Ballet in France glorious as ever
Gwen Herat
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One of France’s greatest dancers, Claire Sombert is seen with
her partner, Gerard Ohn backstage.
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French are considered perfectionists in whatever they do and ballet
is no exception to their glorious achievements. This fine art originated
in France centuries ago, first as graceful steps and next as sweeping
footwork that gradually worked its way up to the spectacular dance we
see in France.
The country produced a great number of virtuoso dancers over the
centuries and the number grew in hundreds as each decade produced
tantalising choreographers and dancers that other countries awed at. The
Ballet syllabus of their own was drawn which the rest of the countries
were to adopt for training as well as for examinations.
The French ballerina was superior in physique as well as in technique
which is still maintained.
The process continues presently to produce still better ballerinas to
captivate better dancers than from Britain who unfortunately has clamped
down strict disciplinary rules governing the teaching of ballet not only
to girls but boys as well which the British legislators feel amount to
sexual harassment if a teacher lays a hand on a student to correct body
posture or for that matter ankle correction which is so vital for a
dancer of ballet.
This gives a head start to France and rest of the ballet-bound
countries to produce more technically perfect and exciting dancers. In
the future the dancers that emerge from The Royal Ballet and other
leading ballet companies in England will fall short of perfection.
France knows the importance of correcting a dancer from the beginning
and is not foolish to adopt such an attitude. A teacher has to correct
the body line, ankle turns, tucking in the tummy and straightening up
among others. These have to be physically corrected. A teacher may have
to do an ankle twict or a chin-up etc.
Paris Opera Ballet is synonymous with France. This institute's
history can be traced back to 1669 when Abbe Pierrin and Marquis de
Soundeac founded the Academie of Opera in Paris. Two years later the
name was changed to Academie Royale Nationale de Opera.
Michel Renault, sensational French dancer from the Paris Opera
School, was a prodigy and became the premier dancer of the
company at the age of nineteen years. |
In the post-Romantic years, Paris was very conscious of the poor
state of the National Ballet and was determined to persue any sensible
course to improve its standard. Many ballet masters tried and
experimented ways and means to revamp the existing status and with much
effort managed to engaged Fokine for revival.
Even Nijinsky had turned down the offer. Jacques Rouche was managing
the revival and was not very happy with the great Fokine. Didelot and
Perrot took over a part of the responsibility despite a number of
Russian teachers who had taught Paris over the years.
By now, the Paris Opera was doing well with Rouche as its director
and Perrot as choreographer.
The company produced the Russian version of Giselle. Rouche made
another clever move by engaging Lifar as the main dancer as well as
ballet master. Lifar danced and revived Giselle that was a magnificent
ballet that led him to do a number of other works.
Lifar danced the role of Albrechet in Giselle. Thirty years later
Rudolf Nureyev and Erik Braun built up its importance and danced the
same role at the Paris Opera Ballet. Nureyev in particular, had
immortalised the role.
Hope was renewed for ballet in Paris with the coming of Yvette
Chauvire from the Opera school. As a dancer she was even better than
most of the Russian ballerinas and was of a calibre that France had not
seen since the halcyon days of Leontine Beaugrand in 1870s.
Lifar wasted no time as he got about revealing her unique artistry in
his new version of Istar in 1940. Grately elevated by Boris Kniasv's
ballets, Chauvire achieved star status.
Kniasev corrected her Milanese manner of training into a style more
in keeping with Russian school. But with time she found it difficult to
work at the Paris Opera and in the company of equally dissatisfied Rene
Jeanmaire, Colette Marchand and Roland Petit, she left the company.
Roland Petit remained in the same city of the mighty Paris Opera
against which he rebelled to form his own company. Opera's loss was yet
France's gain when Petit rallied great names like Jeanmaire, Charret,
Marchand, Irene Skorik, Irene Lidova, Violette Verdy, Chauvire and Petit
himself.
Thus began the ascending of the French ballet and soon Europe was
stunned by the virtuosity of France's touring companies with of course
Paris Opera Ballet taking the lead.
Some of Europe's best dancers were seen with the Paris Opera Ballet
because France like Italy produced some of the finest dancers around the
world.
France produced all the well-known and best loved full-length ballets
including some of Shakespeare's tragedies.
They were of priceless quality and maintained the essence of purity.
With the best of choreographers going through portals and talented,
beautiful, technically perfect dancers in her companies, France rose to
hold her own unique place in the ballet world. Some great dancers who
contributed to this status are;
Jean Babilee - Paris Opera Ballet
Marie Camargo - Paris Opera School
Renee Jeanmaire - Paris Opera School
Andre Prokovsky - Studied with Lubov Egorova
Claire Sombert - Studied with Yves Brieux in Paris
Ghislaine Thesmar - Paris Conservatoir and Ballet Marquis de Cuevas
Violette Verdy - Ballets de Champs-Elysees
Gerrad Ohn - Paris Conservatoir
Michel Renault - Paris Opera School and Paris Opera Ballet |
