One day
till the biggest performance of the season. None other than Swan Lake; Perhaps
the most popular amongst the crowd of Bucharest. Tickets have been sold out way
in advance, so we will be expecting a full house at the opera, which is always
very rewarding for us dancers. During
this past year in which I have been part of the company, I have realised
narrative ballet have been much more successful in filling up the seats in the
auditorium than any theme or abstract Ballets we have (meaning without a
certain storyline necessarily), even if these involve excellent creations from
well known choreographers, the story ballets seem to be better crowd
pleasers. Why? Perhaps a story is more
entertaining for the audience to follow. There are also the costume and sets
which cause a bigger wow factor! In a story, one can relate to the characters
on stage. Some narratives allow for a bigger impact amongst different ages,
whereas a theme ballet could be harder for one to comprehend the purpose of it.
However, it is very common that choreographers create abstract work that either
illustrates what the music speaks to them, or gives a hidden meaning or an open
opinion for the audience to think about and discuss. A great example for this
is Forsythe, whose work I find greatly metaphorical and innovative. Choreographers
like him push the boundaries. Introduce
new ideas in a different light than the traditional way of storytelling. Pieces
like these speak to the audience differently and sometimes can be hard to
follow. My question is, how far are we willing to push the boundaries in dance
and how much does that rely on the culture of a place and if that changes
accordingly to the place or even the years that pass? Dance is an art therefore it is challenged
just like fashion and literature. However, what actions should we taken for the
people to appreciate progress? Is it by training the eye, exposing the audience
to modern ideas? Opening up minds? (impossible). I believe the word is patience for now.
Without trial there is no opinion! I am wishing to discover more about how
ballet has progressed throughout the years. I obviously haven’t set my mind
onto any specific topic as I would like to have an overall view about the way
the dance industry works. Any suggestions or observations feel free to comment
bellow! Any opinion is welcome either on the topic of progress in dance or even
they way I am writing on my blog! I am a beginner to this so any advice is very
appreciated :)
This is something I've often wondered too Taz! I think many audience members when they go to the ballet, expect to lose themselves in the narrative of a piece and want to have the answers handed to them on a plate. The more abstract, modern pieces require the audience to use their own opinion and interpretation which is perhaps why it is not so broadly accepted. It's a shame, because there is so much scope for creativity and development in modern dance and I think that it is something that might only appeal to a niche market of dance enthusiasts for the time being. Interesting thoughts though and i'm looking forward to hearing more.
ReplyDeleteExactly! Nowadays I feel that the work being created at present represents very much the world we are living in now. Giving an example. Wayne McGregor (Doctorate of Science) bases a lot of his creative work on neuroscience, the way the brain works and technology. Whereas, dance used to be a form of expressing one's self emotionally, we are entering an almost futuristic era this way. The breaking point will show in the pieces that will last for years after. Those are the ones creating history! A revolutionary, in my opinion, choreographer of our time, would have to be Alexander Ekman. His work may not be of direct storyline but what he presents on stage is always captivating in theme and exceptionally entertaining! you should check his work out ;)
DeleteHi Taz,
ReplyDeletesome interesting points. here. I also think it depends on who the audience is that are going to the ballet.
Now if I was going to see the ballet with my partner, then I would take him to see one of the more traditional ballet's Swan Lake etc. and he would need that structure of the story to understand what was happening. However if I was to go with a dancer friend then I would go and see one of the more contemporary ballets as we would appreciate the choreography and the beauty of how it was put together.
Do you also thing there is still some kind of class status attached to going to the ballet which maybe linked to why the more popular ballets are sell outs? - just a thought?
Hi Laura-Jayne,
Deleteit most certainly does depend on who the audience is watching but also to whom the ballet is advertised to. Interesting thing is that since a few years ago the royal ballet, and a few other companies, have started streaming live performances at the cinema's annually, for well priced tickets. I believe that it's an excellent way to speak to the people and let them know that ballet is not just for that 'upper class' like it used to me years ago! I was very happy to see that this has been successful around the world, while going to the cinemas to watch the ballet in the Uk, Brno (small city in the Czech Republic) and even Romania! Dancing is for everybody, and it's so refreshing to see a young audience, as these are the people carrying on the love for this art form for our future!
Hi Taz,
ReplyDeleteVery interesting read and the following comments have been interesting too. Do you not feel that the filming of dance in some ways removes the emotional experience? Personally, I feel differently watching a ballet live than I do watching it on a screen. On screen I begin to analyse the performance and look at technique and see what they are doing technically that I could do to improve my own technique. When I watch a live performance I get caught up in the emotion of it and I don't notice so much if they make a mistake and I don't analyse their technique. I leave feeling a great euphoria which I don't get when I watch a performance on TV.
Perhaps part of the reason that story ballets are more popular with the general public is because they already know the story. They don't have to understand the movements that ballet dancers use as speach. In musicals, the songs give understanding so movement doesn't need to be able to talk and requires no knowledge because the songs are telling the story. In ballet we have movement to mean death and marriage etc. but the general public doesn't know these symbols so if they are watching something that doesn't have a story, how do they know what is going on?
I think Disney also has a large impact on the dance world today. They make films of so many stories that are also ballets. I particularly love Sleeping Beauty because it is the only Disney film to use music from the ballet. When ballets like Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast come to towns, I'm sure that there are many many little girls that want to go see their favourite Disney princesses live so their parents take them. When it Is something like Symbionts, one of Wayne McGregor's pieces and my favourite, a child is not going to understand what it is about so parents won't be so keen on taking their child to see it.
I am happy that the cinema is also helping to connect dance to more people but I think people are missing out on the bigger experience and joy by not seeing dance in the theatre or venue where it is living.
Break a leg with Swan Lake! It is my favourite! :)
Nora
Ofcourse! I agree with you 100% on this. Any form of dance behind a screen looses the reality; the connection with the audience, the sound of breath of a dancer which for me is quite a powerful aspect in dance giving life. It's just like I said...actually exactly like I said 'dancing behind a screen, a glass, which is the camera. However, I do believe it's a good first step for a company to take to interact with the community who perhaps cannot afford a 60$ ticket at the opera, or even people abroad who don't have the opportunity to watch the royal ballet for example in their city. During the hard times in the dance company I was in the Czech Republic, where work was not going idealy as I wished for at the time, going to the cinema to watch performances like Sleeping Beauty and Royal Ballet's premier at the time, Winter's Tale, is what kept me motivated and reminded me the love of dance I had kept inside.
ReplyDeleteI believe the story ballets, as you said, will forever be popular with the crowd, which doesn't hurt me as I do love them also. I am just curious to see how far the artform can take us, what is seen as now 'outdated', whereas at the time of it's creation could have been revolutionary, or 'legendary' . I mean, factually, there is a reason why the Petipa Ballets (talking about 19th/ 20th century here) are still very well appreciated and welcomed by the audience. Saying this, I believe that the future of the ballets being created lie a lot on the hands of our present audience... That is definitely something I would love to look more into!
Now , it's very true that a child would probably not appreciate or understand a piece as complicated as that of Mcgregor's but perhaps every choreographer would have it's one audience to follow. One can't please all, and that's not only for dance :)
I feel that comments like this really open doors for new ideas conversation to be discussed, and I thank you for that!
Taz!