Greydak and Butman 1

Veronica Greydak and Sasha Butman

Ms. Peluso

Dance

19 February 2018

George Balanchine: A Revolutionary Choreographer

No one can argue against this statement: there would be no contemporary ballet without

George Balanchine. Balanchine took standards and techniques from his time and adopted a new

approach to ballet. His signature style has had an enormous impact on the evolution of ballet.

George Balanchine is the most influential contemporary ballet choreographer of all time,

perfecting and creating a style of ballet that would change the art form forever.

George Balanchine’s life reflects significant historical times. Balanchine was born on

January 22, 1904, in St. Petersburg, Russia. As the son of a composer, Balanchine gained

knowledge of music at a very young age and fell quickly in love with dancing. While learning to

play the piano at the Petrograd State Conservatory of Music and studying dance at the Mariinsky

Theatre Ballet School, political and social revolutions made Balanchine’s early life difficult. In

the early 1900’s, Russia was an impoverished country while still under imperial rule. Balanchine

would often find himself playing the piano in cabarets and silent movie houses in exchange for

bread, since money was worthless. Despite hardships, Balanchine still managed to dance as a

teenager and developed his artistry by choreographing ballets. After the end of World War I,

imperial Russia became a socialist nation. Three years after the formation of the Soviet Union,

Balanchine got permission to dance and tour in Western Europe. Invited by impresario Sergei

Diaghilev to audition for his Ballets Russes in Paris, Balanchine was accepted into the company
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and never returned to the Soviet Union. When performing in Europe, he suffered a trivial knee

injury, forcing him to serve as a choreographer and ballet master. Balanchine excelled as a

choreographer in between World War I and World War II, making his name know all around the

world. Shortly before beginning of World War II, Balanchine came to America and joined

Lincoln Kirstein in pursuit of establishing an American school of ballet that would mirror

education of prestigious European companies. Despite immediate efforts, the dream of the dance

company was short lived: Kirstein was drafted into the army. They joined efforts again after the

end of World War II. Their artistic collaboration and innovative techniques revolutionized

American ballet. In 1946, they established a professional company known as the Ballet Society.

Furthermore, Balanchine’s talent was channeled in the New York City Ballet (NYCB), where he

served as an artistic director, choreographing the majority of the performances. Balanchine

experienced the historical postwar economic boom of the 1950’s and the rise of individualism in

the 1970’s during his NYCB career. In 1983, Balanchine received the Presidential Medal of

Freedom from President Ronald Reagan recognizing his choreographic genius and creative work

in transforming modern ballet. After a life full of historical achievements, he passed away on

April 30th, 1983. Balanchine’s career thrived despite living through the Russian revolution and

both World Wars.

George Balanchine's philosophy towards ballet and movement style has defined today’s

characteristics of contemporary ballet. Due to his consciousness to music, Balanchine always

corresponded his movements with the music. He famously voiced to his dancers to “hear the

music, see the dance”, referring to his belief in dancing to mimic music. His frequent

collaboration with composers and conductors, like for example Russian-born Igor Stravinsky,
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confirmed his conviction that music and dancing have a dependent relationship. Moreover,

Balanchine’s choreography had strong accents on lines and body positions. In his view, specific

shapes and images capture the feelings of the music, which explains why he presented his

dancers in form-fitting costumes instead of formal costumes to accentuate the figure of

performers. His movements were often times quick coupled with more open use of the upper

body structure. This enforced his use of deep piles or bend of the knees. Balanchine’s direction

of ballet was also innovative as he deviated from classical lines. He altered positions used in

traditional ballets. Examples of this revolutionary moment style included new arm positioning.

When choreographing, he requested dancers to have wider and open arms that would be less

curved, appearing broken at the wrist. He also changed the shape of arabesque, permitting

dancers to turn their hips towards the audience instead of keeping them pointing down to the

ground in a square position. Balanchine de-emphasized plots and stories from his ballets, an

atypical settlement. His choreography stemmed from a neoclassical approach to ballet, opposite

from the Romantic, theatrical approach. Emotions were not foregrounded, yet simply an addition

that came from shapes and the audience’s interpretation. Moreover, Balanchine’s most widely

known contribution in transforming traditional ballet was his ideal vision of a ballerina: stretched

neck, sloped shoulders, small rib cage, narrow waist and long legs. Almost all ballet companies

now search for dancers with this figure. The look of ballet dancers have been typecast to

Balanchine’s quintessential dancer. In summary, George Balanchine had a very distinct

philosophy on ballet and his revolutionary movement style supported and advanced

contemporary ballet.
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George Balanchine’s predominant contributions to ballet are the reasons why he is

regarded as the foremost contemporary choreographer in the society of ballet. He choreographed

and taught an unconventional approach to ballet all around the world. Without a doubt, he

brought European ballet excellency to America by creating, developing and perfecting his

neoclassical style while joining forces with visionary Lincoln Kirstein. This contribution and

original outlook influenced the modern world of ballet. Amazingly, he created more than 465

dance pieces with this far-reaching classification of ballet. By choreographing so many dance

pieces, he profilated contemporary ballet, making an impact on the way ballet would proceed. He

contributed to the general society as well, choreographing in Hollywood movies and Broadway

musicals, excelling the domination of his dance philosophy. As artistic director of NYCB, he

became an example of creative thinking, showing other ballet choreographers that they do not

have to abide my the ballet rulebook. Rather, ballet was an artform meant to be explored and

further developed. By choreographing many ballets, working in America and alternating

classical ballet, Balanchine contributed by making an impact on how ballet evolved into the 20th

century.

Balanchine’s signature works are testaments of his contributions to ballet. One of his

most iconic ballets is ​Apollo.​ While dancing in Ballets Russes, he created this dramatic and

powerful ballet in Paris in 1928. To explain, a young god, a soloist male dancer, is ushered into

adulthood by the muses of poetry, mime and dance. Apollo grows from gawkiness into nobility,

learning to worth his divinity. The storyline is restraint, yet underlying a tone of strength and

toughness. When setting the piece in NYCB, Balanchine eliminated sets, costumes and much of

the narrative content, focusing the dance piece on the dramatic mood and appealing lines and
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shapes. Another signature choreographed piece was ​Serenade, ​first performed on June 10th,

1934 in White Plains, New York. Executed by dancers in America, ​Serenade​ is considered to be

a milestone in the history of all of dance, since it was the first ballet Balanchine created in

America and the forefront of NYCB’s repertory. The ballet is performed with 28 dancers and has

four movements: Sonatina, Waltz, Russian Dance and Elegy. Interestly, Balanchine worked

unexpected rehearsal mistakes and events into the choreography, helping to create unique

spectacles. The ballet is accompanied with a tender score by Peter Tschaikowsky, a popular

romantic composer. The expressive music ends the last two movements on a sad note. There is

no apparent storyline, yet the piece feels spiritual and sweeping. Balanchine choreographed

countless ballets during his time at NYBC specifically, one entitled ​Firebird.​ Created in 1945,

Firebird i​ s underlined by a Russian fairytale about fantastical creatures. Balanchine simplified

the story and chose to highlight the mythical elements of the Firebird character instead. Although

the storyline of the ballet is vague, the theme is apparent, showcasing magic, love and danger.

The ballet was choreographed to another Stravinsky suite. ​Apollo,​ ​Serenade​ and ​Firebird​ are

three of Balanchine’s signature works.

George Balanchine is a vital figure in ballet, explaining why he is included on the ballet

tree of connections. Balanchine’s legacy attaches to the contemporary ballet branch.

Balanchine comes after Sergei Diaghilev, founder of Ballets Russes. Balanchine’s style inspired

the teachings of Diaghilev. Furthermore, Anthony Tutor, an English ballet dancer, derives from

Balanchine, motivated by the changes he made to ballet. Tutor is known for his exploration of

emotional choreography and psychological content of contemporary ballet. Balanchine also

worked frequently with composer Igor Stravinsky. George Balanchine, one of the ballet world’s
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most contemporary choreographers fits into the ballet family tree. Without him, contemporary

would cease to exist and cultivate into the phenomena it is currently. George Balanchine is a

significant contemporary ballet choreographer, producing a style of ballet that changed the

performance art for all eternity.

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Works Cited

The George Balanchine Foundation​, balanchine.org/balanchine/01/bio.html.

Anderson, Jack. ​Ballet & Modern Dance: a Concise History​. Princeton Book Company,

Publishers, 1992.

“George Balanchine.” ​NYCB - New York City Ballet - Official Site,​

www.nycballet.com/Explore/Our-History/George-Balanchine.aspx.

Gottlieb, Robert, and Robert Gottlieb. “The History of George Balanchine and the New York

City Ballet.” ​The Hive​, Vanity Fair, 4 Apr. 2018,

www.vanityfair.com/culture/1998/12/george-balanchine-new-york-city-ballet-history.