventures: Swan Lake.
All I say is, save it for the evening, make some tea, and watch this. It will be a cultural AND fun watch, and a very important piece of the international world of dance. I have stolen it all from youtube, (but would you have found it on youtube yourselves?) including the text. You don't need to read it, it's just there in case you get lost (well detailed). The story should be clear enough.
ENJOY (and learn)!
Act One
In the prologue, the Prince, as a child, is awakened by a nightmare of a swan. The Prince's mother comes in to comfort him, but becomes nervous with the intimacy of the situation and leaves, looking over her shoulder indecisively.
Scene One opens with the Prince being prepared for a day of official duties by a small army of chambermaids and valets.
In Scene Two, arrayed in his full dress uniform, the Prince becomes bored by a boat christening, a ribbon cutting and other symbolic tasks.
Act One
In Scene Two his mother prods him to keep up appearances while giving most of her attention to handsome young soldiers. During this scene there is a transition from the child actor playing the young Prince to the identically-dressed adult dancer who portrays the grown Prince. This now-adult Prince is introduced to a gawkish girl called "the Girlfriend". Although the girl seems foisted on him by von Rothbart, the Private Secretary.
Act One (Scene Two)
The Prince enjoys her freshness as an alternative to his duty-bound life. The Queen finds the Girlfriend completely inappropriate.
Act One
In Scene Three, the Queen, one of her admiring soldiers, the Private Secretary, the Prince, and the Girlfriend all appear in a theatre box, where they watch a ballet that is staged for the actual audience as well for as the characters. It is a mawkish, campy send-up of a romantic ballet, in which a fairy princess fights off tree goblins and wins the love of a Tyrolean lumberjack.
Act One
Scene Four finds the disgruntled Prince drinking in his private chambers in front of a mirror, to the shock of his mother. A nearly violent pas de deux ensues in which he pleads for her attention and love and she determinedly rebukes him.
This rebuke sends the Prince into the streets and to the Swank Bar, a 1970s-style disco, in Scenes Five and Six. Here is where the choreography most obviously veers from classical ballet, with jazz forms and modern dance dominating. The Prince seeks love from anonymous strangers who reject him.
Act One
In Scene Seven, he sees the Girlfriend being paid off by von Rothbart, the Private Secretary, to disappear.
While sitting in the street at the end of Scene Seven the Prince imagines a group of swans flying towards him but the vision quickly disappears. It is the first flash of the Prince's descent into madness.
Act Two A Park in St Jame's 1/3
Disappointed that he will never find affection, the Prince contemplates suicide in Act Two, but is saved by the sight of beautiful swans on the lake of a public park. This Act is the most direct rendering from the original plot of Swan Lake, but it contains the most talked-about dancing of the ballet due to stylistic changes. Male dancers portray the swans as aggressive and arrogant animals rather than the delicate, sentimentalized swans traditionally portrayed by ballerinas. The traditional white tutus and tiaras are also discarded, to be replaced with bare chests, feathered knee-length trousers, and bold, black facial markings. Initially rejected by the lead Swan, the Prince is eventually taken into his loving embrace. This is what the Prince has always desired, and the Act ends in triumphant happiness. The swans then fly away. It is not entirely clear whether the Prince has in fact interacted with the swans, or if they are figments of his imagination.
Act Two A Park in St Jame's 2/3
Act Two A Park in St Jame's 3/3
Act Three: The Palace Ballroom 1/4
Scene One begins with princesses from various European nations and their escorts arriving at the palace gates for a grand ball. The Girlfriend sneaks in amongst them.
Act Three: The Palace Ballroom 2/4
Scene Two takes place in a proto-fascist ballroom where gigantic torchieres gripped by fists recall those of Jean Cocteau's La Belle et la Bête.
Act Three: The Palace Ballroom 3/4
..... It commences with the arrival of the Queen and the Prince, but quickly degenerates into a debauched party of drinking and lascivious come-ons. Into this arrives the charismatic and sexually aggressive son of von Rothbart,[4] the Private Secretary, in black leather pants, who intensifies the sexual tension even further by flirting with every woman present, including the Queen.
Act Three: The Palace Ballroom 4/4
Just as in the original Swan Lake one ballerina performs the white Odette and the black Odile, the same danseur performs the white Swan and the black-clad young von Rothbart in this version. The Prince sees something of his beloved Swan in the son and he is as much attracted to his bravado and animal magnetism as he is repulsed by his lewdness. During bump and grind group numbers and a sequence of national dances, it becomes clear that the Queen is powerfully attracted to von Rothbart's son. His father, the Private Secretary, looks on with an increasingly triumphant approval. But the Prince, in a pas de deux, also tries to approach young von Rothbart, only to be rebuffed. The Prince retreats into his mind and imagines dancing intimately with him, but the Prince's confusion interrupts the fantasy, and the son's movements turn quickly from loving to violent. The Prince imagines the other guests at the ball laughing and ridiculing him. The Queen and young von Rothbart embrace and begin kissing, signalling her acceptance of him as her lover. Overwhelmed by his conflicted feelings, the Prince produces a pistol and threatens to shoot his mother. In an ensuing scuffle the Girlfriend tries to dissuade the Prince, while the Private Secretary draws a pistol and points it at the Prince. As shots ring out, the Girlfriend and the Prince fall to the ground, but only the Girlfriend has been hit. She lies unconscious on the ground and the Prince is dragged away, while the Queen throws herself into young von Rothbart's arms. He gives the pistol he had taken from the Prince to his father, the two of them laughing.
Act Four (1/2)
In the final act of Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake the Prince, regarded as having lost his mind, is confined to an asylum in a room with a high barred window, and is treated by a doctor and a team of nurses wearing masks that resemble the Queen's face, in a scene reminiscent of his dressing at the beginning of the ballet. Again, the Queen is unable to fully express love for her son.
The Prince crawls into bed and appears to sleep. However, he begins writhing as he dreams of the troupe of swans emerging from under and behind, dancing menacingly around him. He wakes from his nightmare, checking under his bed and around his room for swans. His tortured expression and jerky movements convey the Prince struggling to deal with reality and fantasy.
Act Four (2/2)The Last
......His lead Swan then slowly emerges from within the Prince's bed. It is unclear whether this is happening in reality or is merely another of the Prince's visions. The Swan lovingly dances with the Prince, before the rest of the swans enter and turn on the lead Swan when he makes it clear that he values his relationship with the Prince more than he values membership amongst them. They separate the two and begin attacking the Prince before the Swan leaps in to save him. The swans descend again and begin attacking the Swan. The Prince, despite his efforts, is too weak to save his love. Heartbroken, the Prince cries and collapses onto the bed. The Queen then finds her dead son's body and breaks down in sobs. However, it is in death that the Prince and the Swan can be together; a tableau above showing the lead Swan holding the young Prince from Act One in his arms.
Wednesday, 8 December 2010
Passing Days, Ending Terms
Yesterday this music was played in ballet class forwarded to me today and in retrospect I looked at my notes of the class and funnily enough it is there:
"Pliés: the music was simply beautiful. I think it evoked an emotional response within me. But then I think for pliés the structure is not so important because it is repetitive, legato.. in this class I was fine. (...)"
Very rough of course, but that's what these notes are like.
Excited today to get some feedback on my performance CV and even more excited to get it prepared to send off to some fabulous company I have chosen (hopefully before christmas).
Also very excited to find that people whom I have trained with a few years ago have now entered a company - very inspiring for me to try as well, although I do remember them as very hard working and most successful even then.
Dancing in a little sharing of work this week, which will be fun, and which will be the only thing that comes close to performance of this term. Of course, performance assessments next week. I am looking forward to that.
Preparing more applications, thinking about which performances to film for them, and taking some dance pictures hopefully this week.
"Pliés: the music was simply beautiful. I think it evoked an emotional response within me. But then I think for pliés the structure is not so important because it is repetitive, legato.. in this class I was fine. (...)"
Very rough of course, but that's what these notes are like.
Excited today to get some feedback on my performance CV and even more excited to get it prepared to send off to some fabulous company I have chosen (hopefully before christmas).
Also very excited to find that people whom I have trained with a few years ago have now entered a company - very inspiring for me to try as well, although I do remember them as very hard working and most successful even then.
Dancing in a little sharing of work this week, which will be fun, and which will be the only thing that comes close to performance of this term. Of course, performance assessments next week. I am looking forward to that.
Preparing more applications, thinking about which performances to film for them, and taking some dance pictures hopefully this week.
Monday, 6 December 2010
About Mood/Atmosphere in Ballet vs. Contemporary Class
A very striking thought about the difference in music in ballet and contemporary class was suggested today by a pianist during a conversation:
In ballet, the musician reproduces the dynamics of the step in his music, and this varies for each exercise. He termed the music "more narrative", which I found striking: the music narrates, or it tells you what the step is. In contemporary however, the musician, rather than respond to the structure of the steps, sets a more general mood. It struck me that this might be explaining my different musical experiences in both styles.
What does the teacher do? Really, I find that the teacher's use of voice is much more even in contemporary than in ballet. In ballet, the voice reflects the dynamics of the step (at least that's what we are taught!) and in contemporary the voice, whatever step of the sequence is being set, reflects the overall mood. The teacher is setting a certain mood, and that makes it more of an organic experience for all learners...yes or no?
The teacher in ballet are often not setting an exercise in a certain mood. I think of adage, where however beautiful the choreography might be, the steps are set in the same matter of fact manner than the allegro - albeit with very different dynamics. The dancers are expected to implement these dynamics. But if they do not feel any mood/atmosphere of the setting, it will still seem shallow, if not to the audience so at least to themselves. Maybe that is in part responsible for my experiences in ballet to be less memorable than those in contemporary? Maybe memorable experiences are anchored in moods/atmospheres?
Contemporary dancers seem to have much more of a connection to mood than ballet dancers - even in terms of their personal philosophy (think about the kind of people attracted to ballet versus contemporary). They get into a mood before class (stretching on the floor in silence and engaging with breath) and after class (cool down that often is part of a contemporary class). Ballet is not related to mood so much. Even the révérence is not "mood-ful"; I experience it as more superficial than the breathy cool downs of contemporary, after which the teacher even sometimes does not want applause to "keep the feeling" (quote by anonymous inspiring person and teacher).
All this raises many questions:
Do musicians continue a certain mood they set for an exercise into the next setting? Is there a continuity, or do they approach each exercise/sequence as a separate setting, and respond solely to the teacher's momentary input?
How do pianists choose which mood to set, as this freedom obviously, and as experienced, leaves them with a great responsibility for the overall atmosphere/mood of the class?
So does this mean that it is the musician who is reponsible for the atmosphere? How much does the teacher influence him/her?
Are musicians aware of this?
This has not emerged from any analysis but are raw thoughts about the thing this pianist said to me today, and which I have thought about during class this evening. Writing up the data of the day, I was trying to capture a feeling in words: "I felt elated, I felt in the right place, I felt beautiful and connected, and in a complete moment. There was nothing but the pianist, the music, my body, my movement and a right feeling to it." Although this might sound naive, it is the best I could do to describe what I felt at that moment. And I can't remember when I felt like this the last time in ballet? Do you?
Hopefully once this has been integrated a bit more in data I will be able to say more about it with more confidence.
I would love for anyone to contribute their thoughts on this to further my thinking!
In ballet, the musician reproduces the dynamics of the step in his music, and this varies for each exercise. He termed the music "more narrative", which I found striking: the music narrates, or it tells you what the step is. In contemporary however, the musician, rather than respond to the structure of the steps, sets a more general mood. It struck me that this might be explaining my different musical experiences in both styles.
What does the teacher do? Really, I find that the teacher's use of voice is much more even in contemporary than in ballet. In ballet, the voice reflects the dynamics of the step (at least that's what we are taught!) and in contemporary the voice, whatever step of the sequence is being set, reflects the overall mood. The teacher is setting a certain mood, and that makes it more of an organic experience for all learners...yes or no?
The teacher in ballet are often not setting an exercise in a certain mood. I think of adage, where however beautiful the choreography might be, the steps are set in the same matter of fact manner than the allegro - albeit with very different dynamics. The dancers are expected to implement these dynamics. But if they do not feel any mood/atmosphere of the setting, it will still seem shallow, if not to the audience so at least to themselves. Maybe that is in part responsible for my experiences in ballet to be less memorable than those in contemporary? Maybe memorable experiences are anchored in moods/atmospheres?
Contemporary dancers seem to have much more of a connection to mood than ballet dancers - even in terms of their personal philosophy (think about the kind of people attracted to ballet versus contemporary). They get into a mood before class (stretching on the floor in silence and engaging with breath) and after class (cool down that often is part of a contemporary class). Ballet is not related to mood so much. Even the révérence is not "mood-ful"; I experience it as more superficial than the breathy cool downs of contemporary, after which the teacher even sometimes does not want applause to "keep the feeling" (quote by anonymous inspiring person and teacher).
All this raises many questions:
Do musicians continue a certain mood they set for an exercise into the next setting? Is there a continuity, or do they approach each exercise/sequence as a separate setting, and respond solely to the teacher's momentary input?
How do pianists choose which mood to set, as this freedom obviously, and as experienced, leaves them with a great responsibility for the overall atmosphere/mood of the class?
So does this mean that it is the musician who is reponsible for the atmosphere? How much does the teacher influence him/her?
Are musicians aware of this?
This has not emerged from any analysis but are raw thoughts about the thing this pianist said to me today, and which I have thought about during class this evening. Writing up the data of the day, I was trying to capture a feeling in words: "I felt elated, I felt in the right place, I felt beautiful and connected, and in a complete moment. There was nothing but the pianist, the music, my body, my movement and a right feeling to it." Although this might sound naive, it is the best I could do to describe what I felt at that moment. And I can't remember when I felt like this the last time in ballet? Do you?
Hopefully once this has been integrated a bit more in data I will be able to say more about it with more confidence.
I would love for anyone to contribute their thoughts on this to further my thinking!
Sunday, 5 December 2010
What ten random books say about me
An idea I came across on Jonathan Still's site here a long while ago and ever since wanted to do it too - only I didn't have a space for it then. It's about choosing ten books from your shelf with your eyes closed and telling the world what they say about you. Here we go.
The Plumed Serpent by D.H. Lawrence
I can't remember what this says about me. Except that I cannot pass a bookshop without finding new must have books. I actually got this on a rainy night to the Royal Opera House - or did I? Anyway, the reason I got it was because I had read many earlier works of Lawrence and thought he was rather good. I like the thought of following an author to the end, like easily Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters.
Das Glasperlenspiel by Hermann Hesse
First thing that comes to mind is a school friend of mine from Luxembourg, her love for Hesse and her having read this. Second thing is the old book fair where I bought 61 books for 61 Euros and broke the fair sales record. Third thing is that I have attempted to read this three times but never got very far. But since Steppenwolf I am determined to have another try. I had this book since I was sixteen or so. Me having brought it to London proves my determination.
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Mostly there because I can never remember which books of his I have read and which I haven't. Saving it for a rainy and sad day. It looks new though..
Observing Children: A Practical Guide by Carole Sharman, Wendy Cross and Diana Vennis
I was surprised when it landed on my bed just then. I picked this up because the library had it cleared out and it was only 2 pounds. I tend to pick up stuff with any potential to further my knowledge in teaching dance world. However, not having looked at it and forgotten it was there seems a bit disappointing.
Aspects of Folk Dance in Europe by Helen Wingrave and Robert Harrold
I had to get this for a few reasons: 1. It goes back to trying to be a better teacher for character dance. 2. I was interested in finding out more about the backgrounds having danced with a Russian/Ukrainian/Moldavian Dance Ensemble for a couple of years. It's really clear about costumes as well. I'm getting slightly excited again only looking at it.
Dance Composition by Jacqueline Smith-Autard
Trying to save up some helpful books for future workshops that I might never give or use. But this was part of the library clear-out, although it was rather expensive for the occasion. I wonder when I will have a closer look at it. It's vaguely comforting and vaguely irritating that it's sitting on my shelf.
L'Esprit du Ballet by Marcel Schneider
This is one of the first - if not the first - serious ballet books I got. I got it in Metz where I used to buy my pointe shoes, in the Fnac. I had no idea who Diaghilev was then but already I was guided by a sense of frantic need to know/should really know.
Le Testament Français by Andreï Makine
The original is really French. This was recommended to me by a family member during a family trip and of course I got it in the next best book shop in Geneva - amongst probably six other books, and some more books as presents for a loved one.
I was to expect an interesting treatment of the French language since this author had learned French from his Grandmother (originally French) who had passed her whole life in Siberia. But although I missed the subtleties of this influence, nevertheless the book was beautifully and very calmly telling the story of this grandmother.
This book was then given to me as a present by said family member and now I treasure two copies.
Les Fleurs du Mal by Charles Baudelaire
My complicated relationship with poetry. I take this book with me wherever I move, only to read half a poem now and then. I must read aloud because it's French and I have been taught that passion for French poetry comes with the sound of it, and I must stand up because my English teacher once said he'd read standing up in his room and the image has never left me. Also got it from said book fair.
The Progressions of Classical Ballet by the Royal Academy of Dance
Yes, notation and description and drawings all in one. All about knowing the detail. It's really a good help. It probably speaks for itself.
The Plumed Serpent by D.H. Lawrence
I can't remember what this says about me. Except that I cannot pass a bookshop without finding new must have books. I actually got this on a rainy night to the Royal Opera House - or did I? Anyway, the reason I got it was because I had read many earlier works of Lawrence and thought he was rather good. I like the thought of following an author to the end, like easily Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters.
Das Glasperlenspiel by Hermann Hesse
First thing that comes to mind is a school friend of mine from Luxembourg, her love for Hesse and her having read this. Second thing is the old book fair where I bought 61 books for 61 Euros and broke the fair sales record. Third thing is that I have attempted to read this three times but never got very far. But since Steppenwolf I am determined to have another try. I had this book since I was sixteen or so. Me having brought it to London proves my determination.
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Mostly there because I can never remember which books of his I have read and which I haven't. Saving it for a rainy and sad day. It looks new though..
Observing Children: A Practical Guide by Carole Sharman, Wendy Cross and Diana Vennis
I was surprised when it landed on my bed just then. I picked this up because the library had it cleared out and it was only 2 pounds. I tend to pick up stuff with any potential to further my knowledge in teaching dance world. However, not having looked at it and forgotten it was there seems a bit disappointing.
Aspects of Folk Dance in Europe by Helen Wingrave and Robert Harrold
I had to get this for a few reasons: 1. It goes back to trying to be a better teacher for character dance. 2. I was interested in finding out more about the backgrounds having danced with a Russian/Ukrainian/Moldavian Dance Ensemble for a couple of years. It's really clear about costumes as well. I'm getting slightly excited again only looking at it.
Dance Composition by Jacqueline Smith-Autard
Trying to save up some helpful books for future workshops that I might never give or use. But this was part of the library clear-out, although it was rather expensive for the occasion. I wonder when I will have a closer look at it. It's vaguely comforting and vaguely irritating that it's sitting on my shelf.
L'Esprit du Ballet by Marcel Schneider
This is one of the first - if not the first - serious ballet books I got. I got it in Metz where I used to buy my pointe shoes, in the Fnac. I had no idea who Diaghilev was then but already I was guided by a sense of frantic need to know/should really know.
Le Testament Français by Andreï Makine
The original is really French. This was recommended to me by a family member during a family trip and of course I got it in the next best book shop in Geneva - amongst probably six other books, and some more books as presents for a loved one.
I was to expect an interesting treatment of the French language since this author had learned French from his Grandmother (originally French) who had passed her whole life in Siberia. But although I missed the subtleties of this influence, nevertheless the book was beautifully and very calmly telling the story of this grandmother.
This book was then given to me as a present by said family member and now I treasure two copies.
Les Fleurs du Mal by Charles Baudelaire
My complicated relationship with poetry. I take this book with me wherever I move, only to read half a poem now and then. I must read aloud because it's French and I have been taught that passion for French poetry comes with the sound of it, and I must stand up because my English teacher once said he'd read standing up in his room and the image has never left me. Also got it from said book fair.
The Progressions of Classical Ballet by the Royal Academy of Dance
Yes, notation and description and drawings all in one. All about knowing the detail. It's really a good help. It probably speaks for itself.
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