Twyla Tharp's Classical Impulse (original) (raw)
Related papers
Contemporary Ballet and the Female Body Politic
This article examines a single pas de deux in Wayne McGregor's Infra (2008) with attention to ways in which choreographies, through pointework and partnering, shape the body politic of the female dancer.
Dancing Beyond the Patriarchy: Ballet’s Capacity to Be Reimagined for a New Generation of Women
2020
Ballet, an artform conceived in the French courts of royalty, is rooted in elitist European and patriarchal ideals. In the United States today, and particularly in the field's highest echelons, these ideals are often perpetuated through the practice, production and performance of ballet. In this thesis, the author claims that ballet has the capacity to be reimagined for feminist and egalitarian ideals through pedagogical reform, enforcement of body positivity, and choreographic restructuring of the movement vocabulary. The work of pedagogues, dancers, choreographers and artistic directors are reviewed to show instances in which artists have challenged ballet's norms, and even pushed culture towards a more egalitarian future. The restructuring of ballet's movement vocabulary is focused on in particular. Such instances of choreographic restructuring include women and men sharing more equal amounts of their weight with each other, thereby signifying egalitarian ideals and dismantling sexist notions of women being physically weaker than men. Additionally, women lifting other women with the use of ballet vocabulary and partnering techniques, and the presentation of queer romantic relationships through the classical narrative format also dismantle heteronormative ideals. Ultimately, the author asserts that ballet is capable of being reimagined for feminist and egalitarian ideals.
In Infra (2008), British choreographer Wayne McGregor’s contemporary dance and technological influences sculpt dancers’ visceral and twisting bodies through brief and fragile relationships. Inspired by T.S. Eliot’s seminal Modernist poem The Wasteland (1922), the ballet depicts a fractured and unstable world beneath British visual artist Julian Opie’s recognizable fluid electronic figures and German-born composer Max Richter’s haunting music. My thesis is structured around exploring gender constructs in McGregor’s Infra, with particular focus on the body politic of the female dancer. Through a close examination of systems of representation in Infra I hope to reveal a discourse within the dancing body, movement vocabulary and choreographic practice that not only embodies the tone, structure and description of The Wasteland but, examines theories surrounding bodies, performance and technology to provide valuable insight into contemporary ballet in the 21st century.
Marie Sallé and the Development of the Ballet en action
Journal of the Society for Musicology in Ireland, 2007
This article identifies the role played by acclaimed dancer and choreographer Marie Sallé (1707-56) in the development of the ballet en action. This is done by making a lexicographical study of key terms (particularly action, character, and intrigue) found in the writings of contemporaries who praised the dancer, such as revolutionary choreographer Jean-Georges Noverre and critic Louis de Cahusac. This lexicographical study is then applied to some of Sallé’s important creative works of the mid-1730s, including Handel’s Terpsichore (London, 1734), a revival of André Campra’s L’Europe galante (Paris, 1736), the ‘Ballet des Fleurs’ from Rameau’s Les Indes galantes (Paris, 1735) as well as Bacchus and Ariadne (London, 1734).