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Names Of Ballet Companies


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I've noticed that most names of ballet companies in the USA (I don't know much about ballet companies on other continents) are geographical. For example, New York City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Sarasota Ballet, etc. Or there are companies named after their director; Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Jose Mateo's Ballet Theatre, Feld Ballet etc. And then you have ballet companies (though these are contemporary not strictly classical) that don't fit into either one of these categories: Complexions Dance Company, Ballet Deviare, Lemon Sponge Cake Contemporary Ballet, Verb Ballets, etc. Very rarely it seems that companies are named after anything but geography or their founder. I think that it would be great to see more companies with these unique names. Maybe names that described the purpose of the company-like Classicle Ballet Theatre or Fusion Ballet or Stretching the Limits Dance Theatre (sorry, these names are not very good).

So why are companies mainly named after geography or founder? Convenience?

Is there a precedent that has been upheld, are these ballet companies taken more seriously (well, I guess all of the big ballet companies in the USA are named after geography so we don't have a sample of big ballet companies not named after geography)? But if there were large ballet companies, I'm talking 80 dancers or more, named not for geography or founder, then do you think they would be taken as seriously? I have 2 degrees in psychology, which color my opinions as well!

What are some potential names that you think would be great for a company?

Okay, a little about me. I have a masters of science in psychology; graduate school changed my life in that I decided that I didn't love psychology as much as I thought I did, so I am now majoring in nursing, and will get my bachelors of science in nursing in Dec. 2006. I also work in a hospital and still think I will enjoy being a nurse, so this is a good sign. I don't post much over on this board because I am too busy reading the other board and too busy with school but I do enjoy this board when I venture to it. :) It is really great to find so many people so interested in ballet to discuss all things ballet with on the internet, because I just don't find nearly this many people in real life to discuss these things with. :rolleyes:

Edited by Tiffany
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It is curious, Tiffany, isn't it? Maybe it's a little because ballet companies tend to be conservative in their aesthetics...And yet I always have to "get past" company names like Lines or Complexions... why these should seem gimmicky when a place name does not... I suspect the place names help with fundraising... I think putting the founder's name in is a newer development... like 2nd half of the 20th century? Perhaps they're capitalizing on the box office draw of the director's name... or perhaps it's to keep the director in control (it would be hard for the board of directors to fire the director when the company is named after him/her... and also if dancers were disrespectful it would be odd for them to remain in the company, where as in another type of company they might hope to outlast or out-power the director?).

Just speculation...

Edited by Amy Reusch
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When Morton Baum, president of New York's City Center, invited the group known as Ballet Society to become the New York City Ballet in 1948, it was a great moment in dance history. Balanchine and Kirstein had arrived, in more ways than one. The groups organized by Mssrs. K and B in the thirties and forties had a variety of names -- American Ballet, Ballet Caravan, American Ballet Caravan, Ballet Society. But the emergence of New York City Ballet gave the company stability and led to its international fame.

Incidentally, the Feld Ballet changed its name to Ballet Tech a few years ago. I suppose the name is meant to have a scholastic sound, since many of its dancers come from the New York City public schools, but the name doesn't do it for me.

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Farrell Fan, I don't like the prosaic name Ballet Tech either, even if the name does highlight the connection between the company and the laudable work Feld does with the school.

Tiffany, thanks for the interesting topic, but I have to agree that the names you threw out aren't very good, and perhaps they illustrate the problem. I wonder if even the best names meant to describe the nature of the company's dancing wouldn't quickly sound bland, as as Amy says, gimmicky, not to mention limiting.

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Using names OTHER than those that are based on geography or the name of the founder/director can cause problems. Just to mention fairly major companies ....

Ballet Internationale may have been a rather grandiose name for a company based in Indianapolis (despite its large component of foreign-born dancers).

And how about Bejart's Ballet du XXeSiecle, which was (I guess) intended to suggest modernity? Like the century itself, it is now gone.

And then there's the instantly out-of-date Ballets 1933 established for a few months by Balanchine and Boris Kochno?

The name Ballet Tech conveys nothing, really, and certainly tells us nothing about the superb school Feld has set up within the New York City school system and the students who come from it.

BalletMet is also vague; it could be anything, anywhere.

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I don't understand a couple of relatively recent British name changes. Yes, the touring company can now call itself "Royal" (albeit from Birmingham), but why ditch the historically rich "Sadlers Wells"? And to go from the delightful "London Festival" to the utterly bland "English National" -- it may bestow a greater geographical realm, but catchy? No.

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Ballet companies are more often than not named after their patron or their location, which is a kind of patron. There are certainly anomalies (the Joffrey is probably the longest lived right now), but unlike modern dance companies which are frequently named after their founder and/or cheif choreographer, ballet companies affiliate themselves with a place or an entity. Historically, this seems to come from their antecedents -- many of the oldest companies were part of an opera or theater company supported at least in part by the state, so that you have La Scala, Paris Opera Ballet, the Bolshoi and the Maryinsky (after its various transfomations!) with the "real estate connection, and the Royal Ballet and the Royal Danes with the patron connection.

In the US, ballet companies are, like symphony orchestras, often seen as a community enterprise or institution -- a great deal of energy is put into nurturing that identity in hopes of leveraging local support (money and attendance) They are, in an odd kind of way, a bit like sports teams in that they often work in city facilities, receive local tax breaks as well as arts agency funding and are promoted as a local amenity. Naming an arts group (an organization that doesn't necessarily have a long track record or a substantial bank account) after something that has pre-exisiting substance has been seen as a smart choice.

In the past groups were frequently named after an individual (sometimes an impresario but usually an artist) like the contemporary "_______ and Friends" example, but these groups didn't last very long.

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When Morton Baum, president of New York's City Center, invited the group known as Ballet Society to become the New York City Ballet in 1948, it was a great moment in dance history. Balanchine and Kirstein had arrived, in more ways than one. The groups organized by Mssrs. K and B in the thirties and forties had a variety of names -- American Ballet, Ballet Caravan, American Ballet Caravan, Ballet Society. But the emergence of New York City Ballet gave the company stability and led to its international fame.

By that time Balanchine had enough clout he could have called it The Balanchine Ballet Company instead of The New York City Ballet. Thank goodness he was a modest genius!

Also BalletMet sounds like some wierd combination of ballet company/insurance agency. :)

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By that time Balanchine had enough clout he could have called it The Balanchine Ballet Company instead of The New York City Ballet. Thank goodness he was a modest genius!

And, assuming he had the choice, a smart businessman. City Center was identified with New York City, as a civic institution, and "New York City Ballet" was a great bookend with "New York City Opera," the then-resident opera company.

Also BalletMet sounds like some wierd combination of ballet company/insurance agency. :lightbulb:
I agree! I originally thought the Company was based in Hartford, for that very reason :blink:
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Ballet companies are more often than not named after their patron or their location, which is a kind of patron. There are certainly anomalies (the Joffrey is probably the longest lived right now), but unlike modern dance companies which are frequently named after their founder and/or cheif choreographer, ballet companies affiliate themselves with a place or an entity.

It's interesting, isn't it, that upon moving to Chicago the Joffrey changed its name to "Joffrey Ballet of Chicago". And even more interesting that they dropped "...of Chicago" a year or two ago.

In the US, ballet companies are, like symphony orchestras, often seen as a community enterprise or institution -- a great deal of energy is put into nurturing that identity in hopes of leveraging local support (money and attendance) They are, in an odd kind of way, a bit like sports teams in that they often work in city facilities, receive local tax breaks as well as arts agency funding and are promoted as a local amenity.

The Chicago Swans?

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When Morton Baum, president of New York's City Center, invited the group known as Ballet Society to become the New York City Ballet in 1948, it was a great moment in dance history.

Didn't Baum originally want it to be named New York City CENTER ballet, after the name of the Theater?

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Didn't Baum originally want it to be named New York City CENTER ballet, after the name of the Theater?

Was it the New York City Center Opera? Perhaps it was. I do know that Ed Sullivan, not so nimble of tongue, introduced Villella and MacBride on one or more occasions as being from the New York City Center Ballet.

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I think to understand the Joffrey phenomenon, you have to understand that he was as much a guiding spirit as well as an actual live human being, even while he was alive! Under the present artistic staff, the preservation of the Joffrey Spirit is as important as the keeping of the repertoire. The only thing you can't do now is say, "Mr. Joffrey canceled/called that rehearsal himself, personally." Although, I can imagine people trying to communicate with him! :beg::)

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I think to understand the Joffrey phenomenon, you have to understand that he was as much a guiding spirit as well as an actual live human being, even while he was alive! Under the present artistic staff, the preservation of the Joffrey Spirit is as important as the keeping of the repertoire. The only thing you can't do now is say, "Mr. Joffrey canceled/called that rehearsal himself, personally." Although, I can imagine people trying to communicate with him! :beg::)

The theater where Joffrey gave his first recital as a young dancer/choreographer has since become a movie house, but has for many years been rumored to be haunted. Perhaps RJ has arrived back home.

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The theater where Joffrey gave his first recital as a young dancer/choreographer has since become a movie house, but has for many years been rumored to be haunted. Perhaps RJ has arrived back home.

Maybe, but I think it would be even more difficult to figure out where he is now than when he was alive. Part of his cremated remains were strewn at sea off Seattle, some were retained by Gerald Arpino, and some were immured in the columbarium of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine!

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Maybe, but I think it would be even more difficult to figure out where he is now than when he was alive. Part of his cremated remains were strewn at sea off Seattle, some were retained by Gerald Arpino, and some were immured in the columbarium of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine!

Sounds just about right to me!

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In Britain we also had the (now sadly defunct) London City Ballet, which spent most of its time on tour outside London. There was also a company formed by some ex-Royal Ballet/Sadlers Wells RB dancers called Dance Advance, which I liked - both the name and the company. They are probably most famous for having Sir Kenneth MacMillan create "Sea of Troubles" for them (based on Hamlet). We now have a small and worthy London-based company called Ballet Black, which is a reference to the dancers' ethnic origins.

Jane

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Part of his cremated remains were strewn at sea off Seattle, some were retained by Gerald Arpino, and some were immured in the columbarium of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine!
Quite scattered!
Dance Advance
I like that name.
Ballet Black
I'd like to see this company, I've seen advertisements for them.

I wonder if Europe, as opposed to USA, is more receptive to companies not named for location or founder? Or rather European audiences/patrons/supporters/etc.?

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