A young Suzanne Farrell rehearsing with George Balanchine
The beauty of classical ballet is that while there exists a set structure as to how steps are to be performed and a set language of ballet, the interpretation and the training can be approached in many different ways. It's very interesting to note that each style of classical ballet can be attributed almost to a point of origin and a nationality. So it's not surprising to hear a critic say something like "the American style" or "the Italian style" or "the French way" - because each nationality does have its own stamp - its own sort of defining difference which makes its dancers unique and sets them apart. It doesn't have to be an obvious difference - it can actually be very subtle. So it takes a trained "eye" to spot the difference.
There are 6 major schools of training methods that grew when it spread beyond Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries. Each training method is unique in style and appearance, yet produces brilliant ballet dancers. In training, it is likely that you may encounter a ballet instructor who combines the training methods of two schools. Some very respectable teachers use one method as a base and add style elements of another to create a unique approach.
The major schools of ballet training include Vaganova, Cecchetti, Royal Academy of Dance, the French School, Balanchine and Bournonville.
Vaganova(Soviet Russia)
When you think of dancers produced by soviet training, the names Baryshnikov and Nureyev come to mind as well as The Bolshoi. The Vaganova technique was developed by Russian student Agrippina Vaganova. This method spawned from the Russian technique as many others did. Vaganova danced at the Imperial Ballet School then she later taught there when it re-established as the Leningrad Choreographic School, The Soviet Ballet, and now The Mariinsky Ballet. The Vaganova ballet technique is not only Russian, but it has elements of the French and Italian schools of ballet as well.
The Vaganova method concentrates on lower back strength and the “boneless” look of the arms. Vaganova trained dancers execute ballet movement with an especial effortlessness by using supple arms to contrast the robust movement of the legs. The arms would give the dancer an ethereal look as if she defied gravity. Many movements of the Vaganova technique require the dancer to remain in the air for as long as possible to give the dancer an illusion of floating. This requires extreme flexibility and extension. The arms and legs appear longer and leaner by the stretch and line of the pose. A Vaganova trained dancer executes movements with clean precise lines and movement with special attention to placement.
Unlike other methods of ballet, the Vaganova method encourages obvious hand movements. The hands should not flow gradually from one movement to the next, but should "flap" into place at the last moment. The hands should be held distinctly, with the thumb held close to the middle finger and the pointer and ring finger slightly raised.
Cecchetti(Italy)
The Cecchetti method is one of the main training techniques of classical ballet. The Cecchetti method is a strict program that enforces planned exercise routines for each day of the week. The program ensures that each part of the body is worked evenly by combining different types of steps into planned routines.
Enrico Cecchetti developed his own ballet training method in London (1918). Coming from Italy, Enrico and his wife opened a dance school and influenced British ballet throughout the ages. Many new methods spawned from the Cecchetti training method. After dancing in Milan as a young man, Enrico Cecchetti migrated to Russia and ended up working for Diaghilev by training his school of dancers. He taught at the Imperial School in St. Petersburg. When the Ballet Russes began to tour the world, students did not want to leave the daily Cecchetti classes that afforded them such exquisite training.
The Cecchetti technique is very involved; the student is trained then tested in stages and graded. Each Cecchetti instructor is to be registered by qualifying with the Imperial Society of Teachers Dancing. Each student endures rigid testing before they graduate to the next level of which there are six. Each student is only allowed one examination per year.
The Cecchetti technique has a strict training regimen; the barré is memorized and done without breaking. There is a specific barré for each day of the week. Each side of the body is worked altering from week to week. The Cecchetti technique has eight particular port de bras, and about forty adages that develop the students balance, poise and grace. The end of class would include a new combination of movement for the student to grasp quickly and perform. This method condenses ballet training to an exact science.
The Cecchetti dancer moves as an instrument; the arms and legs are all one working entity. The energy is focused through the feet and up through the head so the line goes on infinitely. This method teaches quality over quantity; it was better to execute the movement right once rather than being able to do it sloppy several times. Each student is taught the essence of the technique, so this method is something exuded rather than a specific flair as in the Bournonville and Russian techniques. It teaches a dancer to be self reliant rather than mimicking the instructor. This technique uses a classical style most often and develops a dancers balance, poise, elevation, vigor and suppleness.
Royal Academy of Dance(England)
A method founded in London in 1920, the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) was brought together by pulling representatives of various types of ballet — from Russian to Italian to English — together into one school. The RAD method symbolizes the union of international ballet into one school, consolidated into one method of teaching.
The method grew its roots in the Royal Ballet School in London under Dame Ninette de Valois, founder of the Royal Ballet. With skillful teaching from former dancers such as Russian ballerina Tamara Karsavina, the school turned out highly-accomplished dancers such as Moira Shearer, Beryl Grey, Darcy Bussell, and Leanne Benjamin.
A well-known aspect of the RAD method is the attention to detail when learning the basic techniques of ballet. For beginners, the progression in difficulty is often very slow, with the difficulty of basic exercises only increasing slightly from grade to grade. The general thought is that if enough time is spent achieving the maximum level of technique before introducing new steps, the easier it will be for students to learn harder steps.
Training Programs:
The RAD offers two training programs, both of which are suitable for both male and female students. Each program represents a complete system of dance training and includes a series of difficult examinations.
The two programs are the
Graded Examination Syllabus and the
Vocational Graded Syllabus.
Graded Examination Syllabus:
The Graded Examination Syllabus consists of 10 grades, incorporating classical ballet, free movement and character dance. The syllabus is designed for students to progress in difficulty from one grade to the next, developing greater dance technique at each level. Students take examinations given by their dance teachers. In the examination, the students perform and are graded on certain techniques. Successful candidates receive a certificate printed with their name and the grade level passed.
Vocational Graded Syllabus:
The Vocational Graded Syllabus is mainly designed for older children or young adults who are considering a career in professional dance. The vocational syllabus is very demanding, consisting of only classical ballet and pointe work. Students must be competent in the fundamentals of ballet technique and vocabulary. Unlike the Graded Examination Syllabus, the vocational grades must be studied in sequence with students successfully passing examinations at each level before progressing to the next.
Today, the method is run in a highly-efficient series of levels designed for both the pre-professional and academic ballet dancer, divided into both vocational and non-vocational levels. Each level is taught by an RAD-certified instructor, with students advancing after taking an examination judged by a certified RAD official (often a teacher and former RAD-trained dancer). The method is practiced worldwide, with official RAD members residing in dozens of countries on six continents.
The French School
One of the most fluid methods of ballet, the French method is largely closed to the rest of the world, its practices not yet spread worldwide. The Paris Opera Ballet School (as it is now titled) was the first ballet school in existence, originally founded by King Louis XIV in the late 17th century. The feeder school for the Paris Opera Ballet, it ran through a highly-qualified staff of former premier dancers and ballerinas. King Louis XIV was also the first principal dancer; his penchant for ballet was a delight to all in his court.
Following its decline in status and popularity in the second half of the 20th century with emerging rivals ranging from the newborn American ballet scene and neo-classicalist revolution in Europe, the Paris Opera Ballet School hired Soviet defector and famed dancer Rudolf Nureyev as director in the 1980s. What is known today as the French method of ballet came largely from Nureyev, who incorporated his own tastes along with Russian training into the French classical vocabulary.
Included in the hallmarks of French ballet are Nureyev’s particular attentions to musicality, altered tempo, and precision by dancers. The dancers are trained with sobriety, attaining a traditional and classical, ethereal look, while executing steps that are both impressive and virtuously quick. The French method of ballet is not practiced outside of the Paris Opera Ballet School, due in part to its newness and the lack of literature available on any syllabus informally created.
Balanchine(US)
George Balanchine was a protégé of Diaghilev’s Imperial School of Ballet. He defected to Paris from Russia then later met back up with Diaghilev’s touring Ballet Russes. Balanchine joined the Ballet Russes as a choreographer. After developing and working with a variety of ballet companies, Balanchine was encouraged to come to America to open his own training facility: the School of American Ballet (1934). After forming and disbanding several companies, Balanchine founded the New York City Ballet Company in 1948.
The Balanchine technique is very distinctive; the use of the arms and hands is very eccentric to ballet. Balanchine had a special liking for jazz and modern movement, as well as being a huge fan of Fred Astaire. Many of his ballets reflect this. A distinctive Balanchine flair is the unconventional hand and arm placement. The elbows would often break the arm line (as the wrists did), as the hands remain curled. This technique requires a great deal from the dancer. Balanchine enjoyed watching dancers break laws of motion; he would play with the choreography. His dancers developed such speed of motion that they would fit a lot of movement into a small block of music. Balanchine would not allow an orchestra to slow down for his dancers. He wanted to create a look of longer limbs so he would distort arabesques and extensions in order to do so. A dancer could give the look of a longer arabesque line by opening her hip to the audience as well as opening it upstage away from the audience. This type of placement goes against general ballet form.
Many of Balanchine’s ballets reflect a contemporary or classical style of dancing. He defined modern ballet as we know it today. His works are vast and famous pieces -Serenade, Jewels, Don Quixote, Firebird, Stars and Stripes, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and countless others.
Bournonville(Denmark)
The Bournonville method of ballet dancing is not only a method of training and technique, but a choreographic school developed by August Bournonville (1805 – 1879). August was the choreographer for the Royal Danish Ballet, a ballet company who continues to use his choreography and teaching methods till this day. This method focuses specifically on the romantic style since it was born in the romantic era of ballet. August Bournonville not only preferred a more romantic tone to his choreography, but he preferred his ballets tell a vivid love story. Bournonville knew a great deal about musical theatre, so he incorporated a rich array of expression into his works.
Bournonville said himself that “dance should be an expression of joy”. This method displays the movement as effortless though it is very technically challenging. The Bournonville method dancer exudes fluidity, seamlessness, and musicality. The technique is refined with delicate detail. It is not only expressive and romantic, but it touches the heart with dramatic pantomime.
The Bournonville technique begins in the shape and softness of the arms. This method has distinctive and specific lifted torso framework. The legs must define musical rhythm while the arms define the melody; this combination exudes musicality.
Bournonville ballets display technically challenging roles, but usually in reversal of what we’re used to…Bournonville establishes the importance of the male character whereas other methods focused more on the female. This ballet method is such an honest and revealing style using pure and precise movement. The choreography forms a harmony while telling a story. Some of Bournonville’s ballets were La Sylphide, Napoli and Flower Festival in Genzano.
The world is getting smaller. There are students taking class with one another in New York and London and learning from their differences. But national styles will always remain to some extent; dancers are products of their environments, and what speaks to one culture won't necessarily resonate elsewhere. And that's a good thing.
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