What’s the point(e) of ballet? - Ming Luke

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A baby cursed at birth. A fierce battle of good and evil. A true love awoken with a kiss. Since premiering in 1890, “The Sleeping Beauty” has become one of the most frequently staged ballets in history. So what makes this piece so beloved? And what exactly does ballet bring to this— or any other— story? Ming Luke shares what makes ballet the perfect medium for stories old and new.

Lesson by Ming Luke, directed by Visorama.

A baby cursed at birth.
A fierce battle of good and evil.

A true love awoken with a kiss.

Sleeping Beauty is one of the world’s
favorite folktales.

But one of its most famous renditions
tells the story without a single word.

Since premiering in 1890,

"The Sleeping Beauty" has become

one of the most frequently staged
ballets in history.

So what makes this piece so beloved?

And what exactly does ballet bring
to this – or any other story?

At the heart of ballet are dozens of
gestures

that dancers painstakingly perfect
over thousands of hours of practice.

This unique set of gestures has been
used for centuries,

each movement rich with meaning
and history.

But you don’t need to study them to
understand ballet,

any more than you need to study
music to be moved by a song.

And just as composers combine notes
and phrases to form pieces of music,

choreographers string these gestures
together with new movements

to form expressive combinations.

Working alongside the orchestra’s
live score,

ballerinas precisely perform these
combinations to convey narrative,

emotion, and character.

In The Sleeping Beauty’s opening scene,

a flurry of techniques depicts the fairy
court

bestowing gifts on baby Princess Aurora.

The Fairy of Generosity delicately walks
“en pointe” –

meaning on the tips of her toes – in
step with the light plucking of violins.

The ballerina moves in perfect harmony
with the music,

even mimicing the violins’ trill with an
elegant bourrée.

The Fairy of Temperance, bestowing the
gift of strong will on Aurora,

is choregraphed as if shooting bolts of
electricity from her fingers.

She bounds across the stage, spinning with
quick chaînés before decisively jetéing.

Some movements are even more literal
than this.

The evil fairy Carabosse curses
the princess with a lethal “X,”

and the benevolent Lilac Fairy
counters that curse.

Of course, the relationship between
music and movement

isn’t always this straightforward.

While classical ballet gestures often
respond to musical elements,

the degree to which the dancers and
orchestra align

is another choreographic tool.

Some characters and scenes move in
sync to create rhythmic clarity,

while others deliberately diverge from
the orchestra.

Dancers and musicians maintain this
delicate balance

throughout each performance,

engaging in a live negotiation
of speed and rhythm.

But prior to the performance, a ballet’s
most important relationship

is between the choreographer
and the music.

Choreographer Marius Petipa and composer
Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky worked together

on every second of The Sleeping Beauty.

This is particularly noticeable in
Princess Aurora’s exuberant entrance

on her 16th birthday.

Tchaikovsky’s enthusiastic music
tumbles forward in fits and starts,

even cutting short some musical
phrases to capture her impatience.

Petipa choreographs Aurora bouncing
back and forth with “pas de chat” –

French for cat steps – as she waits for
her party to begin.

Once the celebration starts,
it’s up to the dancers to deliver

on the physical spectacle of performing
these gestures with grace.

Aurora has the hardest part of all:
her famous Rose Adagio.

As four suitors vie for her hand,

the Princess performs a dizzying array
of balances, all en pointe.

She briefly takes each suitor’s hand,
but then balances unassisted –

a breath-taking display of physical
strength and skill.

However, it’s not just technique that
carries meaning,

but also style and personality.

Like an actor delivering their lines,

ballerinas can execute their movements
to convey a wide range of emotion.

Aurora can be elegant and restrained,

throwing her arms in independence
from her suitors.

Or she can be coy and flirtatious,
descending from en pointe with grace

and knowing confidence.

The Sleeping Beauty offers a showcase
for so much of what ballet can do.

Its graceful spectacle, dramatic
physical vocabulary,

and enchanting coordination of music
and movement

perfectly reflect the themes of this
fantastical romance.

But ballet isn’t just for epic fairytales.

Ballets can be non-narrative emotional
journeys,

experimental deconstructions of form,

or pure demonstrations of skill.

The artform is always experimenting
with a centuries old set of rules,

making it the perfect medium for
stories old and new.