Graduation Ball
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Graduation Ball'' is a
ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
in one act choreographed by
David Lichine David Lichine (russian: Дэвид (Давид) Лишин; 25 October 1910 – 26 June 1972) was a Russian-American ballet dancer and choreographer. He had an international career as a performer, ballet master, and choreographer, staging works fo ...
to music composed by
Johann Strauss II Johann Baptist Strauss II (25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (german: links=no, Sohn), was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed ov ...
and arranged by
Antal Doráti Antal Doráti (, , ; 9 April 1906 – 13 November 1988) was a Hungarian-born conductor and composer who became a naturalized American citizen in 1943. Biography Antal Doráti was born in Budapest, where his father Alexander Doráti was a vi ...
. With a scenario devised by Lichine and with scenery and costumes designed by
Alexandre Benois Alexandre Nikolayevich Benois (russian: Алекса́ндр Никола́евич Бенуа́, also spelled Alexander Benois; ,Salmina-Haskell, Larissa. ''Russian Paintings and Drawings in the Ashmolean Museum''. pp. 15, 23-24. Published by ...
, it was first presented by the
Original Ballet Russe The Original Ballet Russe (originally named Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo) was a ballet company established in 1931 by René Blum and Colonel Wassily de Basil as a successor to the Ballets Russes, founded in 1909 by Sergei Diaghilev. The company ...
at the Theatre Royal,
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, on 1 March 1940. The ballet is set in a fashionable Viennese finishing school for girls during the 1840s. The headmistress has invited the cadets of the city's military academy to attend a ball celebrating the graduation of the senior class. The senior and junior girls have planned a series of ''divertissements'' as the evening's entertainment and are greatly excited by the event. Flirtations, exuberant dances, and a secret romance ensue.


Original cast

Besides the principal couple, ''Graduation Ball'' required a large cast of soloists and ''
corps de ballet In ballet, the ''corps de ballet'' (; French for "body of the ballet") is the group of dancers who are not principal dancers or soloists. They are a permanent part of the ballet company and often work as a backdrop for the principal dancers. ...
'' dancers. The Headmistress was played, '' en travestie'', by Borislav Runanine, a character dancer with the company. The Old General, at the head of the platoon of cadets, was portrayed by Igor Schwezoff. As the principal ballerina,
Tatiana Riabouchinska Tatiana Mikhailovna Riabouchinska (russian: Татья́на Миха́йловна Рябуши́нская, 23 May 191724 August 2000) was a Russian American prima ballerina and teacher. Famous at age 14 as one of the three " Baby Balleri ...
was the leader of a group of Junior Girls in a role sometimes known as the Romantic Girl or the Good Girl, and one of her group, Tatiana Leskova, took the featured role of the Pigtail Girl, a tomboyish cut-up sometimes called the Naughty Girl. David Lichine danced the principal male role as the bashful leader of the Junior Cadets in a role sometimes known as the First Cadet or the Shy Cadet. In the ''divertissements'', Riabouchinska acted as Mistress of Ceremony, introducing the performers of the following numbers: * "The Drummer": a solo for Nicholas Orloff * "La Sylphide and the Scotsman": a ''pas de deux'' for Natasha Sobinova and Paul Petroff * "Dance-Step Competition": a duet for Alexandra Denisova and Geneviève Moulin * "Mathematics and Natural History Lesson": a trio for Helene Lineva as the Mathematics Professor, Maria Azrova as the Natural History Professor, and
Marina Svetlova Marina Svetlova (born Yvette von Hartmann; 3 May 1922 – 11 February 2009) was a French and American ballerina and ballet instructor. Biography Svetlova was born in Paris, France, with the name Yvette von Hartmann to Russian parents. She b ...
as their unfortunate pupil, the Student * "Perpetuum Mobile": a ''pas de deux'' for Riabouchinska and Lichine


Synopsis

The curtain opens to reveal a formal drawing room. Soon, groups of Junior and Senior Girls enter to inspect the premises and begin excitedly to prepare for the ball. The Headmistress comes to make sure that all is in order. The Old General arrives, leading a platoon of cadets. At first the cadets and the girls are timid, standing apart, but the Pigtail Girl breaks the ice, and the young people soon begin to dance with each other. The Mistress of Ceremony introduces the ''divertissements'', which are interrupted by an "Impromptu Dance" by the Pigtail Girl. When the entertainment has concluded, the Headmistress sends her students and the cadets off stage, to have dinner. While they are gone, the Headmistress and the Old General dance a "Mazurka Flirtation," revealing their attraction. The young people enter and are delighted to find the elderly couple embracing. Everyone dances a high-spirited galop, bringing the evening to a grand finale. The ball is over. Everyone leaves. After the ballroom has emptied, the Pigtail Girl and one of the Junior Cadets sneak back in to see each other again. The Old General and the Headmistress have also re-entered to see each other, but their assignation is spoiled when they see the young couple. Thereupon, the cadet is led out by the ear and the Pigtail Girl is spanked off stage. The curtain closes.


Production details

During his development of the scenario for ''Graduation Ball'' in 1939–40, David Lichine worked closely with both music director Antal Doráti and designer Alexandre Benois. Doráti created the score for the ballet by selecting some less-familiar works of Johann Strauss II and weaving them into a coherent sequence. These included: * " Acceleration Waltz", Op. 234 (Opening) * "
Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka , Op. 214, is a polka in A major by Johann Strauss II, written in 1858 after a successful tour of Russia where he performed in the summer concert season at Pavlovsk, Saint Petersburg. It was first performed in a concert in Vienna on 24 November 18 ...
", Op. 214 * " Perpetuum Mobile", Op. 257 * "
Flugschriften Flugschriften ('Pamphlets') op. 300 is a waltz by Johann Strauss II written in 1865 and first performed on 17 January 1866 at the Habsburg Court Ball in the Rittersaal of the Imperial Hofburg Palace graced by the Emperor Franz Josef and Empre ...
" ('Pamphlets') Waltz, Op. 300 (waltz of the cadets and the girls) * "Feuilleton Walzer", Op. 293 (Pigtail Girl Variation) * "
Auf der Jagd "Auf der Jagd" ("On the Hunt"), op. 373, is a polka composed by Johann Strauss II. The composition is based on melodies in Strauss' operetta ''Cagliostro in Wien'' (''Cagliostro in Vienna''). It was first performed in the late autumn of 1875, pro ...
", Op. 373 * " Feenmarchen", Op. 312 (Sylphide and the Scotsman) * "Express", Op. 311 (Finale) * "Kammerball-Polka", Op. 230 (Finale) * "Une Bagatelle", Op. 187 (Mazurka Flirtation) * and several polkas and galops merged for accompaniment to the ''grand ballabile''. Doráti himself conducted the orchestra at the premiere performance. Benois, who designed the set for the formal ballroom and the colorful costumes, offered Lichine many choices, producing designs for a number of characters that were dropped before the final version of the scenario. His costumes for the Junior Girls were white dresses with blue pinafores, for the Senior Girls simple party dresses in pastel colors, and for the cadets white trousers and blue military jackets with white sashes across the shoulders. The Old General was dressed in a red and white uniform with gold braid, and the Headmistress wore a matronly gown in shades of brown. In the ''divertissements'', the Drummer wore a dress uniform, the Sylphide a Romantic tutu, and the Scotsman a kilt.


History

On 2 March 1940, ''
The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...
'' reported that the premiere performance of ''Graduation Ball'' received twenty-five curtain calls. It had been an immediate success. During the Sydney engagement and on the subsequent Australian tour, it was performed more than sixty times. It was first presented in the United States by the Original Ballet Russe at the 51st Street Theatre in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
on 6 November 1940, with Riabouchinska and Lichine in their original roles. After the Australian tour, some changes occurred in the ''divertissements''. The "Mathematics and Natural History Lesson" was dropped, and "Perpetuum Mobile," which originally consisted of a circus number for Riabouchinska and Lichine, was replaced by new choreography for the same dancers and two of the Junior Girls. Further, in revivals of the work, Lichine's original, innovative choreography for the "Dance-Step Competition," consisting of single and double ''fouettés en tournant'' combined with ''pirouettes en attitude, á la seconde'', and ''en arabesque'', with different arm positions, was usually changed to less challenging, and less interesting, series of single ''fouettés'', with an occasional double at the dancer's whim and capability.García-Márques, ''The Ballets Russes'' (1990), p. 265. ''Graduation Ball'' became a signature work of the Original Ballet Russe and was performed countless times. Over the years it has been danced by many companies around the world, including American Ballet Theatre, the Australian Ballet, the Ballet della Teatro alla Scala, the Ballet Nacional de Cuba, the Borovansky Ballet, the Companhia Nacional de Bailado, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, London Festival Ballet, Polski Balet Narodowy, the Royal Danish Ballet, and numerous regional companies associated with ballet schools and academies.


References

{{reflist


External links

* YouTube: Graduation Ball Ballet, Metropolitan Ballet Theatre, Alpharetta, Georgia. Excerpt from a student production. * YouTube: Good girl variation. Graduation Ball. Ksenia Ovsyanick in 2007 end-of-year performance of English National Ballet School, London. * YouTube: O Baile dos Cadetes, Companhia Nacional de Bailado, Lisbon. Tomislav Petranovic in "The Drummer" solo. * YouTube: Graduation Ball: Sylph Variation. Students of the Barbara Sandonato School of Ballet, Philadelphia, April 2011. * YouTube: Naughty girl variation. Graduation Ball. Nancy Osbaldeston as the Pigtail Girl in "Danse Impromptu" in 2007 end-of-year performance of English National Ballet School, London. * YouTube: Graduation ball, uploaded by Laurieanne Justine, 2007. "Perpetuum Mobile," a student performance. Ballets by David Lichine Ballets to the music of Johann Strauss II 1940 ballet premieres Arrangements of classical compositions