BALLET, HISTORY and THE AUSTRALIAN BALLET

Dancing like music is mankind’s oldest form of communication. The first dances nearly always involved imitation and unless they were purely for entertainment, carried an element of religion or magic in them.  Besides these ritual dances all countries have their own social dances. In the courts of Europe these simple country dances were developed by the nobility into more elegant form.

Over the centuries, court dancing continued to evolve, achieving great heights in Italy during the Renaissance, when dancing became more theatrical than social.  When Catherine de’Medici of Italy married Henry II of France in the 16^th century, she brought this theatrical tradition with her to Paris.

In the opulent court of the French kings, theatrical dancing continued to be developed by the courtiers who danced, sang or recited lengthy poetic speeches honouring a royal marriage or birth, or the successful ending of a war. They were long, expensive royal charades with very little plot and a great amount of boasting and flattery.

The first “ballet” that told a story through dancing was Le Ballet Comique de la Reine, which was presented at the French court in 1581. This type of entertainment became so popular that the members of the nobility all acquired dancing masters to give them daily lessons in ballet.

In the 17^th century, King Louis XIV of France (by no means the first king to dance in ballets), was known as the “Sun King” after his participation at the age of fourteen in Ballet de la Nuit  in 1653. The king’s dedication to dance led to his founding the first dance academy in Paris in 1661. In the academy, the ballet masters of the period listed and described the technique of dancing as far as it had advanced at that time. In particular turn-out was emphasised and the basic positions of the feet and the arms set.  It is these same steps and movements that form the basis of today’s classical ballet vocabulary.

Ballet thus became a very popular art form.  At first, performances were restricted to the royal courts and dancers were courtiers, but soon ballets began to appear on the newly built proscenium stages (after which today’s theatres have been modelled). Learning dance became no longer a hobby for the nobility but a profession, and dancers were required to develop strong techniques.

At first, only men appeared on stage and wore masks to distinguish the sex of the characters they played, but by 1681 women began appearing professionally.

In productions of the 17^th century, dancers’ movements were greatly restricted, not only by the masks they wore but also by heavy brocade costumes and large head-dresses and ornaments.

In the early 18^th century the great ballerina Marie Camargo shocked audiences by shortening her skirts - to just above the ankle. She did this to be freer in her movements, and since she performed intricate footwork and jumps, she wanted the audience to see and appreciate her technique.

By 1830, ballet had come truly into its own as a theatrical art.  Influenced by the Romantic movement, which was sweeping the world of art, music, literature and philosophy, ballet took on a whole new look. The beautiful, light and elusive ballerina reigned supreme. Female dancers wore calf-length white, bell shaped tulle skirts, and with the introduction of pointe shoes they became truly ethereal.  Many ballets from this period, including La Sylphide and Giselle, remain in the ballet repertoire and are a constant challenge for today’s dancers.

Just before the turn of the century, in the 1890’s the centre of the ballet world moved from France to Russia. There, the renowned French born choreographer Marius Petipa collaborated with the composer Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky on lavish ballet spectacles and brought ballet to a pinnacle of technical virtuosity.  These ballets Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker are still amongst the most popular works today. Other works of his that continue to challenge dancers with their technical and artistic demands are Don Quixote, and La Bayadère.

In 1909, the Russian impresario Serge Diaghilev brought together some of Russia’s most talented dancers, choreographers, composers, and designers to form his Ballets Russes.  Paris was taken by storm by the new company which introduced whole new aspects of classical ballet to the west. His repertoire consisted of one-act ballets that challenged pre-conceived notions of classical dance.

Amongst the ballets introduced by him which have been performed by The Australian Ballet are Michel Fokine’s Scheherazade, The Firebird, Petrouchka, Le Carnaval and  Les Sylphides, plus George Balanchine’s Apollo, and different versions of two of Vaslav Nijinsky’s ballets,  The Rite of Spring and Afternoon of a Faun.

Almost all contemporary ballet companies and dancers have been influenced by the impact of the Ballets Russes, especially those in England where Ninette de Valois and Marie Rambert who had both danced for Diaghilev set up the Royal Ballet and Ballet Rambert.

Here, in Australia, Helene Kirsova who formed the first Australian professional ballet company and Eduoard Borovansky who was the most successful pioneer of ballet in this country, both emigrated here from the company that succeeded the Diaghilev Russian Ballet, the Ballet Russe de Colonel de Basil.

This company made three tours to Australia between 1936 and 1940 presenting the best of the world’s ballets danced by the best of the world’s dancers. The enormous success of the Ballet Russe de Colonel de Basil during these tours helped build an audience eager for the art which eventually led to the formation of the Borovansky Ballet. 

On Borovansky’s death in 1959, Peggy van Praagh, an English ballet mistress, teacher and producer was brought to Australia to take charge of the final tour.  Determined that Borovansky’s heritage should continue, van Praagh and a group of far-sighted Australians lost no time in urging that a national company should be formed, with government subsidy.

With van Praagh as artistic director and Kathleen Gorham, Marilyn Jones and Garth Welch as Australian-born principals, The Australian Ballet began its first season in November 1962 with her production of Swan Lake.  At her insistence, the repertoire for the company was firmly based on a mixture of the popular classics, other international works of proven quality, and ballets created especially for the company.

The other requirements Ms van Praagh laid down as essential were that the company must have its own school - which was established in 1964 under the direction of Margaret Scott - and that the dancers must be offered the security of year-round contracts. By these means, she and her successors have enjoyed the benefits of well-trained and highly motivated dancers.

Peggy van Praagh ran the company for its first twelve years, for much of the time with Robert Helpmann as associate director. Anne Woolliams was artistic director for 1976/77 after which Dame Peggy returned for one season.  Marilyn Jones, a former ballerina of the company was the next director and was followed by Maina Gielgud in 1983.  Ross Stretton, a former Principal Dancer of the company and assistant director of American Ballet Theatre, in turn, succeeded her in 1997.

He left The Australian Ballet in 2001 to take up the position of Artistic Director of The Royal Ballet, London. Our current Artistic Director is David McAllister, also an ex-Principal Dancer of the company who took over the direction in July 2001.

Versatility, technical excellence and a warm, friendly style are the trademarks of The Australian Ballet, qualities that have earned both critical and audience acclaim. These qualities keep the company in such demand that its dancers annually present more than 200 performances both here and abroad.

The Australian Ballet regularly tours the world. The first in 1965 when the company was only three years old, was a big gamble which paid off. The Australian Ballet gained successes in the world’s leading ballet capitals that it has since continued to enjoy. The secret of The Australian Ballet’s international reputation is not hard to find. It lies partly in a repertoire that gives scope to the many talents in the company as well as in the quality of its dancing.