Adeline Chevrier-Bosseau - Profile on Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Videos by Adeline Chevrier-Bosseau

Emily Dickinson wrote at a time when America was still in the process of coming into its own, cul... more Emily Dickinson wrote at a time when America was still in the process of coming into its own, culturally, politically, socially and geographically; in her poems and in her correspondence, she often represented these dramatic transitions in Shakespearean terms – either by referring to characters in Shakespeare’s works, using Shakespearean metaphors, or creating a particular staging of the lyric self which showed strong affinities with Shakespearean theatricality. In her poems, Dickinson uses a wide array of references to the theatre – and to Shakespeare more particularly – to depict a country and a self (including a lyric self) in transition; these poems all condense the essence of Shakespearean theatricality, featuring moments of suspension, liminal neutrality, a fragile equilibrium or dramatic polarities, and echo themes and situations present in Shakespeare’s plays such as Hamlet or King Lear for example.

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Papers by Adeline Chevrier-Bosseau

Performance review: Roméo et Juliette Suite by Benjamin Millepied

Cahiers Élisabéthains: A Journal of English Renaissance Studies

Actes des congrès de la Société française Shakespeare, 2022

If certain Shakespearean roles can be translated quite organically into the ballet repertory, som... more If certain Shakespearean roles can be translated quite organically into the ballet repertory, some characters represent a bigger challenge for the ballet world. Young lovers like Romeo can easily be interpreted by dancers whose body type fits the danseur noble characteristics, while Puck or Ariel can be danced by shorter, more compact dancers whose physicality – in their ballon and jump abilities – will be highlighted in less “romantic” roles; but what about these Shakespearean characters whose physique doesn’t match any of the classical ballet body types? In this paper, I will address how certain “unorthodox” physical states (like Hermione’s pregnancy), body types or characters (like the Shrew) can be integrated within the ballet vocabulary. Because they question some of the foundations of classical technique and upset traditional gender and physical norms in a highly codified context, these roles actually lead choreographers to engage in a reflection on these very norms, and to make space for “different” bodies and types of physical expression in the ballet world, therefore reevaluating the relation to the dancing body.

Special Issue: Harriet Prescott Spofford: The Home, the Nation, and the Wilderness

« Renewing the Discipline : William Forsythe’s Blake Works », congrès annuel de l’AFEA, atelier « Rule-making and Rule-breaking : discipline et indiscipline dans la danse et la musique américaines », dirigé par Adeline Chevrier-Bosseau et Danielle Follett, 23 mai 2019

International audienc

Dans un court billet écrit par Emily Dickinson à son amie et belle-soeur Susan à la fin de sa vie... more Dans un court billet écrit par Emily Dickinson à son amie et belle-soeur Susan à la fin de sa vie, en 1882, la poète désigne cette dernière et Shakespeare comme les deux plus grandes influences de sa vie : « Dear Sue-With the exception of Shakespeare, you have told me of more knowledge than any one living-To say that sincerely is strange praise » (L757). La correspondance entre les deux femmes témoigne en effet du rôle central de Shakespeare chez Dickinson, tant dans le processus créatif que par la place qu'il tient dans son imaginaire littéraire : les lettres sont non seulement émaillées de références aux pièces, mais bien souvent elles ne sont constituées que d'une citation, Antony and Cleopatra étant la pièce la plus souvent citée dans leurs échanges. L'héritage shakespearien est placé sous le signe de la transmission d'un savoir : le dramaturge élisabéthain est, comme Sue, un maître, un compagnon de route. Familiarisée avec l'oeuvre de Shakespeare depuis l'enfance, comme la majorité des écoliers américains (Sturgess, 2004, 146), Emily Dickinson a en outre eu la possibilitéen dépit de quelques réserves paternelles notamment-de faire partie d'un Shakespeare Club, de lire l'intégralité des pièces et sonnets, et d'assister à des conférences sur Shakespeare données à Amherst durant l'automne 1850 (Finnerty, 2006, 15-38). La poète connaissait ainsi parfaitement son oeuvre, savait en imiter les inflexions 1 et nourrissait son art de cet 'échange' avec Shakespeare. L'oeuvre de Shakespeare est pour Dickinson à la fois un compagnon et une matrice créative : la lecture de ses pièces procure une stimulation

Editorial Introduction: Testing our Horizons

The Emily Dickinson Journal, 2020

[ ]because Dickinson is an American author, because the United States is historically a center fo... more [ ]because Dickinson is an American author, because the United States is historically a center for Dickinson scholarship, and because English is a dominant language globally, excellent scholarship in other languages does not gain the recognition or carry the impact and influence that it merits (With the exception of Rocio Saucedo Dimas' work, these dissertations were written in English ) The first-ever digital Annual Meeting of the Emily Dickinson International Society in August 2020 was exceptionally diverse in terms of international participation;it is our hope that this special issue will continue to broaden the available range of scholarly perspectives on Dickinson in English and to promote opportunities for discussion and collaboration across national and linguistic boundaries by making the work of scholars publishing in other languages available to a wider readership through translation into English Chevrier-Bosseau argues that Dickinson's conception of the lyric self and of the physical space of the poem is essentially dramatic;her dramatization of voice, meaning, address, trope, and the poems themselves should be considered in the light of a Shakespeare-inspired conception of theatricality that relies on the power of language more than on stage devices such as props, costumes, or sets Jasmin Herrmann's 2016 Ph D dissertation, defended at the University of Cologne, Germany, offers a reading of Dickinson's work from a Deleuzian perspective, confronting the critical inclination to associate Dickinson's poetry with transcendentalism by setting it in the light of philosophical immanence

Transatlantica, 2010

lived and wrote in an era when Shakespeare had become omnipresent in American culture; whether hi... more lived and wrote in an era when Shakespeare had become omnipresent in American culture; whether his works were parodied or highly praised, his authorship challenged, and his life was the object of many discussions and wild conjectures; the man and his works were discussed in all social milieus. As Lawrence W. Levine notes in Highbrow/Lowbrow, The Emergence of Cultural Hierarchy in America, "Nineteenth-century America swallowed Shakespeare, digested him and his plays, and made them part of the cultural body" (Levine 24). Amherst was no exception, despite the ambiguous relationship of New England writers like Emerson with Shakespeare 1 and the puritan reserve towards the theatrical world. For a nineteenth-century woman born and raised in New England by a rather strict and stern father, Emily Dickinson was surprisingly well acquainted with Shakespeare and his works. Given the extensive quotations of Shakespeare in her correspondence and poems, it is obvious that Dickinson had had access to the full texts, and not to simplified or censored versions of Shakespeare, as was often the case for young ladies in her time 2 . She also took part in the Shakespearean debates that animated Amherst's social and cultural life in the 1850s. Indeed, most of her brother Austin's friends -George Gould for example 3 -were Amherst College students or graduates, and so were the tutors of the Shakespeare club she attended. In that sense, Dickinson was perfectly aware of the ongoing debates. Shakespeare's works were read and discussed during club meetings, as well as in many passionate articles published in The Indicator and Amherst Collegiate Magazine. As a great admirer of Shakespeare's works, Dickinson always defended them, refusing any form of censorship of the texts in meetings of the Shakespeare club 4 , or discarding the controversy on the authorship of Shakespeare's works that was sparked by Delia Bacon's article "William Shakspeare and his Plays; an Enquiry Concerning Them,"

Dancing Shakespeare in Europe: silent eloquence, the body and the space(s) of play within and beyond language

Cahiers Élisabéthains: A Journal of English Renaissance Studies, 2020

How does one dance Shakespeare? This question underpins this collection of six articles, which ex... more How does one dance Shakespeare? This question underpins this collection of six articles, which explore how choreographers have invested space and the playtext’s interstices to transpose them into ballet pieces – whether contemporary ballet, classical or neo-classical ballet, or works that fall under the umbrella term of contemporary dance. The authors delineate how the emotions translate into silent danced movement and highlight the physical, somatic element in music – beyond spoken language. Through the triple prism of dance, music and a reflection on silence, this special issue invites us to reconsider questions of embodiment, performance and eloquence in Shakespeare’s plays.

Martha Graham, ‘An American, A kosmos’: Border-crossing in Martha Graham’s early works

E-rea, 2019

This paper examines the connection between crossing borders (state limits, borders between Americ... more This paper examines the connection between crossing borders (state limits, borders between America and Mexico or America and Europe, and temporal borders) and pushing choreographical boundaries in dance pioneer Martha Graham’s ballets created in the 1930’s and the early 1940’s.Danced only by women, Primitive Mysteries (1931) was inspired by Graham’s travels in New Mexico, and explores the rituals of the Native Americans of the Southern States of the United States; nine years later, Graham would explore this theme further with El Penitente, which also draws from the Medieval tradition of mystery plays. Frontier (1935), one of Graham’s most famous soli, clearly connects the American Frontier to the construction of female identity, as do American Document (1938) and Appalachian Spring (1944). Graham pioneered a new way for women to dance, to express their femininity and their power: her works, inspired by Native American traditions, Mexican folklore, Greek mythology and literature from both sides of the Atlantic, depict strong women who are not afraid of pushing boundaries.Creating an American choreographic tradition also meant exploring its literary legacy for Martha Graham: this paper therefore also delves into the way the Whitmanian intertext emerges in Graham’s choreographic writing, in her conception of Americanness, modernity, the body and gender.

European journal of American studies, 2019

IdeAs, 2019

IdeAs -Idées d'Amériques est mis à disposition selon les termes de la licence Creative Commons At... more IdeAs -Idées d'Amériques est mis à disposition selon les termes de la licence Creative Commons Attribution -Pas d'Utilisation Commerciale -Pas de Modification 4.0 International.

“Renewing the Discipline: William Forsythe’s Blake Works I”

Revue française d’études américaines, 2020

Set to James Blake’s album The Colour in Anything, Blake Works I premiered at the Paris Opera in ... more Set to James Blake’s album The Colour in Anything, Blake Works I premiered at the Paris Opera in July 2016, almost thirty years after the premiere of one of Forsythe’s most famous ballets, In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated, in the same Palais Garnier. In this ballet, Forsythe makes full use of the technical skills and artistry of the dancers of the Paris Opera Ballet, and uses all their training, their intense discipline, to renew the discipline of classical ballet and give it a playful twist. Blake Works I includes traditional ballet structures such as group tableaux and pas de deux, as well as a hip-hop inspired ballet battle in the final movement danced to the very rhythmical “Two Men Down”. This paper looks at the way Forsythe, one of the greatest modern choreographers of our time, revisits ballet, between discipline and indiscipline – a form of irreverence to old traditions through the audacious choice of music or costumes for example, or simply by choosing to premiere this groundbreaking fresh take on ballet in the oldest ballet institution in the world, the Paris Opera. Using reader-response theory, a critical framework usually applied to another discipline – literature – this paper proposes to reassess the porosity between disciplinary fields: to what extent can the ‘tools’ of the literary critic also apply to a ballet piece? Blake Works I has a very strong literary aspect, partly due to Forsythe’s engagement with Foucault and Derrida; we’ll explore the ballet’s intertextual dimension, how Forsythe creates a complex ballet intertext in this piece and renews the discipline of classical dance.

Des ballerines et des spectatrices : la tournée de Fanny Elssler et les questions féministes au début des années 1840 aux États-Unis

Romantisme, 2021

La tournee de la ballerine Fanny Elssler aux Etats-Unis entre 1840 et 1842 eut un impact consider... more La tournee de la ballerine Fanny Elssler aux Etats-Unis entre 1840 et 1842 eut un impact considerable pour le public americain. Sa presence sur scene dechaina les passions dans la presse comme chez les spectateurs et spectatrices. Le contraste extreme entre l’adoration que cette star du ballet romantique suscita chez certains et l’opprobre des plus puritains reflete le statut tres ambigu de la danse dans le contexte du xixe siecle, mais surtout la place tres problematique de la choregraphie et des ballerines dans la vie culturelle americaine, a une epoque ou l’Amerique, cherchant a se definir en tant que nation, se libere de la tutelle europeenne. Pour le public de cette periode appelee la Renaissance americaine, Elssler represente bien plus qu’une etoile europeenne en tournee : autour d’elle se cristallisent des questions aussi diverses que la place de la danse dans l’univers du divertissement americain, du role des femmes sur scene dans une societe tres puritaine, de leur travail ...

Emily Dickinson du côté de Shakespeare : modalités théâtrales du lyrisme

Emily Dickinson’s poetry showcases a dramatic kind of lyricism: each poem becomes a scene where t... more Emily Dickinson’s poetry showcases a dramatic kind of lyricism: each poem becomes a scene where the lyric voice changes shape, tone, and even gender. Strongly influenced by Shakespeare’s work and by the extremely theatrical culture of Victorian America, Dickinson stages the lyrical self at its most theatrical. The fact that the Elizabethan playwright and poet’s idiosyncratic theater was the main reference for Dickinson’s conception of drama and theatricality invites us to broaden our conception of lyricism. Although some recurrences of a more traditional approach to lyricism as an outpouring of intimate feelings appear at times – mostly tainted with a great deal of irony – lyricism will mainly be considered as the energy fueling life into the poem. The theater is for Emily Dickinson the spring of this lyrical energy, the transformative force and the crucial structure at the heart of her poetic writing.

Performance Review: Romeo and Juliet by John Cranko

Cahiers Élisabéthains: A Journal of English Renaissance Studies

Transatlantica, 2020

This paper will explore Graham’s revaluation of morality, as well as her Whitman-inspired concept... more This paper will explore Graham’s revaluation of morality, as well as her Whitman-inspired conception of “physical morality” promoting the free expression of the body, and her conception of the universal beauty of the body performing true movement, free from the stifling falseness of Puritan conventions. Influenced by Nietzsche, Graham opposed the repressive forces of a Puritan “priestly mode of valuation” to a life-affirming, joyful urge in the soul that fosters creativity and doesn’t devalue the body. This opposition will be particularly examined in her use of Nietzschean Umwertung in her ballet Letter to the World, that was inspired by the life and work of Emily Dickinson.

The Emily Dickinson Journal, 2020

Transatlantica, 2020

This paper will explore Graham’s revaluation of American morality, as well as her Whitman-inspire... more This paper will explore Graham’s revaluation of American morality, as well as her Whitman-inspired conception of “physical morality” promoting the free expression of the truth of the body, and her conception of the universal beauty of the body performing true movement, free from the stifling falseness of puritan conventions. Influenced by Nietzsche, Graham opposed the repressive forces of a Puritan “priestly mode of valuation” to a life-affirming, joyful urge in the soul that fosters creativity and doesn’t devalue the body. This opposition will be particularly examined in her use of Nietzschean Umwertung in her ballet Letter to the World, that was inspired by the life and work of Emily Dickinson.

Revue Française d'Études Américaines, 2020

Set to James Blake’s album The Colour in Anything, Blake Works I premiered at the Paris Opera in ... more Set to James Blake’s album The Colour in Anything, Blake Works I premiered at the Paris Opera in July 2016, almost thirty years after the premiere of one of Forsythe’s most famous ballets, In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated, in the same Palais Garnier. In this ballet, Forsythe makes full use of the technical skills and artistry of the dancers of the Paris Opera Ballet, and uses all their training, their intense discipline, to renew the discipline of classical ballet and give it a playful twist. Blake Works I includes traditional ballet structures such as group tableaux and pas de deux, as well as a hip-hop inspired ballet battle in the final movement danced to the very rhythmical “Two Men Down”.
This paper looks at the way Forsythe, one of the greatest modern choreographers of our time, revisits ballet, between discipline and indiscipline – a form of irreverence to old traditions through the audacious choice of music or costumes for example, or simply by choosing to premiere this groundbreaking fresh take on ballet in the oldest ballet institution in the world, the Paris Opera. Using reader-response theory, a critical framework usually applied to another discipline – literature – this paper proposes to reassess the porosity between disciplinary fields: to what extent can the ‘tools’ of the literary critic also apply to a ballet piece? Blake Works I has a very strong literary aspect, partly due to Forsythe’s engagement with Foucault and Derrida; we’ll explore the ballet’s intertextual dimension, how Forsythe creates a complex ballet intertext in this piece and renews the discipline of classical dance.

Emily Dickinson wrote at a time when America was still in the process of coming into its own, cul... more Emily Dickinson wrote at a time when America was still in the process of coming into its own, culturally, politically, socially and geographically; in her poems and in her correspondence, she often represented these dramatic transitions in Shakespearean terms – either by referring to characters in Shakespeare’s works, using Shakespearean metaphors, or creating a particular staging of the lyric self which showed strong affinities with Shakespearean theatricality. In her poems, Dickinson uses a wide array of references to the theatre – and to Shakespeare more particularly – to depict a country and a self (including a lyric self) in transition; these poems all condense the essence of Shakespearean theatricality, featuring moments of suspension, liminal neutrality, a fragile equilibrium or dramatic polarities, and echo themes and situations present in Shakespeare’s plays such as Hamlet or King Lear for example.

21 views

Performance review: Roméo et Juliette Suite by Benjamin Millepied

Cahiers Élisabéthains: A Journal of English Renaissance Studies

Actes des congrès de la Société française Shakespeare, 2022

If certain Shakespearean roles can be translated quite organically into the ballet repertory, som... more If certain Shakespearean roles can be translated quite organically into the ballet repertory, some characters represent a bigger challenge for the ballet world. Young lovers like Romeo can easily be interpreted by dancers whose body type fits the danseur noble characteristics, while Puck or Ariel can be danced by shorter, more compact dancers whose physicality – in their ballon and jump abilities – will be highlighted in less “romantic” roles; but what about these Shakespearean characters whose physique doesn’t match any of the classical ballet body types? In this paper, I will address how certain “unorthodox” physical states (like Hermione’s pregnancy), body types or characters (like the Shrew) can be integrated within the ballet vocabulary. Because they question some of the foundations of classical technique and upset traditional gender and physical norms in a highly codified context, these roles actually lead choreographers to engage in a reflection on these very norms, and to make space for “different” bodies and types of physical expression in the ballet world, therefore reevaluating the relation to the dancing body.

Special Issue: Harriet Prescott Spofford: The Home, the Nation, and the Wilderness

« Renewing the Discipline : William Forsythe’s Blake Works », congrès annuel de l’AFEA, atelier « Rule-making and Rule-breaking : discipline et indiscipline dans la danse et la musique américaines », dirigé par Adeline Chevrier-Bosseau et Danielle Follett, 23 mai 2019

International audienc

Dans un court billet écrit par Emily Dickinson à son amie et belle-soeur Susan à la fin de sa vie... more Dans un court billet écrit par Emily Dickinson à son amie et belle-soeur Susan à la fin de sa vie, en 1882, la poète désigne cette dernière et Shakespeare comme les deux plus grandes influences de sa vie : « Dear Sue-With the exception of Shakespeare, you have told me of more knowledge than any one living-To say that sincerely is strange praise » (L757). La correspondance entre les deux femmes témoigne en effet du rôle central de Shakespeare chez Dickinson, tant dans le processus créatif que par la place qu'il tient dans son imaginaire littéraire : les lettres sont non seulement émaillées de références aux pièces, mais bien souvent elles ne sont constituées que d'une citation, Antony and Cleopatra étant la pièce la plus souvent citée dans leurs échanges. L'héritage shakespearien est placé sous le signe de la transmission d'un savoir : le dramaturge élisabéthain est, comme Sue, un maître, un compagnon de route. Familiarisée avec l'oeuvre de Shakespeare depuis l'enfance, comme la majorité des écoliers américains (Sturgess, 2004, 146), Emily Dickinson a en outre eu la possibilitéen dépit de quelques réserves paternelles notamment-de faire partie d'un Shakespeare Club, de lire l'intégralité des pièces et sonnets, et d'assister à des conférences sur Shakespeare données à Amherst durant l'automne 1850 (Finnerty, 2006, 15-38). La poète connaissait ainsi parfaitement son oeuvre, savait en imiter les inflexions 1 et nourrissait son art de cet 'échange' avec Shakespeare. L'oeuvre de Shakespeare est pour Dickinson à la fois un compagnon et une matrice créative : la lecture de ses pièces procure une stimulation

Editorial Introduction: Testing our Horizons

The Emily Dickinson Journal, 2020

[ ]because Dickinson is an American author, because the United States is historically a center fo... more [ ]because Dickinson is an American author, because the United States is historically a center for Dickinson scholarship, and because English is a dominant language globally, excellent scholarship in other languages does not gain the recognition or carry the impact and influence that it merits (With the exception of Rocio Saucedo Dimas' work, these dissertations were written in English ) The first-ever digital Annual Meeting of the Emily Dickinson International Society in August 2020 was exceptionally diverse in terms of international participation;it is our hope that this special issue will continue to broaden the available range of scholarly perspectives on Dickinson in English and to promote opportunities for discussion and collaboration across national and linguistic boundaries by making the work of scholars publishing in other languages available to a wider readership through translation into English Chevrier-Bosseau argues that Dickinson's conception of the lyric self and of the physical space of the poem is essentially dramatic;her dramatization of voice, meaning, address, trope, and the poems themselves should be considered in the light of a Shakespeare-inspired conception of theatricality that relies on the power of language more than on stage devices such as props, costumes, or sets Jasmin Herrmann's 2016 Ph D dissertation, defended at the University of Cologne, Germany, offers a reading of Dickinson's work from a Deleuzian perspective, confronting the critical inclination to associate Dickinson's poetry with transcendentalism by setting it in the light of philosophical immanence

Transatlantica, 2010

lived and wrote in an era when Shakespeare had become omnipresent in American culture; whether hi... more lived and wrote in an era when Shakespeare had become omnipresent in American culture; whether his works were parodied or highly praised, his authorship challenged, and his life was the object of many discussions and wild conjectures; the man and his works were discussed in all social milieus. As Lawrence W. Levine notes in Highbrow/Lowbrow, The Emergence of Cultural Hierarchy in America, "Nineteenth-century America swallowed Shakespeare, digested him and his plays, and made them part of the cultural body" (Levine 24). Amherst was no exception, despite the ambiguous relationship of New England writers like Emerson with Shakespeare 1 and the puritan reserve towards the theatrical world. For a nineteenth-century woman born and raised in New England by a rather strict and stern father, Emily Dickinson was surprisingly well acquainted with Shakespeare and his works. Given the extensive quotations of Shakespeare in her correspondence and poems, it is obvious that Dickinson had had access to the full texts, and not to simplified or censored versions of Shakespeare, as was often the case for young ladies in her time 2 . She also took part in the Shakespearean debates that animated Amherst's social and cultural life in the 1850s. Indeed, most of her brother Austin's friends -George Gould for example 3 -were Amherst College students or graduates, and so were the tutors of the Shakespeare club she attended. In that sense, Dickinson was perfectly aware of the ongoing debates. Shakespeare's works were read and discussed during club meetings, as well as in many passionate articles published in The Indicator and Amherst Collegiate Magazine. As a great admirer of Shakespeare's works, Dickinson always defended them, refusing any form of censorship of the texts in meetings of the Shakespeare club 4 , or discarding the controversy on the authorship of Shakespeare's works that was sparked by Delia Bacon's article "William Shakspeare and his Plays; an Enquiry Concerning Them,"

Dancing Shakespeare in Europe: silent eloquence, the body and the space(s) of play within and beyond language

Cahiers Élisabéthains: A Journal of English Renaissance Studies, 2020

How does one dance Shakespeare? This question underpins this collection of six articles, which ex... more How does one dance Shakespeare? This question underpins this collection of six articles, which explore how choreographers have invested space and the playtext’s interstices to transpose them into ballet pieces – whether contemporary ballet, classical or neo-classical ballet, or works that fall under the umbrella term of contemporary dance. The authors delineate how the emotions translate into silent danced movement and highlight the physical, somatic element in music – beyond spoken language. Through the triple prism of dance, music and a reflection on silence, this special issue invites us to reconsider questions of embodiment, performance and eloquence in Shakespeare’s plays.

Martha Graham, ‘An American, A kosmos’: Border-crossing in Martha Graham’s early works

E-rea, 2019

This paper examines the connection between crossing borders (state limits, borders between Americ... more This paper examines the connection between crossing borders (state limits, borders between America and Mexico or America and Europe, and temporal borders) and pushing choreographical boundaries in dance pioneer Martha Graham’s ballets created in the 1930’s and the early 1940’s.Danced only by women, Primitive Mysteries (1931) was inspired by Graham’s travels in New Mexico, and explores the rituals of the Native Americans of the Southern States of the United States; nine years later, Graham would explore this theme further with El Penitente, which also draws from the Medieval tradition of mystery plays. Frontier (1935), one of Graham’s most famous soli, clearly connects the American Frontier to the construction of female identity, as do American Document (1938) and Appalachian Spring (1944). Graham pioneered a new way for women to dance, to express their femininity and their power: her works, inspired by Native American traditions, Mexican folklore, Greek mythology and literature from both sides of the Atlantic, depict strong women who are not afraid of pushing boundaries.Creating an American choreographic tradition also meant exploring its literary legacy for Martha Graham: this paper therefore also delves into the way the Whitmanian intertext emerges in Graham’s choreographic writing, in her conception of Americanness, modernity, the body and gender.

European journal of American studies, 2019

IdeAs, 2019

IdeAs -Idées d'Amériques est mis à disposition selon les termes de la licence Creative Commons At... more IdeAs -Idées d'Amériques est mis à disposition selon les termes de la licence Creative Commons Attribution -Pas d'Utilisation Commerciale -Pas de Modification 4.0 International.

“Renewing the Discipline: William Forsythe’s Blake Works I”

Revue française d’études américaines, 2020

Set to James Blake’s album The Colour in Anything, Blake Works I premiered at the Paris Opera in ... more Set to James Blake’s album The Colour in Anything, Blake Works I premiered at the Paris Opera in July 2016, almost thirty years after the premiere of one of Forsythe’s most famous ballets, In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated, in the same Palais Garnier. In this ballet, Forsythe makes full use of the technical skills and artistry of the dancers of the Paris Opera Ballet, and uses all their training, their intense discipline, to renew the discipline of classical ballet and give it a playful twist. Blake Works I includes traditional ballet structures such as group tableaux and pas de deux, as well as a hip-hop inspired ballet battle in the final movement danced to the very rhythmical “Two Men Down”. This paper looks at the way Forsythe, one of the greatest modern choreographers of our time, revisits ballet, between discipline and indiscipline – a form of irreverence to old traditions through the audacious choice of music or costumes for example, or simply by choosing to premiere this groundbreaking fresh take on ballet in the oldest ballet institution in the world, the Paris Opera. Using reader-response theory, a critical framework usually applied to another discipline – literature – this paper proposes to reassess the porosity between disciplinary fields: to what extent can the ‘tools’ of the literary critic also apply to a ballet piece? Blake Works I has a very strong literary aspect, partly due to Forsythe’s engagement with Foucault and Derrida; we’ll explore the ballet’s intertextual dimension, how Forsythe creates a complex ballet intertext in this piece and renews the discipline of classical dance.

Des ballerines et des spectatrices : la tournée de Fanny Elssler et les questions féministes au début des années 1840 aux États-Unis

Romantisme, 2021

La tournee de la ballerine Fanny Elssler aux Etats-Unis entre 1840 et 1842 eut un impact consider... more La tournee de la ballerine Fanny Elssler aux Etats-Unis entre 1840 et 1842 eut un impact considerable pour le public americain. Sa presence sur scene dechaina les passions dans la presse comme chez les spectateurs et spectatrices. Le contraste extreme entre l’adoration que cette star du ballet romantique suscita chez certains et l’opprobre des plus puritains reflete le statut tres ambigu de la danse dans le contexte du xixe siecle, mais surtout la place tres problematique de la choregraphie et des ballerines dans la vie culturelle americaine, a une epoque ou l’Amerique, cherchant a se definir en tant que nation, se libere de la tutelle europeenne. Pour le public de cette periode appelee la Renaissance americaine, Elssler represente bien plus qu’une etoile europeenne en tournee : autour d’elle se cristallisent des questions aussi diverses que la place de la danse dans l’univers du divertissement americain, du role des femmes sur scene dans une societe tres puritaine, de leur travail ...

Emily Dickinson du côté de Shakespeare : modalités théâtrales du lyrisme

Emily Dickinson’s poetry showcases a dramatic kind of lyricism: each poem becomes a scene where t... more Emily Dickinson’s poetry showcases a dramatic kind of lyricism: each poem becomes a scene where the lyric voice changes shape, tone, and even gender. Strongly influenced by Shakespeare’s work and by the extremely theatrical culture of Victorian America, Dickinson stages the lyrical self at its most theatrical. The fact that the Elizabethan playwright and poet’s idiosyncratic theater was the main reference for Dickinson’s conception of drama and theatricality invites us to broaden our conception of lyricism. Although some recurrences of a more traditional approach to lyricism as an outpouring of intimate feelings appear at times – mostly tainted with a great deal of irony – lyricism will mainly be considered as the energy fueling life into the poem. The theater is for Emily Dickinson the spring of this lyrical energy, the transformative force and the crucial structure at the heart of her poetic writing.

Performance Review: Romeo and Juliet by John Cranko

Cahiers Élisabéthains: A Journal of English Renaissance Studies

Transatlantica, 2020

This paper will explore Graham’s revaluation of morality, as well as her Whitman-inspired concept... more This paper will explore Graham’s revaluation of morality, as well as her Whitman-inspired conception of “physical morality” promoting the free expression of the body, and her conception of the universal beauty of the body performing true movement, free from the stifling falseness of Puritan conventions. Influenced by Nietzsche, Graham opposed the repressive forces of a Puritan “priestly mode of valuation” to a life-affirming, joyful urge in the soul that fosters creativity and doesn’t devalue the body. This opposition will be particularly examined in her use of Nietzschean Umwertung in her ballet Letter to the World, that was inspired by the life and work of Emily Dickinson.

The Emily Dickinson Journal, 2020

Transatlantica, 2020

This paper will explore Graham’s revaluation of American morality, as well as her Whitman-inspire... more This paper will explore Graham’s revaluation of American morality, as well as her Whitman-inspired conception of “physical morality” promoting the free expression of the truth of the body, and her conception of the universal beauty of the body performing true movement, free from the stifling falseness of puritan conventions. Influenced by Nietzsche, Graham opposed the repressive forces of a Puritan “priestly mode of valuation” to a life-affirming, joyful urge in the soul that fosters creativity and doesn’t devalue the body. This opposition will be particularly examined in her use of Nietzschean Umwertung in her ballet Letter to the World, that was inspired by the life and work of Emily Dickinson.

Revue Française d'Études Américaines, 2020

Set to James Blake’s album The Colour in Anything, Blake Works I premiered at the Paris Opera in ... more Set to James Blake’s album The Colour in Anything, Blake Works I premiered at the Paris Opera in July 2016, almost thirty years after the premiere of one of Forsythe’s most famous ballets, In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated, in the same Palais Garnier. In this ballet, Forsythe makes full use of the technical skills and artistry of the dancers of the Paris Opera Ballet, and uses all their training, their intense discipline, to renew the discipline of classical ballet and give it a playful twist. Blake Works I includes traditional ballet structures such as group tableaux and pas de deux, as well as a hip-hop inspired ballet battle in the final movement danced to the very rhythmical “Two Men Down”.
This paper looks at the way Forsythe, one of the greatest modern choreographers of our time, revisits ballet, between discipline and indiscipline – a form of irreverence to old traditions through the audacious choice of music or costumes for example, or simply by choosing to premiere this groundbreaking fresh take on ballet in the oldest ballet institution in the world, the Paris Opera. Using reader-response theory, a critical framework usually applied to another discipline – literature – this paper proposes to reassess the porosity between disciplinary fields: to what extent can the ‘tools’ of the literary critic also apply to a ballet piece? Blake Works I has a very strong literary aspect, partly due to Forsythe’s engagement with Foucault and Derrida; we’ll explore the ballet’s intertextual dimension, how Forsythe creates a complex ballet intertext in this piece and renews the discipline of classical dance.

Cahiers Elisabéthains, 2020

How does one dance Shakespeare? This question underpins this collection of six articles, which ex... more How does one dance Shakespeare? This question underpins this collection of six articles, which explore how choreographers have invested space and the play text's interstices to transpose them into ballet pieces-whether contemporary ballet, classical or neo-classical ballet, or works that fall under the umbrella term of contemporary dance. The authors delineate how the emotions translate into silent danced movement and highlight the physical, somatic element in music-beyond spoken language. Through the triple prism of dance, music and a reflection on silence, this special issue invites us to reconsider questions of embodiment, performance and eloquence in Shakespeare's plays.

Comment danse-ton Shakespeare? C'est à partir de cette question fondatrice que les six articles de ce recueil explorent les diverses manières dont les chorégraphes ont investi les espaces de jeu, les interstices du langage, pour leurs propres créations-qu'il s'agisse de ballet contemporain, de ballet classique ou néo-classique, ou encore de ce que regroupe le terme général de danse contemporaine. Les auteurs s'intéressent à la manière dont les émotions se traduisent dans le mouvement dansé, et soulignent la a dimension physique, somatique, de la musique, au-delà du langage verbal. A travers le triple prisme de la danse, de la musique et d’une réflexion sur le silence, ce numéro spécial sur Shakespeare et la danse nous invite à réévaluer les questions de la corporalité, de la performance et de l’éloquence.