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Creole Giselle is a version of the ballet Giselle in which the story's events are moved to 1840s Louisiana and given an Afro-Creole focus.
For centuries classical ballet has been seen as an elitist art form and has rarely been identified as a form of dance ordinarily performed by African Americans or other minorities. In 1984, Frederic Franklin restaged the traditional European Giselle for the Dance Theatre of Harlem. To many, this restaging was seen as inappropriate and inferior to those based on the 1841 original choreographers, Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot. [1] To others, Creole Giselle was a ground-breaking achievement.
The Dance Theatre of Harlem was founded by Arthur Mitchell and Karel Shook in 1969, shortly after the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Arthur Mitchell was the first African-American soloist for the New York City Ballet. In 1955, he was chosen by George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein to join the company. Mitchell's career boomed during the pre-civil rights era and set the precedent for African Americans in concert dance, specifically classical ballet. Mitchell and Shook were influenced by the “optimism and idealism of the Civil Rights Era” when they founded the school in the community where Mitchell spent his adolescent years, Harlem, New York. [2] Mitchell's plan was to give underprivileged children the same opportunities that he had as a teenager. The mission statement of the company is to “present a ballet company of African-American and other racially diverse artists who perform the most demanding repertory at the highest level of quality.” [3] This statement stays true to what Mitchell has done throughout the years, either through touring the company or community outreach.
Frederic Franklin was born in Liverpool, England, in 1914 and at the age of six his mother took him to his first dance class. [4] From an early age, Franklin was noticed for his innate capacity for remembering dance steps. When Franklin moved to Paris, he dabbled in cabaret and then moved to London to continue performing in numerous cabarets and vaudeville with the Vic-Wells Ballet, now known as the Royal Ballet. In 1935, Franklin joined the Markova-Dolin Ballet, and it was through his dancing with this company that he was seen and asked by Léonide Massine to join the new Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo. Franklin signed a four-year contract with the company, which proved to be the most significant opportunity in his career. In 1952, he founded the Slavenska/Franklin Ballet with Mia Slavenska. [5] After touring Japan and the Philippines, the company folded due to management and financial problems. He returned to the Ballet Russe shortly afterwards and restaged the repertory that had been lost when Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo folded. Through his work with The George Balanchine Foundation, he became the artistic advisor of the Dance Theatre of Harlem.
The award-winning ballet Giselle was set in the Rhineland of the Middle Ages during the grape harvest. Giselle, a peasant girl, falls in love with her neighbor Loys, the man whom Count Albrecht disguises himself as. A forester, Hilarion, loves Giselle, but she pays him no mind. During Giselle's celebration of the end of the grape harvest, Hilarion discovers Loy's real identity. The Duke of Courland and his daughter, Bathilde, Albrecht's future wife, arrive and are welcomed by the peasants. Hilarion tells Giselle the truth about Loys, just as she is being crowned Queen of the Village. In shock, Giselle tries to kill herself with Albrecht's sword, but dies from a weak heart. The Wilis are the ghosts of young girls who die before their wedding day, and who avenge themselves by making men who come to their graveyard dance themselves to death. One night, Hilarion visits Giselle's grave and the Wilis kill him. Albrecht brings lilies to Giselle's grave and she appears to him. As the Wilis attempt to kill Albrecht, Giselle asks Myrtha, the Queen of the Wilis, to save him. Albrecht is spared, but Giselle must return to her grave.
The adaptation by the Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) of this traditional version of Giselle is very similar to the original, except for a few changes in the storyline and variations in the choreography. The narrative, the choreography, and the music by French composer Adolphe Charles Adam are kept the same as the original Giselle.
The ballet is also set in Louisiana during the 1840s, and consists of an all-African American cast. The dancers wear costumes similar to the daily dress of African Americans in the 1840s. During this time social status among freed blacks was measured by how far removed one's family was from slavery. Giselle's character is kept the same; her greatest joy is to dance. Albrecht is now Albert and the Wilis are the ghosts of young girls who adore dancing and die of a broken heart.
Giselle, originally titled Giselle, ou les Wilis, is a romantic ballet in two acts with music by Adolphe Adam. Considered a masterwork in the classical ballet performance canon, it was first performed by the Ballet du Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique at the Salle Le Peletier in Paris on 28 June 1841, with Italian ballerina Carlotta Grisi as Giselle. It was an unqualified triumph. It became hugely popular and was staged at once across Europe, Russia, and the United States.
Frederic Franklin, sometimes also called "Freddie", was a British-American ballet dancer, choreographer and director.
Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) is an American professional ballet company and school based in Harlem, New York City. It was founded in 1969 under the directorship of Arthur Mitchell and later partnered with Karel Shook. Milton Rosenstock served as the company's music director from 1981 to 1992. The DTH is renowned for being both "the first Black classical ballet company", and "the first major ballet company to prioritize Black dancers".
Aleksandra Dionisyevna Danilova was a Russian-born prima ballerina, who became an American citizen. In 1989, she was recognized for lifetime achievements in ballet as a Kennedy Center Honoree.
Mia Slavenska, née Čorak was a Croatian-American soloist of the Russian Ballet of Monte Carlo in 1938–1952 and 1954–1955.
Jean Coralli was a French ballet dancer and choreographer, best known for collaborating with Jules Perrot in creating Giselle (1841), the quintessential Romantic ballet of the nineteenth century.
The company Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo was formed in 1932 after the death of Sergei Diaghilev and the demise of Ballets Russes. Its director was Wassily de Basil, and its artistic director was René Blum. They fell out in 1936 and the company split. The part which de Basil retained went through two name changes before becoming the Original Ballet Russe. Blum founded Les Ballets de Monte Carlo, which changed its name to Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo when Léonide Massine became artistic director in 1938. It operated under this name until it disbanded some 20 years later.
The Cincinnati Ballet is a professional ballet company founded as Cincinnati Civic Ballet in 1958, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. After being registered as a company, it had its first performance in 1964.
John Taras was an American ballet master, repetiteur, and choreographer.
Gaîté Parisienne is a 1938 ballet choreographed by Léonide Massine (1896-1979) to music by Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880) arranged and orchestrated many decades later by Manuel Rosenthal (1904-2003) in collaboration with Jacques Brindejonc-Offenbach, the composer's nephew. With a libretto and décor by Comte Étienne de Beaumont and costumes executed by Barbara Karinska, it was first presented by the Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo at the Théâtre de Monte Carlo on 5 April 1938.
Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2, also titled Ballet Imperial, is a ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 2. Ballet Imperial was choreographed for American Ballet Caravan's 1941 South American tour, and was aimed at showing that the Americans were capable of the classical ballet traditions. The ballet pays tribute to Tchaikovsky, the classical ballet choreographer Marius Petipa, and Imperial Saint Petersburg, where Balanchine received his ballet training. The ballet featured academic steps and allude to Imperial Russia through the costumes and scenery. Ballet Imperial premiered on June 25, 1941, at Teatro Municipal, Rio de Janeiro.
Jocelyn Vollmar was an American ballerina, known for her career with the San Francisco Ballet.
Concerto Barocco is a neoclassical ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to Bach's Concerto for Two Violins. Danced by a cast of eleven, the ballet is completely plotless, and according to Balanchine, "has no "subject matter" beyond the score which it is danced and the particular dancers who execute it". The ballet was made for the American Ballet Caravan's 1941 South American tour, and premiered on June 27, 1941, at Teatro Municipal, Rio de Janeiro. The ballet has entered the repertories of many ballet companies, including Balanchine's New York City Ballet.
Danses concertantes is the title of a work for chamber orchestra written in 1941–42 by Igor Stravinsky, commissioned by Werner Janssen. Stravinsky's music has been used for eponymous ballets by numerous choreographers attracted by its danceability.
Nathalie "Natasha" Krassovska (1918–2005) was a Russian born prima ballerina and teacher of classical ballet most noted for her work with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Following her decades-long career, she moved to the U.S., where she founded the Krassovska Ballet Jeunesse. Krassovska taught, choreographed and performed until her death.
Aminah L. Ahmad, formerly known professionally as Llanchie Stevenson, is an American ballet dancer who was the first African-American dancer at Radio City Music Hall Ballet Company, the first African-American female dancer at the National Ballet of Washington, and an original company member and former principal dancer with Dance Theatre of Harlem. She retired from dancing upon her conversion to Islam.
Stephanie Renee Dabney was an American dancer who performed as a prima ballerina with Dance Theatre of Harlem from 1979 through 1994. Dabney is best known for her performances in John Taras' The Firebird, which she performed all over the world, as well as at the opening ceremony of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Karen Brown is an American ballerina, educator, répétiteur, ballet mistress, and director. She is noted for her long career as a principal dancer with the Dance Theatre of Harlem and as the first African-American woman to lead a ballet company.
Mary Ellen Moylan was an American ballet dancer. She was one of the first students of George Balanchine's School of American Ballet, and made her New York stage debut in 1942. She had danced with Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, Ballet Society, Ballet Theatre, Metropolitan Opera Ballet, and on Broadway. She was best known for performing Balanchine's works, and was described as "the first great Balanchine dancer". She retired from performing in 1957.
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