Esther M. Zimmer Lederberg
Ballet d'Action: Giselle
Ballet d'Action developed towards the latter half of the eighteenth century:
just in time for the French Revolution. Dance during the Renaissance and
then the Baroque eras increasingly became state ideology. Initially, dance
was used in Royal masques by nobility, courtiers and lower aristocracy. In
order to belong to the upper class of society, the ability to dance was a
prerequisite.
However, dance became increasingly more difficult to do. Fewer and fewer
people were able to dance properly. Dance steps became increasingly complex,
but meaningless as well. Dance events became increasingly expensive, finally
bankrupting the state and endangering the state. The state had perhaps become
a fop?
The French Revolution took place in an environment of slavery and
serfdom, in which meaningless dance steps were not appreciated, and where
dance steps were not relevant to a rising industrial revolution.
Ballet d'Action expressed inner psychological
states, something that was not appropriate for royalty, courtiers, or aristocrats
to express; such states lacked decorum. The
time of beautiful but meaningless dance steps had passed, to be replaced by
the ballet d'action.
Ballet d'action is a form of dance in which the
choreography of complex dance steps (viewed as beautiful, but somewhat
meaningless) is replaced by a choreography of mime. However, this is
not just mime, but pantomien (ALL gestures are to be in mime: a muette
rhetoric). There is to be no necessary text spoken or sung, on stage
or offstage. Librettos should not be required. Previous knowledge of
a textual nature should not be necessary. The mime includes facial
expressions, use of eyes, eyebrows, mouth, fingers, hands, wrists, arms,
torso, legs, ankles, feet. Mime should be coordinated with music, costume,
stage props, etc. Pantomien is to include psychological states. A somewhat
independent form of mime using a "vocabulary" of gestures appeared at this
time called chironomia
or chirologia.
We shall analyze "Giselle", a ballet d'action (mime)
ballet with the object of identifying important issues
in ballet d'action.
Libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and
Théophile Gautier (based on poem by Heinrich Heine).
Music by Adolphe Adam. Music should be in accord with
the story, thus if the music sounds like it should be found in
an aristocratic ball room in St. Petersburg, it says one thing,
but if it sounds like what might be found in a celo (Russian
peasant village) it says something else.
Choreography by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot. (Versions
using Stepanov choreography were also created; as was a version by
Marius Petipa.) It might be interesting if
choreography were used to identify an aristocrat like Albrecht,
or to identify a peasant, such as Giselle. Choreography that
ignores social station must be understood as a bit more than an
neutral aesthetic view, it clearly demarcates propaganda.
Costumes. This is significant, as in some versions of
Giselle, Giselle is dressed in a costume approximating peasant
dress, while there also are versions in which Giselle is dressed
like princess. Pantomime was used in ballet d'action to obtain a
dramatic effect, but dramatic effect is not the same thing as
blatant propaganda.
"Giselle", or "The Wilis", is a ballet d'action in which a nobleman named
Albrecht intends to use peasant Giselle (named this way because she is
French). Albrecht feels he can better present himself as a peasant
rather than a nobleman. Simultaneously, Hilarion (name? He is a French
peasant too) is interested in Giselle also.
Queen of Wilis (Wilis are pagan female spirits
who dance men to death).
Rehearsal scores (répétiteurs) with a detailed
record of music, choregraphy, and mime gestures have been used to
create new versions of ballet d'action such as "Giselle". Thus
questions that arise concerning ballet d'action can be resolved to
some degree. These questions will now be idetified.
1
What were some of the gestures used in "Giselle"? How were these
gestures to be coordinated with the music?
Mime gestures are in red
Coordination of mime gestures with music shown by blue arrows
Gestures used in "Giselle" are those associated with the red
words between the "G" and "F" clefs. These gestures can be physical
(such as a pointing finger on a hand or a facial grimace) or
psychological (facial anguish). The position or location between the
clefs of the text describing gestures indicates the coordination
between mime and expressive music (see the blue
arrows). As an alternative, chironomic notation could be used. Examples
of mime descriptions that appear in these music scores include:
"Vous, je ne vous aime pas" (You, I don't love you) in which five
mime gestures for "you", "I", "love", "you", "not" would be used.
Sometimes stage directions for mimed gestures are provided, such as:
"elle court à gauche jusque sur la rampe" (she runs to the left,
up to the footlights".)
"l'orchestre attend qu'Hilarion porte le cor à la bouche (the
orchestra waits until Hilarion puts the horn to his mouth).
Sometimes psychological or dramatic action (mime) is described:
"Hilarion observe et temoigne son étonnement de ce qu'un Grand
Seigneur salue un paysan ce qui lui donne des doutes sur Loys. (Hilarion
observes, and evinces his astonishment that such a great lord should
salute a peasant; this gives him doubts about Loys.)
"Ah, I know," he says while striking himself on
the forehead. "He is a great Lord." This is as clear a gesture
as there could be! A psychological gesture signifying discovery.
Berthe goes to her daughter and tries to grab her by the apron. She
touches her heart and says to her,...
Touching one's heart is effectively a gestural cliché.
Different interpretations of Giselle have introduced problems.
Sense has at times been replaced by nonsense, when scenes have
been moved, or removed. Sometimes scenes don't seem to make sense,
they were never in the original and were added without regard
to sense. "Divertissements" have been added (purely decorative
but nonfunctional and dramatically empty).
3 These might
be viewed as gestures of contempt. One must recall, however, that
"Giselle" as a ballet d'action, led to the Romantic period's
"ballet
blanc", almost totally devoid of any intellectual or emotional
depth.
Ambiguity of gestures must be resolved. What if there are dance
gestures (choreography) as well as simultaneous mime gestures? The
possibility of ambiguity exists: move arms as ... (choreography)
but simultaneously: move arms as ... (mime). These different
instructions may not be compatible, thus the possibility of
ambiguity exists. Such ambiguity is resloved, as annotations of
mime gestures are concentrated in non-dancing scenes.
Mixing music with dance (choreography)
Mixing music with mime
Ambiguity that might arise due to simultaneous occurence of
music, dance and expressive mime gestures is avoided; for
example: mime hand gestures with hand motions of dance
choreography.
One way of attempting to make the gestures found in ballet d'action
pantomime more accessible was the idea of "instrumental recitative",
in which the words used on stage matched the speech rhythms or text
written in the ballet libretto. 4
Another technique was for the music ("speech music") to match the
gestural voices; thus pizzicato as opposed to arco (smooth violin
bowing, for example). Another technique is the "air parlant", or
a piece of music used as a cliché and borrowed from another
well-known operatic source, thus smuggling-in known "text" from
another the dramatic context; 5
thus, musical sounds that approximate human speech or voice such as a
"... burst of tremolo violin to represent giggling ..." or stuttering,
or "... leaping low brass for satanic laughter...".
Other well-known techniques were used to create a "speaking music" that
aided mime. Techniques such as associating characters with a specific
musical key (for example, the key of E major for the leading female, the key of A
major for the leading male); leitmotifs associated with characters or themes
(and these leitmotifs might use specific instruments such as trombones
or trumpets, associated with death, or military campaigns or hunting
scenes, as is done in "Giselle").
It should be noted that "Giselle", aside from being gutted to ensure that this
ballet said nothing, absolutely nothing that might constitute social commentary
had already been preceeded by a "version", thus was not exactly original. To be
specific, "Poor Liza", by Nikolay Mikhailovich Karamzin (1792) might be
considered the predecessor of "Giselle". Catherine II commented upon "Poor Liza"
and apparently liked it. Perhaps Catherine II would also have enjoyed Giselle: a kind
of "Apres moi le deluge", which surely engulfed Tsar Nicholas II.
"Medea": 1780 version (ballet d'action), by Jean-Georges Noverre
6
Having isolated some major criteria from "Giselle" in order
to judge ballet d'action, we can now target "Medea" by
Jean-Georges Noverre. "Medea" is a better candidate for study
as there is less overt propaganda, and the psychological
foundation of "Medea" is of a significant human level to make
this ballet worthy of artistic analysis.
The "prologue" has spoken text (as well as gesture), but the
prologue is not necessary. The artists felt that a modern
audience needed some kind of introduction to the classical
Greek theatre of Euripides. The remainder of this ballet
d'action has NO spoken text, on stage or offstage. No super
or subtitle text, no "cartels", etc. Pure "actio" (mime or
dance, with "speaking" music). Costumes (use of light, for
example) are significant. Use of stage machinery (cloud
machine, thunder machine) is significant.
Gestures clearly provide a "textual" narrative. Some examples
follow. Medea's audience hold their arms and hands in front of
their faces to shield themselves from loathing Medea's actions.
Facial contortions are repeatedly used by Medea's husband Jason,
and by Glauce (daughter of Corinthian king Creon, Medea's rival).
Medea uses a gesture of facial laughter at Creon's idea
that Jason will be the next king of Corinth. The horrendous deeds
of Medea are signified by the famous pointing-finger gesture.
Medea's facial expressions switch back and forth in time: her
humiliation, loss of love, loss of her children. This
vascillation on Medea's facial expressions clearly betrays her
feelings of uncertainty. Men (Creon, Jason) use a gesture to
strut around, unfeeling: clear in their facial expressions and
foot movements.
Glauce's gestures of vanquishing Medea are
quite expressive. Glauce's gesture of holding her hands up over
her head fingers in a pincer position seems all-powerful. Medea
and Jason after a quarrel, seem to realize the horror they are
drifting to: Medea's gesture of holding two arms horizontally,
pointing to Jason is very effective. When Medea realizes she
has been vanquished, the sorrowful expression upon her face can
only elicit a comprehending identification by the audience. In
reaction, Medea effectively uses a arm and hand gesture to strike
Jason, while Jason uses his arm and hand in an equally effective
gesture to strike at Medea. In anger, Medea threatens her rival
Glauce with a knife. Jason, wounded by Medea, realizes they (he
and Medea) are losing emotional control. Medea, in a sense of the
future, clearly loves her children, using gestures to caress her
daughter, concerned about her son. Jason holds up both children
in an obvious gesture of love.
Medea repeatedly hits herself on her face, wiping away her tears.
A threatening cloud descends. Furies or horrible spirits dance
in and out of a stage spotlight, becoming briefly visible, then
becoming lost in shadows. When these furies emerge into the
spotlights, gold in the costume cloth catches the light from the
spotlights. Thunder and lightening machines are effective prop
gestures. Medea enacts (in her mind) her killing her children
with a knife. Time switches back and forth: memory, and a scene
to be enacted. A very effective gesture of emotions. At the marriage
ceremony between Jason and Glauce, Medea threateningly uses her
hands in an ironical gesture to bring together Glauce and Jason.
Jason rejects Medea's gesture. Medea uses poisoned floweres as a gift
to Glauce and Glauce dies with obvious gestures of farewell. Jason
is in incredulous horror at losing Glauce. Creon, in thanks to his
efforts, dies upon opening the Pandora's box gift from Medea. Medea
then murders her beloved children. Jason is incredulous once again,
Medea uses pointing hands to indicate to Jason that "he is
responsible for this". Jason, with facial gestures, shows that he is
overcome by horror, and he commits suicide. Medea then rises to hell
(using a theatre machine, a kind of
prop-gesture), in a revenge in which a gesture of facial anguish is
used: it is a scream.
Clearly, Noverre's "Medea" proves that a ballet d'action can creatively
deal with a complex psychological narrative, uttering not one textual
word. Classical ballet of the Romantic and modern period was thus born.
7 However, what
exactly has been born?
It has been noted 8
that comments about ballet d'action focus "... obsessively on the looks
of the ballerina..." What is going on here? It is argued that there is
a "... voyeuristic tone of certain reviews..." that displays a focus
upon "... sexualizing the female dancer...". Specifically, wealthy
bourgeois sought sexual relations with ballerina, seeking mindless
women, as presented in the new mindless ballet d'action, a view that
was reenforced by an inability to "read" the gestures found in
pantomime. "Dancers, these reviews seem to be saying, would be better
off if they did not even allude to words."
4
Returning to the sexualization of ballet, it should be noted,
even if only briefly, that behind the scenes, there grew
another theatre: the théátres clandestins.
This theatrical form was specifically targetted to the wealthy
bourgeois seeking sexual activity at the theatre.
9Click to see.
1
"The Earliest Giselle? A Preliminary Report on a
St. Petersburg Manuscript", Smith, Marion, Dance Chronicle,
23(1), 2000, pp. 29-48, p.29
2
"Mime, Music and Drama on the Eighteenth-Century Stage: The Ballet
d'Action", Nye, Edward, Cambridge Univ. Press, 2011, pp. 2, 3
Performers in ballet d'action should be viewed not only as dancers,
but also as actors. Evidence may be found in the work of Auguste
Ferrère where expression and meaning are emphasized, and
where there is less emphasis upon complex choreographed steps
(dance), with a deemphasis upon static poses.
3
"Giselle Part II", Poesto, Giannandrea, Dancing Times,
Vol. 84, March 1994, pp. 563-573, p. 563, p. 567
4
"Reading Critics Reading: Opera and Ballet Criticism in France from
the Revolution to 1848", Parker, Roger and Smart, Mary Ann (Eds.),
Oxford Univ. Press, 2001. Chapter 10, "About the House", by Smith, Marian., p. 225
5
Ibid., p. 231
6
Noverre, Jean-Georges; "Medea", 1780 version (ballet d'action),
Music by Jean-Joseph Rudolphe, Choreography by Judith Chazin-Bennahum,
University of New Mexico Depart. of Theatre and Dance, 2000
7
Time has proven that intelligence and psychological depth has
been replaced: an audience used to TV and Disneyland, not capable of
understanding emotions of any depth has resulted in "Giselles" where
slaves are confused with princesses, the idea from Orpheus soothing
dangerous wild animals (Mozart's "Magic Flute") changing this opera
into a reprise of Disneyland and targetting children (to suite the
pride of their ignorant parents with their infant Montessori geniuses),
a tragic "Lulu" understood now as a comedy. Opera and ballet have
become a new, crude Commedia dell'arte. Hail the birth of Peter Sellars'
CNN Opera, repleat with choreography by Mark Morris: a perfect fit to
Sellars' street aesthetics. A "Peony Pavillion" (a Ming Dynasty Chinese
Opera): a fiasco in which Peter Sellars thought that China was a part
of Italy!
8
"Reading Critics Reading: Opera and Ballet Criticism in France from
the Revolution to 1848", Parker, Roger and Smart, Mary Ann (Eds.),
Oxford Univ. Press, 2001. Chapter 10, "About the House", by Smith, Marian.
9
"The Styles of Eighteenth-Century Ballet", Fairfax,
Edmund; The Scarecrow Press, Oxford, 2003, chapter 8.