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On The Other Side – Thoughts From A Recently Retired Ballerina

November 27, 2016 by 4dancers

Jessica Anspach
Me, taking off in Europe after my retirement for the solo part of my trip!

by Jessika Anspach McEliece

The early autumn light flooded through my window as if to smile “Hello”, warming my toes as I sat on the couch scrolling through my Facebook feed. And the babble of the river rushing underneath our flat (because that’s what they call them over here in England), at first sounding almost fake like one of those sleep machines, had a soothing, hypnotic effect.

How in the world did I get here?

Life couldn’t have looked more different than it did four months ago… [Read more…]

Filed Under: 4dancers Tagged With: Akram Khan, dance retirement, England, english national ballet, giselle, Jessica Anspach, Jessika Anspach McEliece, Mayflower Theater, pointe shoes, retired ballerina, swan lake

Dancing Spirits

November 11, 2016 by Rachel Hellwig

By Samantha Hope Galler

Samantha as a Wili in Miami City Ballet's Giselle.
Samantha as a Wili in Miami City Ballet’s Giselle.

To this day, Giselle is one of the most beloved classical ballets.The work premiered in Paris, France in 1841. Act I of Giselle presents the audience with drama, dancing, and heartbreak. It also sets the tone for Act II where the Wilis claim the stage and bring forth Giselle’s spirit…

The Act II Wilis continue to be some of the most famous phantoms in any full-length ballet. Act II of Giselle is one of the most celebrated and recognizable sections of any ballet. This scene is performed by 18 corps de ballet women and two demi-soloist women.

When dancers who portray the Wilis shift gears from their roles in Act I to Act II, they make a prominent change in their makeup. The Wilis appear slightly pale onstage because they lightly paint themselves during intermission to appear ghostly. This is the first step in representing a Wili. Along with the makeup change, the characters of Wilis are shaped through specific placement of the head, arms, and legs. For example, when Myrtha, Queen of the Wilis, calls the spirits out of their graves, they step on to stage slightly tilted forward with their arms crossed below the chest. Throughout this scene, the Wilis stand in line while their heads are turned slightly over their shoulder. The eyelids are shifted downward and out.

Through the rehearsal process, we polish these nuances that define the Wilis. For the iconic chug section (seen at the beginning of the video below in the Petipa version), we work on leveling out our arms and legs. Staying in line all the way across the stage can be tricky but, over time, we learn to anticipate and watch each other. Just like any major corps de ballet section, it is rewarding to move in unison.

Rehearsal for Peasant Pas de Deux with MCB Soloist Jovani Furlan.
Rehearsal for Peasant Pas de Deux with Miami City Ballet Soloist Jovani Furlan.

Miami City Ballet began working on Giselle in June. In the past, I have performed in the Petipa version as Myrtha, Moyna, Giselle’s Friends, and as a Wili. This time around I will be performing in Coralli and Perrot’s version. During our run of Giselle, I will be performing the Peasant Pas de Deux, Friends, Wilis, and in the Court.

I most look forward to traveling with the production as it opens our eyes to new audiences.


Miami City Ballet‘s Giselle concludes this weekend with 4 performances at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach.


Samantha Dancing as Myrtha with Alabama Ballet in 2011:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xukvRiTh4F4

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Filed Under: 4dancers Tagged With: Ballet, giselle, Giselle Act II, Miami City Ballet, performing, Samantha Hope Galler, Wilis

Spoiler Alert: The Original Endings Of Ballet’s Great Love Stories

February 14, 2016 by Rachel Hellwig

by Rachel Hellwig

So, you think you know how all of your favorite romantic ballets end? Think again! The original finales might surprise you…

Giselle

Spoiler alert: Albrecht gets back together with Bathilde—with the (post-mortem) blessing of Giselle! Though most modern versions conclude with Albrecht alone in the forest, Pacific Northwest Ballet’s 2011 staging by Peter Boal includes the original ending. As The New York Times described it, “Albrecht [is] tenderly consoled and reclaimed at dawn by Bathilde, whom Giselle, now a spirit returning to her grave, has urged him to marry with her last gestures.”

Created with "waiting backstage" by Deb. Licensed under CC Attribution 2.0 Generic. [Changes to image: cropped; filters, background, and text added] Lyrics quoted on image from "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together", artist Taylor Swift.
Created with “waiting backstage” by Deb. Licensed under CC Attribution 2.0 Generic. [Changes to image: cropped; filters, background, and text added] Lyrics quoted on image from “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together“, artist Taylor Swift.

Swan Lake

Spoiler alert: Siegfried and Odette still die. However, they don’t drown themselves in the lake. And their original personalities were more flawed than those of the gallant Prince and Swan Queen of today. The Ballet Bag explains:

“[It] was very different from the Swan Lake we now know: Odette, daughter of a good fairy, is being pursued by her “wicked witch stepmother”. Her grandfather keeps her and companions safe at a lake by night, allowing them to fly about as swans by day. Odette wears a magical crown which protects her from the witch. Siegfried falls for her but betrays her at a ball. Odette refuses to forgive him, so he snatches her crown in desperation. The lovers are now at the mercy of the witch and the waters of the lake engulf them.”

Created with "CincinnatiBallet-SwanLake2009-Dancers-KristiCapps-AnthonyKrutzkamp-Photog-PeterMueller" by KCBalletMedia. Licensed under CC Attribution 2.0 Generic. [Changes to image: cropped; filters, background, and text added]
Created with “CincinnatiBallet-SwanLake2009-Dancers-KristiCapps-AnthonyKrutzkamp-Photog-PeterMueller” by KCBalletMedia. Licensed under CC Attribution 2.0 Generic. [Changes to image: cropped; filters, background, and text added]

Romeo and Juliet

And they lived happily ever after…

Spoiler alert: This was indeed the ending that composer Sergei Prokofiev intended! “Living people can dance, the dead cannot”, he argued. But officials in 1930s Soviet Russia weren’t keen on the idea of changing Shakespeare’s story (a.k.a. Prokofiev had to follow orders). It wasn’t until 2008 that choreographer Mark Morris staged a version with the original happy ending. It’s safe to say, of course, that Prokofiev’s revision has yet to upstage The Bard’s conclusion to this famous tale of woe.

 Created with "swKCB0514_ 1685" by KCBalletMedia. Licensed under CC Attribution 2.0 Generic. [Changes to image: cropped; filters, background, and text added] Lyrics quoted on image from "Love Story", artist Taylor Swift.
Created with “swKCB0514_ 1685” by KCBalletMedia. Licensed under CC Attribution 2.0 Generic. [Changes to image: cropped; filters, background, and text added] Lyrics quoted on image from “Love Story“, artist Taylor Swift.

Filed Under: 4dancers Tagged With: Ballet, Ballet History, Bathilde, dance, Dance History, giselle, history, odette, Original Ending, pacific northwest ballet, Prokofiev, romeo and juliet, siegfried, swan lake, Valentine's Day

Two Decades At Colorado Ballet

December 17, 2015 by 4dancers

Sharon Wehner
Colorado Ballet’s Sharon Wehner. Photo by Allen Birnbach.

by Sharon Wehner

“What does it mean to you to be celebrating your 20th season with the Colorado Ballet?”

This is a question I have been asked over and over again since our season started this past July—a question asked by my colleagues, by board members, by our marketing department, and by numerous members of the media. I have spent hours pondering it, and each time I am asked, it seems I have a different answer.

It is a big question, and quite honestly, I dread it, because it sends me spinning into a myriad of memories and growth periods—both beautiful ones, and those that were, well, more challenging. My first response is to say that it feels like any milestone birthday. On the one hand, it’s could be viewed as just another number. From a pessimistic perspective, it could be seen as the inevitable passing of time—one year closer to the end. Dancers love to bemoan how old they are getting and how old their bodies feel, a tendency that starts about the age of puberty. But from another perspective, a milestone birthday could be an opportunity to feel blessed—one more year to be able to be and do what I love.

What does it mean to dance for twenty years in the same company? As every dancer knows, choosing this as one’s profession means accepting some unique parameters:

  • Dancing is a career with a limited lifespan—retirement does not mean turning 65.5 and collecting a pension. Longevity in one company may earn a small amount of seniority, but nothing like the retirement benefits of a company in the corporate world.
  • Being a professional dancer requires a particular lifestyle commitment. Because our body is our bread and butter, what we do outside the “office” affects our ability to be at the top of our game. Simple things like food, sleep, rest, exercise, and play are all intimately connected to our performance. And as the years pass, maintenance on the body becomes an increasingly refined and conscientious balance of these elements.
  • Dancing can be a very transient kind of lifestyle. Those who freelance must weave together a patchwork of gigs, supplemented by other kinds of work to pay the bills. They must be able to adapt quickly to new bosses, colleagues, an environments. Even those dancers who want the stability of a company, will often switch companies several times during the span of their careers, for a number of reasons.

Given all of these tendencies, why would someone commit the bulk of their dance career to one ballet company for 20-plus years? When I ask myself this question, there are a multitude of answers, which brings up the question “What are the advantages of such a commitment?” [Read more…]

Filed Under: 4dancers, Career Tagged With: ballet career, colorado ballet, dance career, giselle, Koichi Kubo, nutcracker, professional dancer, Sharon Wehner, sugar plum fairy

The Phantoms Of The Ballet: The Wilis

October 31, 2015 by Rachel Hellwig

“Giselle in the Forest” — Short Dance Film by The Australian Ballet with Modern Music

by Rachel Hellwig

You know the story— Boys meets girl. Boy courts girl. Girl falls in love. Girl discovers she’s been two-timed. Girl goes mad. Girl dies. Girl becomes ghost. Boy visits girl’s grave. Boy is captured by vengeful ghosts. Girl’s ghost saves boy.

The story is, of course, Giselle and the ghosts are the Wilis. In fact, Giselle‘s original title was Giselle ou les Wilis, “Giselle, or The Wilis”. Though a product of the Romantic Era and its fascination with the supernatural, this ballet from 1841 has nonetheless endured and attained classic status. Interestingly, pop culture’s current interest in vampires, zombies etc. echos the tastes of the period in which Giselle was created.

So, let’s take a look at the Wilis, a most elegant member of the undead…

Folkloric Inspiration

"swKCB032015_-903" by KCBalletMedia. Licensed under CC Attribution 2.0 Generic.
“swKCB032015_-903” by KCBalletMedia. Licensed under CC Attribution 2.0 Generic.

The Wilis have their roots in European legend. Théophile Gautier, author of Giselle’s libretto, took his source material for the Wilis from a passage in Heinrich Heine’s On Germany:

“There is a tradition of nocturnal dancing known in Slav countries under the name of Wili. The Wilis are affianced maidens who have died before their wedding-day; those poor young creatures cannot rest peacefully in their graves. In their hearts which have ceased to throb, in their dead feet, there still remains that passion for dancing which they could not satisfy during life; and at midnight they rise up and gather in bands on the highway and woe betide the young man who meets them, for he must dance until he drops dead.

Attired in their bridal dresses, with garlands of flowers on their heads, and shining rings on their fingers, the Wilis dance in the moonlight like the Elves.”

Theatrical Development

Ballet of the Nuns at the Paris Opéra (1832). Wikimedia Commons Public Domain Image.
Ballet of the Nuns at the Paris Opéra. Wikimedia Commons Public Domain Image.

The Wilis’ theatrical ancestors are found in the Ballet of Nuns from the opera Robert le Diable (1831) by Giacomo Meyerbeer and in the full-length ballet La Sylphide (1832). In the Ballet of the Nuns, ghosts of nuns rise from their abbey graves and dance in the moonlight. In La Sylphide, spirit-like beings known as sylphs dance in the forest at night. The visuals of these ballets with their white-clad women dancing in eerily-lit scenes set the stage for arrival of the Wilis nearly a decade later. Both the Ballet of the Nuns and La Sylphide originally starred Marie Taglioni, the ballet star credited with helping create the “tutu and toe-shoes” vision of the Romantic Era dancer. Anna Kisselgoff relates:

“’Robert le Diable’ raised the curtain on Romantic ballet. Naturally, there were many previous phases contributing to the Romantic esthetic in dance. But the preoccupation with the supernatural that characterized so much of 19th-century ballet could be traced to the success of the ”ballet of the nuns” in Meyerbeer’s first production at the Paris Opera.

”Robert Le Diable” led directly to the creation, in 1832, of ”La Sylphide,” the first complete Romantic ballet. The libretto for ”La Sylphide” was written by Adolphe Nourrit, the tenor who had the title role in ”Robert le Diable” and his sylph was of course, Marie Taglioni. Filippo Taglioni, her father and who is usually credited with the dances in the Meyerbeer opera, choreographed ”La Sylphide.” And another member of the same team, Pierre Ciceri, the stage and lighting designer responsible for the gasp-producing effects in ”Robert le Diable,” introduced the same ghostly gas lighting into ”La Sylphide.”

Otherworldly Attire

Carlotta Grisi as Giselle in Act II (1841). Wikimedia Commons Public Domain Image.
Carlotta Grisi as Giselle in Act II (1841). Wikimedia Commons Public Domain Image.

The long white tutus of the Wilis are based on the costume trend that Taglioni introduced for the more benign creatures of La Sylphide. The University of Utah’s ballet history page explains:

“The Romantic tutu is first seen in La Sylphide and was designed by Eugène Lami (1800-1890) […] By complementing Taglioni’s ethereal style of dancing the tutu triggered a new image in the mind of the public; that of the Romantic ballerina, transmuted into a creature soaring amidst a mist of muslin.[…] Like the pointe shoe, the Romantic tutu actively assisted the ballerina with the interpretation of her role, adding a buoyancy and unreal suspension to her fleeting steps and a softness to her landings.55″

Are They a Dream?

Of course, a possible interpretation of the Wilis is that they are a figment of Albrecht’s tortured thoughts. Anna Kisselgoff writes, “Whether he actually sees her ghost or imagines it in Act II is the kind of question 19th-century Romantic ballets such as this one have always left unanswered.”

What do you think? What’s your interpretation?

Giselle and Albrecht Say Goodbye at the End of Act II

Filed Under: 4dancers Tagged With: Anna Kisselgoff, Ballet, Ballet History, Ballet of Nuns, Dance History, Ghosts, giselle, Heinrich Heine, la sylphide, Marie Taglioni, Robert le Diable, Romantic Era, Théophile Gautier, Wilis

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