Russian National Ballet's "The Sleeping Beauty"

UR Department of Theatre and Dance's assistant director of dance, Anne Van Gelder offers some context for the Russian National Ballet's adaptation of The Sleeping Beauty running March 14-15 at 7:30pm.  Tickets are available here.

As far back as I can remember, The Sleeping Beauty was a favorite fairy tale of mine.  The lure of a beautiful princess, a handsome prince, magical fairies and of course, the evil, vengeful witch made for plenty of opportunities for my sister and me to act out the story and to take on all of the roles.  It’s a fascinating fairy tale that has been re-told in myriad genres including Marius Petipa’s iconic ballet that premiered at the Maryinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg in 1890.  

The ballet is one of Petipa’s masterpieces because it marries czarist spectacle though the virtuosic choreography with the outstanding musical score by Tchaikovsky. As was his custom, Petipa wrote the scenario for the ballet; the collaborative process involved his giving Tchaikovsky specific choreographic action to go with the musical phrases.  He even went as far as specifying which instruments were to be used for a particular musical passage. 

The rapidly evolving ballet technique of the late 19^th century lent itself to spectacle and proved to be the perfect vehicle for paying homage to the Romanov dynasty.  As Petipa was in service to the reigning czar, his version of The Sleeping Beauty or La Belle au Bois Dormant, is reminiscent of the court of Louis XIV, which served to flatter the Romanovs and the St. Petersburg elite.  By doing this, Petipa reinforced the notion that the Romanov dynasty was a constant and that nothing had changed nor needed to change since the reign of Louis XIV two centuries earlier.  

Petipa’s choreography utilized the corps de ballet in grand spatial patterns that seemed to echo those of 17^th and 18^th century French court ballets.  His proclivity for composing virtuosic divertissements for the ballerina was a means of revisiting the ornate ballet `a entrées so popular during the Baroque period. 

So while we may enjoy the fairy tale from our childhood, Petipa’s The Sleeping Beauty is much more.  The historic style he evokes through authentic period processionals and dances entertained, instructed and emotionally moved the audience while serving to flatter and reinforce the authority of the monarchy much as the 17^th and early 18^th century court dances did for Louis XIV.  It is worth noting, then, that the Russian National Ballet adaptation originates from the Petipa version of 1890 with its grandeur, magic, opulence and spectacle.  The Sleeping Beauty is a ballet that is not to be missed!  

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ANNE NORMAN VAN GELDER Assistant Director of Dance holds degrees from Virginia Intermont College (B.A.) and the University of Utah (M.F.A.) in Choreography and Pedagogy.  Her career as performer, educator and choreographer has enabled her to work with Conrad Ludlow, Willam Christensen, Alun Jones, Li-Chou Cheng, Ford Evans, Richard Munro, and Tom Pazik among others and she has served as ballet mistress/régisseur for several companies.   She taught beginner to advanced levels of ballet technique at the University of Utah, Virginia Intermont College and the Willam F. Christensen Center for Dance. She regularly gives master classes at the American College Dance Festival and recently gave a workshop at VCU’s School of Fine Arts.  While in Utah, she created choreography for members of the U.S. Women’s Gymnastics Team and she has also created choreography for Theatre Bristol, Park City Shakespeare Festival, the Ogden Symphony and the Roanoke Symphony.  She continues to study dance regularly, including Baroque dance workshops in NYC with noted historic dance experts, Thomas Baird and Paige Whitley Bauguess. Ms. Van Gelder’s choreography has been seen throughout Virginia and Utah and recently, she worked with artists of the Saratov Academic Youth Theatre on their US premiere production of The Humpbacked Horse, featuring dances she re-set.  She created choreography for these URP&D productions:  Wings, The Tempest, Fiddler on the Roof, The Chairs and The Bald Soprano directed by Italian director and filmmaker, Paolo Landi. Most recently, Ms. Van Gelder served as period movement stylist for the URP&D production of Moliere’s The Learned Ladies.  She appeared as Hedy in UR’s production of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Ms. Van Gelder is a recipient of the Vera Volkova Award for choreography, is a member of the dramatic fraternity, Alpha Psi Omega and considers her study of dance ongoing.