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Anthony Dowell
Sir Anthony James Dowell (born 16 February 1943) is a retired British ballet dancer and a former artistic director of the Royal Ballet. He is widely recognized as one of the great ''danseurs nobles'' of the twentieth century. Early life and training Born in London, Dowell began his dance training there in 1948, at the age of five. His first ballet teacher was June Hampshire, who nurtured her young pupil and instilled in him the discipline necessary for serious students of ballet. When he was ten years old, he enrolled in the Sadler's Wells Ballet School, then located in Barons Court, and embarked on a course of training for young people interested in pursuing a career in dance. In 1955, the school moved to White Lodge, Richmond Park, and became residential, combining general education and vocational ballet training. In 1956, when a royal charter was granted to the Sadler's Wells Ballet, the school was renamed the Royal Ballet School. Dowell continued his training there, moving ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ballet Dancer
A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on years of extensive training and proper technique to become a part of a professional ballet company. Ballet dancers are at a high risk of injury due to the demanding technique of ballet. Training and technique Ballet dancers typically begin training at an early age if they desire to perform professionally and often take part in international competitions such as YAGP and Prix de Lausanne. At these events, scholarships are being granted to the most talented dancers, enabling them to continue their training at renowned ballet schools around the world, such as the John Kranko Schule in Germany and the Académie de Danse Classique Princesse Grace in Monaco. Pre-professional ballet dancers can audition to enroll at a vocational ballet school such ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Month In The Country (ballet)
''A Month in the Country'' is a narrative ballet created in 1976 with choreography by Frederick Ashton, to the music of Frédéric Chopin (three works for piano and orchestra) arranged by John Lanchbery. It is based on the play by Ivan Turgenev of the same name, and lasts for about 40 minutes.Vaughan D. ''Frederick Ashton and his Ballets.'' A & C Black Ltd, London, 1977. History Ashton had had the idea of a ballet based on ''A Month in the Country'' since seeing the play in the 1930s at the Westminster Theatre, but a meeting with Isaiah Berlin in the late 1960s helped him decide on the subject, and he took up Berlin's suggestion of using the music of Chopin. During the preparation of the ballet, Ashton encouraged the dancers to see the play in London with Dorothy Tutin as Natalia.Kavanagh J. ''Secret Muses: The Life of Frederick Ashton.'' Faber & Faber Ltd, London, 1996. Ashton also credited Michael Somes "who brought the music used in the ballet to my notice" and Martyn Thomas who ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dances At A Gathering
''Dances at a Gathering'' is a ballet choreographed by Jerome Robbins to music by Frédéric Chopin, with costumes designed by Joe Eula. The ballet premiered on May 22, 1969, at the New York State Theater, performed by the New York City Ballet. Production ''Dances at a Gathering'' is the first ballet Robbins created for the New York City Ballet (NYCB) in years, after he worked on Broadway theatre. He first planned to make a pas de deux for Patricia McBride and Edward Villella, but it was eventually expanded to five couples. According to NYCB, after George Balanchine saw 25 minutes of the ballet, he said: " ke more, make it like popcorn", so Robbins enlarged the ballet to an hour long. With costumes by Joe Eula and lighting by Thomas Skelton, the ballet had a gala preview on May 8, 1969, before premiering on May 22. Robbins dedicated the ballet to lighting designer Jean Rosenthal, who had died on May 1. Following the premiere, there were many speculations regarding the narrative ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jerome Robbins
Jerome Robbins (born Jerome Wilson Rabinowitz; October 11, 1918 – July 29, 1998) was an American dancer, choreographer, film director, theatre director and producer who worked in classical ballet, on stage, film, and television. Among his numerous stage productions were '' On the Town'', ''Peter Pan'', ''High Button Shoes'', ''The King and I'', ''The Pajama Game'', '' Bells Are Ringing'', ''West Side Story'', ''Gypsy'', and '' Fiddler on the Roof''. Robbins was a five-time Tony Award-winner and a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors. He received two Academy Awards, including the 1961 Academy Award for Best Director with Robert Wise for ''West Side Story'' and a special Academy Honorary Award for his choreographic achievements on film. A documentary about Robbins's life and work, ''Something to Dance About'', featuring excerpts from his journals, archival performance and rehearsal footage, and interviews with Robbins and his colleagues, premiered on PBS in 2009 and won both ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Romeo And Juliet (Prokofiev)
''Romeo and Juliet'' (russian: Ромео и Джульетта, Romeo i Dzhulyetta), Op. 64, is a ballet by Sergei Prokofiev based on William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet''. First composed in 1935, it was substantially revised for its Soviet premiere in early 1940. Prokofiev reused music from the ballet in three suites for orchestra and a solo piano work. Background and premiere Based on a synopsis created by Adrian Piotrovsky (who first suggested the subject to Prokofiev) and Sergey Radlov, the ballet was composed by Prokofiev in September 1935 to their scenario which followed the precepts of "drambalet" (dramatised ballet, officially promoted at the Kirov Ballet to replace works based primarily on choreographic display and innovation). Following Radlov's acrimonious resignation from the Kirov in June 1934, a new agreement was signed with the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow on the understanding that Piotrovsky would remain involved. However, the ballet's original happy en ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Song Of The Earth (ballet)
''Das Lied von der Erde'' (The Song of the Earth) is a symphonic work written by the Austrian composer Gustav Mahler in 1908–1909. It is scored for two voices and orchestra, and has been used for ballets by several well-known choreographers, including Antony Tudor (1908–1987), Kenneth MacMillan (1929–1992), Heinz Spoerli (born 1940), and John Neumeier (born 1939). Tudor version As staff choreographer with Ballet theatre (later American Ballet Theatre), Antony Tudor began creating a ballet set to Mahler's ''Das Lied von der Erde''. The six songs based on ancient Chinese poems, expressing the transience of human existence, had long interested him as a choreographic possibility. He explained their appeal: "Like the seasons, human experience is cyclical and has no sudden beginning or end." His ballet, entitled ''Shadow of the Wind'', had its premiere on 14 April 1948 at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York. Scenery, costumes, and lighting were designed by Jo Mielziner. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Symphonic Variations (ballet)
''Symphonic Variations'' is a one-act ballet by Frederick Ashton set to the eponymous music (M. 46) of César Franck. The premiere, performed by the Sadler's Wells Ballet, took place at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, on 24 April 1946 in a triple bill; the other works were Ashton's '' Les Patineurs'' and Robert Helpmann's ''Adam Zero''. The ballet was conducted by Constant Lambert and the set designed by Sophie Fedorovitch. Background During the Second World War, Ashton listened to Franck's '' Symphonic Variations'' a great deal and he decided to develop an elaborate scenario to be set to the music. Constant Lambert, music director for the Sadler's Wells Ballet, at first objected to the use of Franck's music for a ballet; Ashton dropped his original scenario and created an abstract ballet. During the war, the repertory had become increasingly literary, and Ashton's purpose was to counteract this. It was not his intention to display ingenuity of invention but to construct ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cinderella (Ashton)
This version of the ''Cinderella'' ballet, using Sergei Prokofiev's ''Cinderella'' music and re-choreographed by Frederick Ashton, is a comic ballet. Ballet productions Plot outline Ashton's ''Cinderella'' is his own realised dream of a Petipa ballet and the ballet itself enacts the realisation of dreams, notably Cinderella's own. When we first see her she is a demi-caractere dancer dreaming of being a ballerina—that seems to be the balletic point of her solo with the broomstick in the kitchen—and it is as a ballerina that she magically enters the ballroom, stepping ''en pointe'' down the stairs and advancing in ''pas de bourree'' to the front of the stage. Back in the kitchen she recalls the slipper (or rather the pointe shoe) that she carries in her apron; the shoe is the clue to her dream and persuades her it was true. The Prince finds Cinderella, but in his arms she discovers her own identity as a ballerina and her dream of herself has been realised. Cinderella's mic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jeu De Cartes (Balanchine)
''Jeu de cartes'' (Card Game) is a neoclassical ballet in three "deals", composed by Igor Stravinsky in 1936–37 with libretto by the composer in collaboration with Nikita Malayev, a friend of Stravinsky's eldest son Théodore, and with choreography by George Balanchine. The ballet was premiered by the American Ballet at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York City on 27 April 1937, with the composer conducting; the European premiere followed on 13 October 1937 performed by the Staatskapelle Dresden under the direction of Karl Böhm. ''Jeu de cartes'' was commissioned in November 1935, although the idea of a card game, especially the game of poker, did not get firmly formed in Stravinsky's mind until after August 1936. The work was written during Stravinsky's neoclassical period. The main character is the deceitful Joker, who fashions himself unbeatable, owing to his chameleon-like ability to become any card. There are also other cards—Queens, Aces and several card players ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
La Fille Mal Gardée (Ashton)
''La fille mal gardée'' (English: ''The Wayward Daughter'', literal translation: "The Poorly Guarded Girl"), Frederick Ashton's Royal Ballet production, began in 1959 when British choreographer Frederick Ashton created a new version of ''La fille mal gardée'' for the Royal Ballet of London. This production premiered on 28 January 1960, with Nadia Nerina as Lise, David Blair as Colas, Stanley Holden as the Widow Simone, and Alexander Grant as Alain. Since its inception Ashton's staging has become a celebrated classic of the ballet repertory. Background Originally Ashton intended to use the 1864 score of Peter Ludwig Hertel, as it had been used for nearly every revival of the ballet since the late 19th century, but after close inspection of this music Ashton decided it would not suit his plans for the revival. At the suggestion of the ballet historian and musicologist Ivor Guest, Ashton studied the 1828 score by Ferdinand Hérold, and found the light, simple music more su ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Gruen
John Jonas Gruen (born Jonas Grunberg; September 12, 1926 – July 12, 2016) was an American art critic, art historian, author, photographer, and composer.Mark Segal, "John Jonas Gruen", ''The East Hampton Star'', August 4, 2016 Early life and education Jonas Grunberg was born Enghien-les-Bains, France, the youngest of four sons, to Abraham Grunberg who was initially a diamond dealer later became a travel writer, and Aranka Dodeles. The Jewish family moved to Berlin, Germany, in 1929; when the Nazis came to power in 1933, they fled persecution to Milan in 1933. The family once again moved in 1939 when they left for New York City to flee from Italian Fascism. Grunberg chose the name "John Jonas Gruen" in an attempt to Americanize himself. He learned how to speak English from Hollywood films. Gruen graduated from the High School of Commerce in New York City. Initially he attended City College of New York. Then, in an effort to assimilate, he sought attendance at what he thought ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Nutcracker
''The Nutcracker'' ( rus, Щелкунчик, Shchelkunchik, links=no ) is an 1892 two-act ballet (""; russian: балет-феерия, link=no, ), originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Op. 71). The libretto is adapted from E. T. A. Hoffmann's 1816 short story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". Although the original production was not a success, the 20-minute suite that Tchaikovsky extracted from the ballet was. The complete ''Nutcracker'' has enjoyed enormous popularity since the late 1960s and is now performed by countless ballet companies, primarily during the Christmas season, especially in North America. Major American ballet companies generate around 40% of their annual ticket revenues from performances of ''The Nutcracker''. The ballet's score has been used in several film adaptations of Hoffmann's story. Tchaikovsky's score has become one of his most famous compositions. Among other things, the score is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
