Storytelling through Ballet and the Woman Behind It

The First Storytelling Ballet and the Woman Behind It

by Mary Hatfalvi

Title of this Milestone

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Abstract

The goal for this milestone is to do a research report on the first recorded ballet in London, Pygmalion which opened in 1734 at the Covent Gardens which is now known as Royal Opera House, and the story of the famous dancer & choreographer Marie Sallé. This research will look at how this ballet, choreographed by Marie Sallé, started a new approach of ballet style and performance in London that is used today. In conclusion, this milestone will then telling the story of 'Little Marie' through her ballet poses and specific places throughout London that she visits. To help me with this milestone I will use my prior experience in ballet performance from lessons taken from kindergarten to 3rd grade. This experience will help me with ballet storytelling techniques to use for 'Little Marie' 's story.

Introduction

I suggest you save this section for last. Describe the essence of this project. Cover what the project is and who cares in the first two sentences. Then cover what others have done like it, how your project is different. Discuss the extent to which your strategy for completing this project was new to you, or an extension of previous HUA experiences.

As you continue to think about your project milestones, reread the "Goals" narrative on defining project milestones from the HU2900 syllabus. Remember: the idea is to have equip your milestone with a really solid background and then some sort of "thing that you do". You'll need to add in some narrative to describe why you did the "thing that you did", which you'd probably want to do anyway. You can make it easy for your advisors to give you a high grade by ensuring that your project milestone work reflects careful, considerate, and comprehensive thought and effort in terms of your background review, and insightful, cumulative, and methodical approaches toward the creative components of your project milestone deliverables.

Section 1: Background

Ballet in London

History

Beginning

The beginning of ballet did not start in London. Ballet originally started in Italy and then to France before it was seen in England. In the 17th century, elaborate dances would be performed in European courts and were used to celebrate marriages or to show wealth and power. According to the Victoria and Albert Museum Digital Media website,"the performances were a mixture of spoken word, music, dance and pantomime. They contained ceremonial processions with spectacular technical effects and extravagant costumes. The stories were inspired by the myths of ancient Greece and Rome or were based on themes such as the four seasons, the natural world or foreign lands. Costumes were imaginative and fantastical, decorated with symbols that helped the audience to recognize the characters in the story. Movement was often limited by the size of these costumes." Pictured below is an example of the elaborate costumes that were worn.

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  Marie Sallé

England before the 20th century did not have a school for dance. Foreign performers would come and perform ballet in places such the Covent Gardens. One of the first ballet performances in London history is Pygmalion which opened in 1734 at the Covent Gardens.

Pygmalion - The First Recorded Ballet in London

Performance Summary

This first ballet performance was shown on the 14th February 1734 with Marie Sallé as Galatea and choreographer. The music was by Jean-Joseph Mouret. The ballet plot was about Pygmalion, king of Cyprus, who carved a statue of his ideal woman and fell in love with her. Aphrodite then brought the sculpture to life and Pygmalion married her. The name Galatea was the name given to the statue for this interpretation and other performances This performance was put on when the Royal Opera House was called Convert Gardens before the second fire. According to an article on Marie, she danced in a muslin costume with her hair down and un-ornamented which emphasized her belief that dance should be natural.

Dramatic Elements

Pygmalion adoring his statue (1717) by Jean Raoux

The dramatic elements can be described at best through a review from a London corespondent of the Mercure de France:

"This is the theme. Pygmalion enters his studio accompanied by his sculptors, who execute a characteristic dance, mallet and chisel in hand. Pygmalion bids them throw open the back of the studio which, like the forepart, is adorned with statues. One in the middle stands out above all the others and attracts the admiration of everyone. Pygmalion examines it, considers it, and signs. He puts his hands on his feet, then on the body; he examines all the contours likewise the arms, which he adorns with precious bracelets. He places a rich necklace about about the neck and kisses the hands of his beloved statue. At last he becomes enraptured with it; he displays signs of unrest and falls into a reverie, then prays to Venus and beseeches her to endow the marble to life.

Venus heads his prayer; three rays of light appear, and to the surprise of Pygmalion and his followers, the statue , to suitable music, gradually emerges from its insensibility; she empresses astonishment at her new existence and at all of the objects which surround her.

Pygmalion, amazed and transported, holds out his hand for her to step from her position; she tests the ground, as it were, and gradually steps into the most elegant poses that a sculptor could desire. Pygmalion dances in front of her as if to teach her to dance. She repeats after him the simplest as well as the most difficult and complicated steps; he endeavours to inspire her with the love which he feels, and succeeds".

Sallé in her performance as Galatea in Pigmalion dressed "...in this entrée without a pannier, without a skirt, with her hair all disheveled and no ornament on her head; dressed neither in a corset nor a petticoat, but in a simple muslin robe arranged as a close-fitting drapery, in the manner of a Greek statue.” The tone for this ballet was romantic.

Reviews

At the time, ballet dancers would dress in extravagant costumes with corsets. This did not give freedom for much movement. It was unheard of what Marie Sallé did in this performance. Marie was complemented in many reviews for her success & genius in her decision & performance. According to a review from the Mercure de France: "You cannot doubt,...the prodigious success of this ingenious ballet, so skilfully presented". She even got to perform for the royal family and court of the day.

The ballet according to an encyclopedia article said that Pygmalion has been cited as the forerunner of Jean Georges Noverre's ballet d'action, which means a ballet that told a story. Overall, this performance was a breakthrough in ballet history with costumes and style.

Early 20th Century Growth

The beginning of ballet in London started in 1920 when Édouard Espinosa and Philip Richardson founded the Royal Academy of Dancing. In 1926 Ninette de Valois, opened the Academy of Choreographic Art, which became known eventually as the Royal Ballet. The real growth of ballet performances in London started after WWII. During WWII, the Vic Wells Ballet was sent off on a tour of the Netherlands, France and Belgium where they performed for the solders fighting. They become local heroes surviving the tough conditions with the solders. After that, many places started their own ballet companies and ballet grew to be the beautiful dance performance style that is shown today.

Today

Today, ballet is one of the most beautiful forms of theatrical storytelling. It is world wide known for it's beauty, grace and enchantment in it's performance. For my deliverable, I want to look at today's ballet; where it is performed, ballet poses that enhances the storytelling, and today's costumes.

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  Alexandra Ansanelli as Ondine - Royal Ballet - London (2008)

Performance Places

One of the beautiful aspects about ballet is that it has been performed so many places in London. The home of the Royal Ballet is the Royal Opera House where numerous ballets have been performed since the 18th century. The Palace Theater from 1969 has been a place where Contemporary Ballet has had a home. The Royal Albert Hall has also been a theater where ballet troupes such as the Birmingham Royal Ballet and the English National Ballet. Public Gardens have been used as ballet performance venues as well as public ballet lessons. In conclusion though, ballet can be performed almost anywhere.

Storytelling Poses

The poses used in today's ballet are numerous. However I will go over some important and most interesting poses used in ballet storytelling today.

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  Happy

This pose shown above shows a classic ballet pose known as a Arabesque. According to a ballet terms site, the Arabesque is defined as a position on one leg with the other leg raised behind the body and extended in a straight line. This position can be used for to invoke feelings such as happiness.

Our next position I call afraid since gives the feeling of being scared. Both arms are extended upward and the body is tightened. In my research I found no formal name given for this position.

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  Afraid

Angry is one of my favorites. When researching angry ballet poses this turned up. This position in my findings doe's have a formal name either. The ballerina's feet though are in fourth position with the extended foot pointing forward. The arms are extended straight backward and the body is leaned forward. The position to me does show anger.

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  Angry

Joy is an Arabesque that has both arms extended gracefully to the side. This position sends a joyful feeling.

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  Joy

The last ballet pose is used in swan lake. This uses the fourth position with the back foot extended. One arm is extended upward and the other is bend forward. This pose shows the beauty and grace in the movement of ballet today.

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  Apologetic

Costumes

costumes that are worn now?

Marie Sallé

Story

Marie Sallé

Marie Sallé was born 1707 in Paris, France. She was a daughter of a tumbler. She was one of two children who both had a talent for dance. She made her first debut in 1718 at the St. Laurent's Fair in an opera-comique by Lesaye called La Princesse Carisme.

In 1725, Marie went to London and performed in the production named Love's Last Shift. She stayed in London dancing in many productions then returned to Paris where she started at the Paris Opera. However, she quickly returned to London because she would be ridiculed for her ideas in Paris. She stayed in Paris from 1728 to 1733 then left to go to Covent Garden (now known as the Royal Opera House) where she choreographed and performed two of her greatest performances, Pigmalion and Bacchus and Ariadne which were both shown in the spring of 1734.

After her season at Covent Garden, she renewed her contract with John Rich and danced for many operas & dance interludes between acts in plays. She eventually went back to Paris and after a salary raise, returned to the Paris Opera. During her time there, she produced, choreographed and performed in many different ballets which were all wildly praised for her talent, style & grace.

Sallé retired from the opera in 1740 with her final opera in Les Talens Lyriques. She died in July 27th, 1756.

Style & Techniques

According to Encyclopedia Britannica, Salle performed expressive, dramatic dances during a period when displays of technical virtuosity were more popular. She believed in the style of dance and costume that is expressive & related to the theme. Her dance according to an English translation of Noverre's Letters on Dance was descried as the following: "I was enchanted with her dancing. She was possessed of neither brilliancy nor the technique common to dance nowadays, but she has replaced that showiness by simple and touching graces; free from affectation, her features were refined, expressive, and intelligent. Her voluptuous dancing displayed both delicacy and lightness; sh did not stir the heart by leaps and bounds" Her costumes were the style of the story. In Pygmalion, she had a costume of a Greek robe to look like a Greek statue. She was a force to be reckoned with through her ideas and influence.

Influence

Marie Sallé was influential not only in her dance but in her dance interpretation and costume. She was the first woman to choreograph the ballets in which she performed in. She integrated music, costumes, and dance styles with the themes of her ballets, a form that was not officially used in ballet until the ballet reformation in the late 18th-century. She wanted dancing especially to be an expression of the story and not a traditional dance. Her influence in dance was immediately felt and long lasting especially with her Pygmalion. 1748 and 1751 productions of the ballet used many connections to Sallé's dance choreography. According to a chapter on Marie from a book on Women's Infuence: " A Paris revival of Riccoboni’s Pigmalion dating from 26 March 1735 may have been seen by Franz Hilverding (1710–68), who could certainly have studied Sallé herself in some of her pantomimic scenes for Rameau’s opéra-ballets."

Besides her choreography, Marie Sallé is known for her influence in ballet costumes that are more commonly know in today's ballet. Sallé’s performed in a time when dancers’ costumes were not realistic and limited to movement. She wanted costumes to be more flowing and look as they were am part of the story. In the ballet Pygmalion, was were is official started her reformation in costume by wearing a Greek robe to look like a Greek statue. Sadly though, in Handel’s Alcina (1735) her dress as a man was not looked on as highly as her other costume choices. The Abbé Prévost wrote about Sallé as Cupid that she, “took it upon herself to dance ... in male attire. This, it is said, suits her very ill and was apparently the cause of her disgrace.” Despite the horrible responses, she is still know for taking the risk in costume reformation.

Overall, Sallé’s role as a teacher, choreographer and entrepreneur of her ballet reformation gave her a place in historical England that will never be taken away.

Section 2: Deliverable

Using the different poses and places described in the background, I will tell the story of 'Little Marie' and here journey through London.

The Story of 'Little Marie'

Once upon a time, there was 'Little Marie'. 'Little Marie' begins her journey though London at a garden near her home. The garden is full of busy and happy people. 'Little Marie' is joyful. Pictures of 'Little Marie' around London telling her story through ballet with a description

Conclusion

In this section, provide a summary or recap of your work, as well as potential areas of further inquiry (for yourself, future students, or other researchers).

External Links

Marie Salle Bio
Victoria & Albert Museum - Origins of Ballet

Image Gallery

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