theology of ballet

[Volkmar]

Dear Listmembers,

for the fact that I am a scholar of theology and an enthusiastic fan of ballet I have the idea to write a book about the "theology of ballet". the aim of such a book is to highlight the religious content/issues/philosophy of ballet and modern dance.

If anyone could give me useful hints, informations or is interested to discuss with me on that topic, I would be very glad!

With all greetings from Austria, Volkmar

[bart]

A most interesting topic. Could you speak a bit more about what "theology" means in this context. The first thoughts that came to mind had more to do with ballet and "liturgy," which I think is something different from what you are planning.

[SandyMcKean]

My first thought was of Wagner's Parsifal......that would be interesting (altho I assume that book has already been written).

So more to the point, then I thought about a ballet "equivalent" to Parsifal, or even a mini-Parsifal, and couldn't think of one. Where have you seen religious content or mood in ballet (other than perhaps in full length)?

[Leigh Witchel]

Like painting, I think ballet is the canvas on which a belief is expressed, rather than the belief itself. I do think that ballet expresses some things more naturally than others because of its origins in Court dance.

For background, may I suggest Lincoln Kirstein's "A Ballet Master's Belief" - an introductory essay in "Portrait of Mr. B". Another author who is interested in this issue is Brendan McCarthy. He's written good articles on the subject in the British Catholic journal The Tablet.

[sandik]

Like some of the other people here, I'm not exactly sure what you're thinking about. I'm sure you know that there are many dances that were created/developed with specifically religious uses/intentions. Some of them, like the little choir boys in medieval Spain (Los Seises) were developed by a religious institution and were a part of their worship, while others, like Alvin Ailey's choreography for the Leonard Bernstein "Mass," were more theatrical in nature. Some choreographers have used religious materials as sources for theatrical works (like Doris Humphrey's "Shakers") without really intending to make a religious dance, and there are some artists (like Kathy Thibodeux, who founded Ballet Magnificat) who want to draw a direct relationship between the two. There is sacred movement in the rituals of almost every traditional culture on the globe, and there are swathes of people who are creating new movement rituals associated with current therapy and self-improvement practices. Some people use yoga as a spiritual practice, and some use it to get ready for ski season...

All of this back and forth just means that there are a wide variety of things that would qualify as religious/spiritual dance -- I'm not quite clear about where your interests are focused.

[Mel Johnson]

And then there are the semiotic interpretations of ballet. Ever think of a modern arabesque as a sort of eccentric cross? I have. Or the arabesque spiral line as resembling the labyrinthine description of the Tabernacle surrounding the Ark of the Covenant? And those are just for starters. But then I tend to be a bit medieval, too, when EVERYTHING contained some sort of divine message in it.

[drb]

Sandik's mention of Ailey brings to mind his "Revalations", surely one of the most performed dances in the world. The Ailey company performs many "theological" ballets, those of the theological-minded (and great) choreographer Ronald K. Brown, in particular ("Grace" is a masterpiece). One can learn more about Mr. Brown and his company, Evidence, at:

http://www.evidencedance.com/

Then there are directly theological symbols in ballet, such as Giselle's sign of the cross pose to protect Albrecht in Act 2 of Giselle, a ballet, after all, about forgiveness and redemption. Peter Martins uses a similar image in his Swan Lake Act 4. Balanchine, of course has his famous Prodigal Son.

[Mel Johnson]

There could be quite a few citations of theological commentary in programmatic ballets like Giselle. Remember, the libretto for that ballet was written by Theophile Gautier, who was one of the New Revolutionaries of his time, and preserved the anti-clericalism of the 1789 Revolution. Giselle is buried deep in the forest, far from consecrated ground, in part to demonstrate the cruelty of canon law with regard to what would have technically been called a suicide in its day. In the end of the ballet, God overrules the church, and assumes Giselle into heaven, no matter what the church has ruled. In a sense, is she not a Christ-figure, who has interposed between Evil and a man in order to provide him salvation?

But the theological is equally well demonstrated in pure dance, by many examples, especially from 20th-century ballets, when ballet really became to be about itself, as often as it was used to advance or divert from a story. Those images, movements and structures become as relevant to religious interpretation as those in a programmatic ballet.

[canbelto]

Well I think one of the themes that runs through the three tragic classical ballets (Giselle, Swan Lake, and La Bayadere) is forgiveness, which was very important in Christian theology. In Giselle the symbolism is the most obvious, but in La Bayadere Solor has to spiritually reconnect with Nikya in the afterlife after having betrayed her in real life. In Swan Lake no matter what the ending is, there has to be the scene of forgivness for Odette and Siegfried. I think that's what makes these ballets so powerful, and why they're the staples after so many years.

[Helene]

Like painting, I think ballet is the canvas on which a belief is expressed, rather than the belief itself. 

That's an interesting thought. In several Balanchine ballets, there is imagery directly from religious paintings, and is one step removed. Examples are the finger-to-finger gesture between Terpsichore and Apollo before the pas de deux that echoes G-d giving life to Adam in the Sistine Chapel and the crossed-wristed, angular high-fifth that frames the face of the lead woman in Mozartiana, which Farrell recognized as the Madonna in a painting in the church she attended regularly.

Then there is other biblical imagery in his Don Quixote, notably where Farrell's character dries the feet of Don Quixote with her hair.

[kfw]

Volmar, what a fascinating subject! I hope you'll post again from time to time as your thoughts on the subject develop. I wonder if you'd want to ask permission to query the dancers of certain companies to find religious believers who would tell you what ballet means to them spiritually.

[drb]

Good point, kfw. Two of the dancers who are most "spiritual" in the balletic sense, Farrell and Lopatkina, are both deeply religious, one might even say mystical.

[Mel Johnson]

People have been trying to find a story in "Serenade" for years, so much so that one of the characters is referred to as the "Dark Angel". And there is the famous opening sequence, which momentarily turns the corps into a field of crosses. The previously noted "Prodigal Son" takes the Lucan parable and turns it into a metaphor for the homesick Russian in Balanchine, even cutting the textual story short so that it ends with the reconciliation of Father and Son. The arc with the elder brother protesting celebration of the return of the title character is gone.

[bart]

And then there's "liturgical dance." I haven't seen much, but a quick check on Google brought up 62,300 matches ! Here's a link to just one site:

http://www.pastornet.net.au/renewal/journal6/coleman.html

P.S. Thanks, Mel, for that insight into Prodigal Son. He's the one that I always identify with in the original parable. Unfair! Unfair! Here's the story from Luke:

"Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. "Your brother has come," he replied, "and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound." The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, "Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!" "My son," the father said, "you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found." (Luke 15:11-32)

[Mel Johnson]

There are numerous citations in both Hebrew and Christian scripture which express a view that all of creation is a reflection of the glory of God. And I think that this statement works in belief systems outside of the Judeo-Christian. In particular, I think of Shinto as having a peculiar affinity for ballet, with its emphasis on what has come before, and the honor of "ancestors" as intercessors with the divine (kami), so our discussion need not be limited in exploring the various avenues of theology.

[kfw]

In a chapter entitled "The Girdle of Venus" of her book on dance aesthetics, "Next Week, Swan Lake," Selma Jeanne Cohen cites Isadora Duncan's efforts to find, as Duncan put it in "My Life", "that dance which might be the divine expression of the human spirit through the medium of the body's movement." Seeking that inspiration, Duncan would stand for hours with her hands beneath her breasts, the same place where Venus wore the kestos that made her especially irresistible.

Cohen likens Duncan's concept of dance as spiritual inspiration to Augustine's concept of grace -- in both cases, the recipient, one of a chosen and relative few, is transformed and enabled to do what he or she couldn't do alone. Cohen notes that Augustine approved of dance in Greek and Roman theater because it wasn't merely decorative but a language unto itself, and for that reason rational and not just sensual. Augustine, from De Musica: "since to the attentive spectators all his gestures are signs of things, the dance itself is called reasonable because it aptly signifies and exhibits something over and above the delights of the senses."

Personally I think that the sensual always signifies something to the intellect, even if not the conscious intellect. But that's another issue.

[drb]

.... Augustine, from De Musica: "since to the attentive spectators all his gestures are signs of things, the dance itself is called reasonable because it aptly signifies and exhibits something over and above the delights of the senses." ...

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Here is a useful resourse by Yvonne Kendall, with references, for intersections between dance and religion across cultures and throughout history:

http://www.the-orb.net/encyclop/culture/music/kendall.htm

Although Augustine is included, the author missed kfw's semiotic reference above.

Here's an example from the site:

St. Isadore, sixth-century Archbishop of Seville was, in fact, ordered by the Council of Toledo to create choreographies for certain council events. It has been suggested by some scholars that the invasion and subsequent influence of the Moors bearing the strong dance traditions of Africa resulted in Spain's retention of the practice of religious dance longer than other European locales. The Mozarabic mass included dance for centuries, even surviving an eleventh-century attempt to quash the practice.

[bart]

Re the Christian imagery in Giselle.

In the end of the ballet, God overrules the church, and assumes Giselle into heaven, no matter what the church has ruled. 

In a sense, is she not a Christ-figure, who has interposed between Evil and a man in order to provide him salvation?

I have to confess to ignorance here. The second sentence above seems clearly true, at least if the viewer comes from that religious tradition.

But, what about the first sentence? I've seen Giselle slip down into her grave once(Ferri/La Scala?) and back away or fade away into the woods behind the tombstone in many productions.

I never analysed it, but I guess I've always unconsciouslyassumed that -- although she has sacrificed herself for Albrecht -- her sacrifice involves either (a) slipping off into nothingness (including liberation from the fate of being a willi) or (b) accepting the fate of remaining a willi. My attention at the very end is with Albrecht, so I may missed something.

I'm embarrassed to admit that I now wonder if I've been wrong all these years. Are there productions in which she is actually assumed into heaven? What exactly ARE we supposed to think about what is happening to her?

[Mel Johnson]

Yes, I've seen about half the Giselles of my life not simply sink into the ground, but appear above the grave about halfway up the cutdrop, wafting her arms in farewell to Albrecht. In some productions the petals of Albrecht's lilies even descend from the flies. Except in one tech rehearsal, where somebody dropped a cornstalk.

In the original production, it was even more elaborate, with Giselle ascending by a special lift, and Wilfrid and Bathilde coming in to witness the event, so that it can be an "undoubted" miracle witnessed by two potential testators. Gautier may have been anti-established church, but he was not anti-God.

[bart]

Thanks, Mel, for the clarification. The lift in the original production seems to be the clincher. When I've seen Giselle above the grave "wafting her arms" (good phrase) it simply never occurred to me that she was being spiritually llifted to another plane. In most performances I've seen, she tends to back off towards or even into the wings while audience attention is focused on Albrecht. I'm appalled that I never questioned where she herself was going.

Whatever the details, all the plot lines tend to reinforce orthodox Christian concepts of sin, atonement, self-sacrifice, redemption and afterlife.

The same elements can be found in Bayadere, which I gather has several different possible endings. But it's definitely wackier and less moving there than in Giselle.

[cygneblanc]

What a fascinating subject !

You may be interested in reading the writings of the french dancer Mireille Negre, who was a POB principal and quitted that position to becoming a carmelite nun, then left her convent and now is a consecrated virgin (I'm not sure this translation is accurate..)

You could also read a book by Janet Lynn Roseman called Dance was her religion, the spiritual choregraphy of Isadora Duncan, Ruth Saint Denis and Marta Graham. La danse et le sacré (in french!) by Elisabeth Zana could be a short introduction to a larger subject.

Both Maurice Béjard and John Neumeier have spoken of their religious beliefs which may be found in some of their choreos.

And there is also a french PhD which can be found in the Ste Genevieve library on philosophy and dance !

Please if you have enough time keep in touch with us !

[Mel Johnson]

Yes, "consecrated virgin" is a good way of putting a professed religious, living out of community under vows of chastity, at least. It is an ancient, and very special vocation in life.

[Volkmar]

Dear all,

I thank you so much for all your contributions to my request! Meanwhile I had a lot of work - but also some time to clarify the thoughts on my propsal.

bart is right that I do not intend to deal with ballet and "liturgy" - there are already some publications. I only want to deal with Bühnentanz (sorry, that I don't know the english expression) in classical, neoclassical and/or modern-dance-technique. Your contributions clearly indicate that a strict limitation on the chosen subject is necessary.

So what I have in mind are two topics:

- religious contents of ballets. That might be an endless project. More specifically I am very interested in Old Testament/Hebrew Bible contents in ballets. The point for this is that I am teaching Old Testament/Hebrew Bible at universities. Ad I dream of joined seminars on "OT/HB-themes in ballets" with my students focusing their interest in the OT/HB as well as promoting their interest in ballet. I only know about "Josephslegende". Are there other ballets dealing with the OT/HB? Should an own topic in our forum be opened to that specific issue?

- The other topic I have in mind now I would like to call the spiritualitiy of classical/neoclassical/modern dance-ballet. Here I would like to describe the term "spirituality" in a very broad sence as an attachment to religious values and/or as a mentality to establish "meaning" transcending our "factual reality".

In this respect I will try to contact dancers - as kfw suggested - thanks! - on 15. 02. - asking them for statements on what ballet means to them spiritually. In this respect I would also like to contact Farrell, Loputkina (thanks to drb!) and Mireille Negre (thanks to cygneblanc!), but how could I do that? Would it also be wise to start an own topic on that question in one of our forums here?

This Thursday I move from Vienna to Munich, where I will stay for 2 months. I try to contact the Bayerisches Staatsballett; maybe they can help me a little bit. One of my brother-Jesuits work together with John Neumeier serveral years ago. I will also contact him for advise...

With all greatings from Vienna,

Volkmar

[atm711]

I only want to deal with Bühnentanz (sorry, that I don't know the english expression)

Penitential Dance----

[bart]

What is that like?