Dance Australia – June-July 2017

JUNE / JULY 2017 | WWW.DANCEAUSTRALIA.COM.AU

OPINION 27

transition–fromneo-classicaltocontemporary
ballet–hasoccurred.Aswithanycyclical
event, a natural friction occurs before
transition.TakeBalanchine,whoinRussia
foundresistancetochallengingclassical
ballet’s pantomimic constraints. Balanchine’s
avant-garde, neo-classical stylings were
politically unappreciated, leading to his
defectiontotheWest.HerehejoinedSerge
Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes (1909-29), and –
along with other creatives – reinvented ballet,
usheringinaneweraafterthedominanceof
classical ballet.
Ourartform’sevolutionhasalwaysflirted
with extinction. Prominent dance critic with
The New York Times, Alastair Macaulay, says:
“ballethasdiedagainandagainoverthe
centuries,” and yet, “phoenix-like, rose again
fromitsashes”.Historyshowstherewere
periods where ballet hibernated and lacked
popularity.Thiscoincidedwiththeart
form’s changing forums; from court dance,
to operatic divertissement, music hall
entertainment and high art mantle. The
samecanbesaidfortheartisticperiods–
romantic, classical, neo-classical and
contemporary ballet.
Sohereistheirony:whatsellsbest,still,are
reproductionsofPetipa’sclassics.Aseason
withoutaTchaikovskyscoreisafinancialrisk.
And withoutNutcracker, half the ballet
companiesinNorthAmericawouldnotexist.
Admittedly,asadancer,myfavouriteroles–
Albrecht,PrinceSiegfriedandRomeo–were
fromtheclassicalcanon;Iamatraditionalist
at heart (who loves to be challenged by good

contemporaryballets).Apartofthelure

behind classical repertoire, for me, was in

replicatingthefeatsofpastgreats.Classical

ballet’s framework supports the modern

process of bench-marking. For ballerinas, it

maybecompletingOdile’s32fouettes,forthe

male dancer, Albrecht’s 32 sixes. Not that

classicalballetisallabout32.Itisalsothe

escapism, the symmetry, the drama, the

otherworldliness, the indefinable qualities;

“thevibe”,toquoteAustraliancultclassicfilm

The Castle.

PerhapsJenniferHomans’sthoughtsarenot

completelyunfounded.Perhapsballetisdying

forsome.Theredoesseemtoberesistance,if

boxofficeisanythingtogoby,amongst

traditional balletomanes to embrace

contemporary ballet. Ballet’s evolution has

been delayed by its audiences. And as

Homans suggests in her epilogue, perhaps

also by its creatives.

Nowhereisaboldprediction.Inlinewith

the Royal Ballet’s programming in Brisbane

this year – of Christopher Wheeldon’sThe

Winter’s Tale,andWayneMacGregor’sWoolf

Works– over the next 20 years, ballet’s

reliance on Petipa will diminish.

Contemporary ballets and merge-styled

ballets (like Christopher Wheeldon’s ballet/

musical,An American in Paris)willexert their

box-office inf luence ever more.

Why?

It is simple: our audiences will be ready for

ballet to change again.

MatthewLawrenceisaformer

principalartistwiththeAustralian

Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet

and Queensland Ballet. He is

currentlyanassociatelecturerfor

the dance department of

Queensland University of Technology.

RIGHT: A ghost of the past? Pictured: artists of the Royal
Ballet inGiselle (2014).

PHOTO: ROH, BILL COOPER, 2014.