The Ballet
A Time to Dance, Stanton Welch's first choreographic
commission, was first choreographed in 1990 for the Dancer's
Company in Australia. Since then it has been performed all over
the world. BalletMet Columbus is the fourth company to perform
the ballet.
In Welch's ballet, character dancing is combined directly
with classical dancing to create an entirely different set of
movements. While audience members will see pointe shoes and pirouettes,
they will also see dancers deliberately flexing their feet and
turning their legs in from the hips, infusing more refined European
dancing with the energy of peasants and gypsies. Performing this
combination of classical ballet's geometry with character dancing's
abandon is deceptively difficult. Welch admits as much, saying
that this ballet was designed to challenge the dancers yet allow
them to have fun within the boundaries of classical ballet. And
if rehearsals are any indication, the dancers are clearly having
fun, even as they rush across the stage trying to catch up to
the music.
The piece is a celebration of youth and exuberance and calls
to mind evenings outdoors in late summer. These are characters
that have few worries and take the time to revel in the pleasure
of friends and the excitement of discovery.
The dancers run with abandon. They spin, and spin and spin
until you are sure they are going to fall right over. Not to
mention the fact that there is some pretty exciting partnering
going on. Ballerinas are constantly being tossed into the air
as easily as if they were small children. At one point, two of
the male dancers lift one woman high above their heads by her
ankles. It looks difficult and a little scary, but after a few
tries she climbs into the air and floats back down to the floor
with perfect ease. In the last moments of the ballet the women
are thrown and caught over the heads of their partners. They
gracefully tumble back to earth in a faint and leave the stage
at a fast clip as the last notes of music die away.
There are several sections to this ballet each dressed in
a different color that could have been taken right out of a late
summer garden. After a rousing opening section, there is a friendly
pas de trios for one man and two women, followed by a solo for
a woman. She is a bit older and mature than the characters that
just appeared. There is an obvious sensuality about her dancing
alone that says to the audience "I am comfortable with the
woman I am becoming." Then there is a pas de deux, less
confident, more exploratory. The dancers touch each other tentatively,
almost surprised at the feelings they have for each other. There
are moments of abandon and restraint as they try to negotiate
what is appropriate and what is exciting. Almost in direct contrast
to this pair, a woman struts around the stage as the men of the
company literally fall at her feet. A pas de trios for one woman
and two men rounds out the suite and the entire company rebounds
to the stage for a driving finale.
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Character (caractère)
Dancing
France
Character dancing became a phenomenon in 19th century European
ballet. A spirit of exploration and revived nationalism all over
the continent resulted in an interest in people living in areas
outside the main factory of ballet, Paris France. Choreographers
began telling stories that centered on common people and injected
stylized folk dances into their ballets. The first, Jean Dauberval's
La Fille Malle Gardée (1789) looked beyond the
usual suspects who usually appeared on the ballet stage (gods,
goddesses, kings, queens) and chose instead to tell the story
of a peasant girl, Lise, and her imminent betrothal to a man
she did not love.
Later, Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot would use stylized versions
European folk dances in Giselle (1841). While those references
have not completely survived in present-day restagings of the
ballet, the idea continued and was an important part of many
other Romantic Era ballets. The last great ballet of that era,
Arthur Saint-Léon's Coppélia (1870), saw
the heroine Swanhilda dancing the folk dances of Europe to the
delight of Dr. Coppelius.
Russia
By the time French choreographer Marius Petipa was installed
in St. Petersburg as ballet master in 1869, Russian dancers had
already had a strong education in folk dancing. Unlike Renaissance-influenced
Italy and France, Russia had no strong tradition of court ballets.
Instead of celebrating a refined, understated type of dance,
Russian students learned the folk dances of different regions.
While he imported Italian ballerinas to dance the more classically
technical roles in his ballets, Petipa chose to incorporate the
Russian dancers' specialty. Realizing the value of such dances,
he continued to encourage the study of character dancing in the
ballet academy.
A number of Petipa's ballets include divertissements utilizing
stylized versions of European folk dances. Most notably are those
in Act II of The Nutcracker (1892) and Act III of Swan
Lake (1877). The dancers may wear heeled shoes or boots and
costumes that resemble the national dress of the country they
are depicting. They may stomp their feet, click heels together
and fold their arms at their elbows. They polka, mazurka, czardas,
polonaise and tarantella in large and small groups.
Character Dancing Today
While it is important to acknowledge the roots of these dances,
it is also important to recognize that they were never meant
to be genuine reconstructions of national dances. They were born
in the mind of the choreographer and stylized to match the aesthetic
of the ballet as a whole. It is possible that in today's artistic
climate, labeling a clearly European dance as "Arabic"
or presenting a French interpretation as "Russian"
could be seen as insensitive appropriation, but 19th century
ballet made no such apologies. For the choreographers of the
time it was a celebration of the diversity of a world they were
only beginning to know.
Today, the study of character dancing is still a part of many
dance academies since ballets that incorporate stylized folk
dances are still widely performed. While not as technically demanding
as classical ballet, these dances require an amazing amount of
rhythmic precision and stamina.
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The Music
Antonin Dvorak Slavonic Dances 1, 2, 7 op. 46; Slavonic
Dances 3, 4, 7 op. 72; Serenade For Strings (4th movement)
At the same time that European and Russian ballet masters
were drawing on the folk dances of their regions for their productions,
Dvorak was doing the same thing with music. He has come to be
recognized as one of the most influential composers to combine
the rhythms and sounds of Slavic music with the classical European
tradition. It is completely natural then that Welch would turn
to Dvorak for his ballet that blends the energy and shape of
European folk dancing with classical European dance.
According to Welch, the choreography seemed to spring right
from the music. In watching the company dance it, the whole thing
makes sense. Encased in the accompaniment are the rhythms of
stomping feet as well as the subtler sounds of love songs.
Dvorak composed two sets of Slavonic dances and Welch uses
parts form each of them for his ballet. These were the songs
that propelled Dvorak to international fame when his friend Brahms
saw amazing talent in the young composer. Welch also draws on
Dvorak's highly praised Serenade for Strings from 1875.