Jump to content
This Site Uses Cookies. If You Want to Disable Cookies, Please See Your Browser Documentation. ×

Help a Newbie appreciate the Corps de Ballet...


Recommended Posts

Good question! I hope others will chime in, but here are some thoughts to start off.

What is the role of the corps? In story ballets, it might seem evident: the Wilis in "Giselle" are ghost maidens, girls who die unmarried and dance in the forest at night; the "swans" are really maidens (they're only swans by day, and we're seeing them at night), friends of Odette, enchanted with her. Sometimes they dance beautiful patterns that are lovely to look at (and go with the music), sometimes they are part of the story (the Wilis like to dance men to death; more subtly, the swans are happy after the Prince swears his love to Odette). Ini Spartacus, the men are an army. In a Balanchine ballet, the corps may be part of the ballet's architecture. In any ballet, the corps sometimes echoes the ballerina, sometimes dances phrases before she does, to prepare your eye (the way an overture prepares your ear for the score).

At its best, a corps should show the company's style. It's more than just dancing the same steps at the same time (although that often helps!). It shows the look of a company, what bodies are considered beautiful by that particular aesthetic, as well as technical things -- how the arms and fingers are held are different from company to company, the way the pointes are used.

There's lots more, but that's a start.

Link to comment
..... In any ballet, the corps ....... sometimes dances phrases before she [the ballerina] does, to prepare your eye (the way an overture prepares your ear for the score).

That's a very interesting function of the corps, Alexandra. I'd love an example or two, as, much to my chagrin, I can't think of any at the moment.

Link to comment
..... In any ballet, the corps ....... sometimes dances phrases before she [the ballerina] does, to prepare your eye (the way an overture prepares your ear for the score).

That's a very interesting function of the corps, Alexandra. I'd love an example or two, as, much to my chagrin, I can't think of any at the moment.

Grand Pas Paquita

Link to comment

In many ballets, even in abstract ballets, the corps can set a tone and add a necessary element. If an error occurs in the corps that catches your eye, the moment can be ruined.

I'd say the next time you see a ballet or think about a ballet you have seen, try to picture it without the corps. Think about how different it would have looked. Even if you look at the corps as back up singers (which is not what they always are), think about how a recording would sound without that element.

Just a suggestion.

Link to comment
In many ballets, even in abstract ballets, the corps can set a tone and add a necessary element. If an error occurs in the corps that catches your eye, the moment can be ruined.
I would go further and say that a lifeless corps de ballet can undo all the good work of a team of great principals. The corps is not only the body of the ballet, it is its heartbeat, and if it's underrehearsed or demoralized, the whole shebang can fall flat, despite a brilliant multiple pirouettes and sky-high leaps.

It also defines the stage space. Approximately two-thirds through the White Swan pas, the swans make a diagonal line across the stage, drastically reducing the stage space and making the pas that much more intimate. You'll see a lot of semi-circles and three-sided boxes framing the action in Petipa, and they sometimes expand and contract (even by as little as the dancers' changing weight from their inside legs to their outside legs). I really like watching the kaleidescopic movements of the floor patterns -- why I rarely choose to view ballet from orchestra level.

The corps' choreography often complements the principals' choreography and brings the principals' choreography into sharper relief. Towards the end of the "I Got Rhythm" section (the finale) of Balanchine's Who Cares?, the women all crouch as the men do a double air turn. This not only makes the five men in the second row -- the soloist guys -- easier to see, it also emphasizes the height of their jumps.

There's lots to look for in the corps de ballet -- including potential up-and-comers :D . I hope you enjoy.

Link to comment
The solo parts I get..but I need pointers as to how to better appreciate what the Corps De Ballet does...what to look for...how to better enjoy..etc!

Thanks!

You should take a look at the descent of the shades in Bayadere. The POB version is stunning! you will soon appreciate the role of the corps! so many dancers moving as one and creating the effect of being a living kaleidoscope is something that would touch everyone's heart! the magic of romantic ballets is more in the corps,rather than in solos! What would Giselle be without all the Willis?what would Swan Lake be without all the swans?what would Donqui be without the whole corps dancing spanish-like or without the Dryads?Then you also have to realize that the corps does a very tough job of trying and moving as one,sometimes withoutgetting attention because they are just on the back of Pas de Deux and Solos. It means you have to trust the others,you have to listen and constantly look and follow the others,you have to adapt to the average of the corps when it comes to positions,arms and legs. You have to disappear in the name of the group. Believe me,it requires a harder job than dancing your variation alone,doing what you want and getting much applause because you stick out more!:wallbash:

Link to comment

The corps provides movement, pattern, and imparts feeling in a way that no mere soloist ever could. I'm with Carbro on prefering the balcony in order to see pattern and rhythm. Some of the most exciting moments in dance have been provided by a unified corps in lines, coming straight downstage, as in "Stars and Stripes" and some "Romeo and Juliet" ballroom scenes. Depending upon how they are used, too, the corps may provide the most interesting relationships -- physical and emotional -- in a dance.

Even standing still, the corps can take your breath away -- Think about the curtain going up on "Symphony in C" or "Serenade." I know a woman who became a major benefactor of the ballet, upon seeing one of those moments for the first time. Go to as many ballets as you can, iczerman, and, sooner or later, one of those magic moments will be yours.

Link to comment
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...