Five Classic Ballets Then and Now

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Classic ballets from the 19th century may be household names, but what does their original history tell us about how they were first performed and what we can learn from the past that is useful for today’s stagings? Marian Smith and Doug Fullington discuss long-forgotten aspects of some of the most well-known ballet classics with the dance writer Marina Harss. The two dance historians recently published Five Ballets from Paris and St. Petersburg, a book that provides an in-depth look at the earliest productions of Giselle, Paquita, Le Corsaire, La Bayadère, and Raymonda, including detailed accounts of choreography, mime, music, and action.

These classic story ballets were intended to appeal to popular audiences—they were easy to follow, full of variety, and they dazzled with special effects and spectacle. But in the 20th century, many of them underwent radical changes. And more recently, serious discussions have arisen about cultural insensitivity and exoticization. What is still interesting about them today?

By revealing in unprecedented detail what they were like when first created, Smith and Fullington explore the viability of a number of ballet classics that are commonly revived for today's audiences.

Photo Credit: Press illustration by Henry Augustin Valentin depicting Paquita, Act Two, Scene I, Paris Opéra, 1846. Jerome Robbins Dance Division.

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