Sensuality and Nationalism in Romantic Ballet

SENSUALITY AND NATIONALISM IN ROMANTIC BALLET reveals intriguing facets of 19th century ballet that illustrate innovations far beyond our common understanding of this era.  This picturesque period of ballet offered a revolutionary focus highlighting the stories and characters of everyday people, inspired by a combination of dynamic influences from ‘national dance’. The colorful ballet of this era, bridges the gap from the opulence of Baroque dance, to the broadened aesthetics and virtuosic technique of the Romantic Ballet.This DVD program integrates documentary information with restaged dances,  based on documentation provided by 19th century dance literature and iconography.  The dances include the signature dance of  the famous ballerina, Fanny Elssler and works by the choreographer, Henri Justamant, a French ballet master who left notated scores of more than 100 ballets and divertissements. Restaged dance footage is supplemented by an extraordinary collection of illustrations from the Derra de Moroda Dance Archives of Salzburg, Austria.This DVD is conceived and written by Professor Claudia Jeschke – Chair, Department of Dance Studies, University of Salzburg, and Robert Atwood –ballet teacher, The Ailey School in New York City.

DVD run time: 57 minutes

The influences of “national dance” are also considered, in this beautiful documentary and performance enhanced with a collection of stunning illustrations from the Derra de Moroda Dance Archives of Salzburg, Sensuality & Nationalism in Romantic Ballet is beautiful to behold, and enthusiastically recommended for amateur ballet connoisseurs and serious ballet reference shelves alike, especially including college library DVD collections. Midwest Book Review: February 2012

Program details:

RESTAGED DANCES

“Fandango”

This is re-creation of a Fandango from Christoph Willibald Gluck’s ballet, Don Juan ou le Festin de pierre, originally created in 1761 by Gasparo Angiolini.

“Vestris Gavotte”

This dance was restaged from the notated score “Vestris Gavotte”, published in Théleur, E. A., Letters on Dancing, London 1831.

“Cachucha”

This dance is restaged from the notated score “Cachucha”, published in Zorn, Friedrich Albert, Grammatik der Tanzkunst, Leipzig [1887]. The dance has been reconstructed by Ann Hutchinson Guest.

“Pas de l’Abeille”

The following is a re-creation of the famous “pas de l’abeille” from the ballet, La Péri, composed in 1843 by Theophile Gautier and Jean Coralli.

“Pas de la Esmeralda”

The step material is from the “Pas de la Esmeralda” from the ballet Quasimodo ou la Bohémienne, created in 1859 by Henri Justamant.

“Tyrolienne”

The “Tyrolienne,” a couple dance from the ballet Quasimodo ou la Bohémienne, created in 1859 by Henri Justamant.

DOCUMENTARY CHAPTERS

Understanding 19th Century Ballet

19th Century Ballet Adapts National Dance

The Inter-Nationalization of Ballet

Commercializing Dance

Synthesizing Dance Vocabularies

Characterization

National Dances Inspire Theatricality

Presenting ‘Couleur Locale’

Female-Male Interactions

Expressiveness

The Spanish Repertoire

New Approaches to Movement

Veils

Arabesques

Exploring the Floor

Women in Focus

Reverences

DANCERS

Dancers:
Rainer Krenstetter
Nadege Hottier

Courtesy of the The Brooklyn Ballet
Kerry Shea
Richard Glover
Christine Howard
Matthew Van Buskirk
Carolina Osopova

Courtesy of The Manhattan Youth Ballet
Julienne Benedetto
Jenna Lauter
Sarah Smith

Financial support for this project is provided by Historic Dance Theater and The Derra de Moroda Dance Archives, Salzburg.

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