Author: Robert Ignatius Letellier Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing ISBN: 1443800805 Category : Music Languages : en Pages : 275
Book Description
The composer Ludwig Minkus represents one of music’s biggest mysteries. Who was he? Hardly anything is known about him, and yet he occupied an influential position in the theatres of the Imperial ballet in late nineteenth-century Russia. He has been recognised as a predecessor of Tchaikovsky, but as a musician is commonly held to have been so feeble as to be beneath contempt. Yet despite the scorn heaped on him, and his consequent obscurity, Minkus is far from being forgotten. Since the early 1960s his name has slowly begun to re-surface. Two works, Don Quixote (1869) and La Bayadère (1877), have been presented in their entirety for the first time to new audiences all over the world. The musical and dramatic power of both ballets has taken people by surprise. The stories have a very real human appeal, the choreography attracts the admiration of balletomanes, and the music, with its rhythm, verve, and beauty of melody, holds attention and engages the heart wherever it is heard. This introduction seeks to discover something more behind the blank façade of Minkus’s life and work. What do we actually know about him as a man and as an artist? Are we able to apprehend his oeuvre as a whole, and how much can we establish from the available material? What is the nature of the music he created for those few works that have survived the years, and that have come to the fore again recently to delight those who have ears to hear? This study includes iconography from the life and times of the composer, many musical examples from his works, and a comprehensive bibliography and discography.
Author: Jennifer C. Kronenberg Publisher: University Press of Florida ISBN: 0813051843 Category : Performing Arts Languages : en Pages : 177
Book Description
"An insightful read from one of the ballet world’s most beloved married couples!"--Melinda Roy, former principal dancer, New York City Ballet "Wonderfully complete and instructive, written by two artists who have lived what they write about and are sharing their life experience from a deep and very human viewpoint. Bravo!"--Donald Mahler, former director, Metropolitan Opera Ballet "Perfect for inspiring dancers who want to learn more about the art of partnering."--Lauren Jonas, cofounder and artistic director, Diablo Ballet "An effective and lively resource to add to a dancer and teacher’s partnering skills toolkit."--Dean Speer, author of On Technique Traditionally, the pas de deux was designed as an interlude during longer ballets and showcased a ballerina’s skills. The male was a guide to her movements and steps, an unwavering extension of the ballerina. Today the pas de deux occupies a central role in dances and the reliance on a male’s strength has given way to endless modifications. Respect, patience, intuition, and awareness are just as significant as technique and the best partners communicate through breath, eye contact, and musical cues. In Experiencing the Art of Pas de Deux, professional dance couple Jennifer Carlynn Kronenberg and Carlos Miguel Guerra demystify the physical, emotional, and artistic intricacies that allow two to dance as one. They examine key components often overlooked in classes and textbooks, such as how to build and maintain the connections necessary for a trusting and successful team. Illuminating pas de deux work from both male and female perspectives, they detail the specific responsibilities of each partner. Step-by-step instructions are provided for proper posture, lifts, promenades, turns, and even dance conditioning--and QR code–accessible videos provide brief demonstrations of new and complex movements. Each chapter also includes personal anecdotes, offering a rare and intimate look at how partners can support one another and discover the inner workings of the finest and most memorable dances. Jennifer Carlynn Kronenberg is a former principal dancer with the Miami City Ballet. She has conducted master classes for Ballet Chicago and Ballet de Monterrey, among other companies and schools. She is the author of So, You Want to Be a Ballet Dancer? Carlos Miguel Guerra is a former principal dancer with the Miami City Ballet. He studied and worked with Fernando Alonso in Cuba, Ivan Nagy in Chile, and Edward Villella in Miami.
Author: Robert Ignatius Letellier Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing ISBN: 9781443821308 Category : Ballets Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
In 1868 the choreographer Marius Petipa planned his ballet Don Quixote for the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, and the Austrian composer Ludwig Minkus was invited to compose the music. The plot of Don Quixote was based on the adventures of Quiteria (known as Kitri in the ballet) and Basilio, which Petipa had developed from the second part of Miguel de Cervantes's novel (1605). The ballet was an enormous success, both in Moscow (14/26 December 1869) and in St Petersburg where it was represented at the Bolshoi Theatre on 9/21 November 1871 in an expanded version as Don Quichotteâ "with revised scenario and choreography that took cognizance of the more sophisticated expectations of the Imperial capital. Changes were made to the story, with a new fifth act in three scenes, for which Minkus wrote additional music. Don Quixote no longer regarded Kitri simply as his protÃ(c)gÃ(c)e, but now actually mistakes her for Dulcinea, and she appears as such in his Dream Scene. Provision was made for one ballerina to perform the double virtuoso role of Kitri and Dulcinea. The big classical scene for Don Quixote's dream was rewritten. Greater emphasis was now placed on this episode, where Kitri/Dulcinea was surrounded by a large corps de ballet and seventy-two children dressed as cupids. Alexandra Vergina was partnered by Basilio (Lev Ivanov), and supported by Pavel Gerdt in the last scene. The cast also included Timofei Stukolkine (Don Quixote), Nicholas Goltz (Gamache), and Alexei Bogdanov (Lorenzo). Don Quixote became established in the repertory, and its continued life on the Russian stage bears testimony to the appeal of its exuberance, â oethe life-asserting and life-loving nature of its dancesâ (Natalia Roslavleva). Generations of Russian ballet-masters and dancers preserved these dances in essence, and the ballet is still part of the Russian repertory, given today in all Russian and Siberian companies, in the Moscow version of Alexander Gorsky, in three acts and seven or eight scenes. Petipaâ (TM)s version of Don Quixote, with its life-affirming music by Minkus, has during the 20th century spread throughout the world, not least because of the work of Rudolf Nureyev who made a film version of the Australian Ballet production in 1971 that became very famous. It co-starred Robert Helpmann and Lucette Aldous, and made world history in being the first ballet to be produced with full film technique, so providing wider scope for imaginative handling of the famous story. Don Quixote has become the standard ballet version of the Cervantes tale, and one of the most popular pieces of the international repertory. Much of its emotional fervour is captured in the celebrated virtuoso Grand Pas de Deux for the wedding of Kitri and Basilio in the last scene. This piece, with a spectrum of feeling enshrined in its rapturous melodies and irresistible rhythmic Ã(c)lan, has assumed a life of its own as a concert piece in countless renditions wherever ballet is performed. The piano score of the St Petersburg version was published as Don Quichotte (St Petersburg: Theodore Stellowsky, c. 1882). This version is reproduced here.
Author: Adrienne Kennedy Publisher: Theatre Communications Group ISBN: 1559369280 Category : Drama Languages : en Pages : 100
Book Description
In her first new work in a decade, Adrienne Kennedy journeys into Georgia and New York City in the 1940s to lay bare the devastating effects of segregation and its aftermath. The story of a doomed interracial love affair unfolds through fragmented pieces--letters, recollections from family members, songs from the time--to present a multifaceted view of our cultural history that resists simple interpretation. This volume also includes Etta and Ella on the Upper West Side and Mom, How Did You Meet The Beatles?
Author: George Balanchine Publisher: Anchor ISBN: 0385033982 Category : Performing Arts Languages : en Pages : 562
Book Description
Authored by one of the ballet's most respected experts, this volume includes scene-by-scene retellings of the most popular classic and contemporary ballets, as performed by the world's leading dance companies. Certain to delight long-time fans as well as those just discovering the beauty and drama of ballet.
Author: Una LaMarche Publisher: Penguin ISBN: 1101998946 Category : Juvenile Fiction Languages : en Pages : 354
Book Description
Joy, Diego, Liv, Ethan, and Dave hold onto their dreams of stardom as their time of training--and friendship--at a prestigious New York City performing arts school runs out.
Author: James Neufeld Publisher: Dundurn ISBN: 1459728300 Category : Performing Arts Languages : en Pages : 2215
Book Description
This special bundle contains seven books that detail Canada’s long and storied history in the performing arts. We learn about Canada’s early Hollywood celebrity movie stars; Canadians’ vast contributions to successful international stage musicals; the story of The Grand, a famous theatre in London, Ontario; reminiscences from the early days of radio; the history of the renowned Stratford Festival; and a lavish history of the famous National Ballet of Canada. Canada’s performing artists blossomed in the twentieth century, and you can learn all about it here. Includes Broadway North Let’s Go to The Grand! Once Upon a Time in Paradise Passion to Dance Sky Train Romancing the Bard Stardust and Shadows
Author: Elena Tchernichova Publisher: UPNE ISBN: 155553824X Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 422
Book Description
Dancing on Water is both a personal coming-of-age story and a sweeping look at ballet life in Russia and the United States during the golden age of dance. Elena Tchernichova takes us from her childhood during the siege of Leningrad to her mother's alcoholism and suicide, and from her adoption by Kirov ballerina Tatiana Vecheslova, who entered her into the state ballet school, to her career in the American Ballet Theatre. As a student and young dancer with the Kirov, she witnessed the company's achievements as a citadel of classic ballet, home to legendary names--Shelest, Nureyev, Dudinskaya, Baryshnikov--but also a hotbed of intrigue and ambition run amok. As ballet mistress of American Ballet Theatre from 1978 to 1990, Elena was called "the most important behind-the-scenes force for change in ballet today," by Vogue magazine. She coached stars and corps de ballet alike, and helped mold the careers of some of the great dancers of the age, including Gelsey Kirkland, Cynthia Gregory, Natalia Makarova, and Alexander Godunov. Dancing on Water is a tour de force, exploring the highest levels of the world of dance.
Author: Lili Cockerille Livingston Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press ISBN: 9780806131344 Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 356
Book Description
This is the first authorized biography of four twentieth-century American Indian ballerinas: Maria Tallchief, Rosella Hightower, Marjorie Tallchief, and Yvonne Chouteau. Each grew up in Oklahoma during the 1920s and 1930s and went on to achieve international fame. Lili Cockerille Livingston, who worked with all four ballerinas during her own career as a dancer, draws upon her extensive interviews with the women to bring their stories to life while also shedding new light both on the development of New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, and the now-defunct Harkness Ballet and Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas.
Author: Robert Ignatius Letellier
Author: Jennifer C. Kronenberg
Author: Robert Ignatius Letellier
Author: Adrienne Kennedy
Author: George Balanchine
Author: Una LaMarche
Author: James Neufeld
Author: Elena Tchernichova
Author: Marion Kant
Author: Lili Cockerille Livingston