The early life and works of George Balanchine (1913 - 1928)

Abstract

This project discusses the period of George Balanchine’s art most unfamiliar to those acquainted with his mature work: the choreographic experiments through which he transformed classical ballet in the decade following the Russian Revolution. During this time, he created a completely new style and technique: neo-classicism. By changing the physique of dancers and expanding both their dance vocabulary as well as their overall technical ability, i.e. higher extensions and quicker tempos, he set the direction that ballet was to take for the remainder of the 20th century. Beginning by examining Balanchine’s training at the Imperial Theater School in St. Petersburg, the study demonstrates how the technique and style of Marius Petipa’s ballets laid the foundation for his own choreography. As a child of his generation, he was greatly influence by the blossoming of the arts that took place in the early years of the Soviet Union. In particular the choreographic elements of Mikhail Fokine’s abstract ballet Les Sylphides, Kasian Goleizovsky’s use of techniques directly borrowed from Meyerhold’s Constructivist theater, Fyodor Lopukhov’s Dance Symphony, and Isadora Duncan’s free expression are examined. Relationships between Balanchine’s work and theirs are demonstrated. Memoirs, interviews and unpublished oral histories of witnesses as well as Balanchine himself are quoted extensively to show where specific choreographic elements begin to emerge in particular dances. Many of Balanchine’s lesser known dances, choreographed in St. Petersburg before 1925, are examined in order to create a picture of his early works. These dances have not survived in the repertory, and include The Twelve, Funeral March, Enigma, Étude, Orientalia, Poème and Valse Triste. This study also sheds light on the 1924 tour of the Soviet Dancers in Germany, England and France. The young Balanchine and three of his friends set out on what was to be a two month trip. At some point during the tour, the group chose not to return to St. Petersburg, and they were soon thereafter hired by Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, where Balanchine became chief choreographer within months of his arrival. Several of his ballets from this time period are also examined: Le Chant du Rossignol, La Chatte, La Pastorale, Barabau, Jack in the Box, The Triumph of Neptune, Grotesque Espanol, and Sarcasm. In this chapter, how Balanchine combined elements from classical ballet and the Soviet Avant-garde with what he learned from the artist and musicians who comprised Diaghilev’s inner circle are analyzed. The study ends with the creation of the ballet Apollo (1928), Balanchine’s self described turning point and the birth of neo-classicism. How the transformation of the art of ballet culminates in Apollo will be demonstrated. Three appendixes are included. The first is a compilation of quotations by witnesses to the original productions of the ballets listed. It is intended to provide a summary of information for use by scholars and dance reconstructors. The second appendix includes a translation of correspondence between Balanchine and Diaghilev and demonstrates both their working relationship as well as showing the style of dancer which Balanchine sought to work with even at an early stage in his career. The final appendix examines the problematic of dance reconstruction, looking in particular at the work of Fyodor Lopukhov and the team of Millicent Hodson and Kenneth Archer. As a young dancer at the Maryinsky, Balanchine participated in Lopukhov’s reconstructions of Petipa’s ballets. Hodson and Archer have reconstructed some of ballets dealt with in this study: Valse Triste, Le Chant du Rossignol, and La Chatte.

Diese Dissertation beinhaltet zwei Komponenten. Zum Einen handelt es sich um eine Historiographie, die das frühe Leben von George Balanchine beschreibt. Zum Anderen werden choreographische Experimente analysiert, die Balanchine in den Jahrzehnten nach der Russischen Revolution unternahm. In diesem Zeitraum transformierte Balanchine die Kunst des Balletts. Er erschuf sowohl einen neuen Stil, als auch eine neue Technik: den Neo-Klassizismus. Indem er die Körper der Tänzer veränderte und ihre Tanzvokabeln erweiterte, bestimmte er maßgeblich die Richtung des Balletts im 20. Jahrhundert. Dieser Zeitraum lässt sich in zwei Abschnitte aufteilen. Der Erste beschreibt seine Jugend an der Theaterschule des Mariinsky -Theaters, wo er das Ballett von Marius Petipa und Mikhail Fokine kennenlernte. Hier werden seine ersten Werke, die er zwischen 1920 und 1924 in der Sowjetunion choreographierte, beschrieben. Diese Werke, insbesondere Die Zwölf, Marche Funèbre, Enigma, Étude, Orientalia, Poème, La Nuit und Valse Triste, sind stark von der Arbeit Fydor Lopukhovs, Kasian Goleizovskys und Isadora Duncan beeinflusst. Analysiert werden diese Tänze durch Memoiren, publizierte Interviews und Tonbandaufnahmen von Balanchine selbst sowie von anderen Zeitzeugen. Der zweite Abschnitt beschreibt seine Jahre als Choreograph für das Ballet Russes von Serge Diaghilev. Außerdem die Tänze, die Balanchine zwischen 1925 und 1928 in Westeuropa erarbeitete. Zu diesen Balletten zählen Le Chant du Rossignol, La Chatte, La Pastorale, Barabau, Jack in the Box, The Triumph of Neptune, Grotesque Espanol, und Sarcasm. Balanchine vereinte Elemente des klassischen Balletts sowie der sowjetischen Avantgarde mit neuen Einflüssen aus dem Künstlerkreis um Diaghilev. Die Studie schliesst mit einer Analyse das Balletts Apollo. Diese Analyse zeigt auf, wie Balanchine eine grundlegendeTransfomation des bestehenden Balletts gelang. Zwischen jenen zwei Phasen lag eine wichtige Übergangszeit für Balanchine, die in dieser Studie ebenfalls untersucht wird. Von Juni bis Dezember 1924 waren er, seine Freunde und Mitarbeiter als Tourgruppe “Sowjet Tänzer” in Westeuropa unterwegs. Die Gruppe war wenig erfolgreich. Balanchine entwickelte in dieser Zeit keine neuen Choreographien. Die Gruppe entschloss sich jedoch, nicht in die Sowjetunion zurück zu kehren. Diese Tournee stellt somit einen wichtigen Teil der Historiographie Balanchines dar.