TEACHER RESOURCE GUIDE Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School Instructional Performances | March, April 2018 | Teacher Resource Guide Choreography by Jerome Robbins The instructional performances have been made possible by the generosity of the Jerome Robbins Foundation and a donor who wishes to remain anonymous. PBT gratefully acknowledges the following organizations for their commitment to our education programming: Allegheny Regional Asset District Henry C. Frick Educational Fund of The Buhl Anne L. and George H. Clapp Charitable Foundation Trust BNY Mellon Foundation Highmark Foundation Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation Peoples Natural Gas Eat ‘n Park Hospitality Group Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Edith L. Trees Charitable Trust Pennsylvania Department of Community ESB Bank and Economic Development Giant Eagle Foundation PNC Bank Grow up Great The Grable Foundation PPG Industries, Inc. Hefren-Tillotson, Inc. Richard King Mellon Foundation James M. The Heinz Endowments and Lucy K. Schoonmaker 2 CONTENTS 4 The Choreographer—Jerome Robbins Fast Facts 5 The Composer— Leonard Bernstein 6 Robbins’ Style of Movement 7 A look into the instructional performance: Classical Ballet—Swan Lake excerpts Neo-classical Ballet—The Symphony 8 Robbins’ Ballet—West Side Story Suite 9 Exploring West Side Story: Lesson Prompts Connections to Romeo and Juliet Entry Pointes Characters and Story Elements 11 Communication and Technology 12 Group Dynamics 13 Conflict, Strategies and Resolutions 15 Pedestrian Movement and Choreography Observing and Developing Movement 16 Social Dances 17 Creating an Aesthetic 18 Musical Theater/Movie/Ballet PBT celebrates the 100th birthday of Jerome Robbins with its May 2018 production of In the Night, Fancy Free and West Side Story Suite. 3 THE CHOREOGRAPHER Jerome RoBBins (1918—1998) Jerome Robbins, born Jerome Rabinowitz in New York City, is world-renowned for his work as a choreographer of ballets as well as his work as a director and choreographer in theater, movies and television. He began his career dancing in the choruses of Broadway productions and tried his hand at choreography in Pennsylvania summer stock productions, with young actors and dancers like Danny Kaye and Carol Channing. By 1944 he had joined American Ballet Theatre where he choreographed the ballet Fancy Free with the young (and then unknown) composer Leonard Bernstein. In 1948 George Balanchine invited Robbins to join his new company, New York City Ballet, and named him associate artistic director. Over the next two decades Robbins alternated between creating ballets and Broadway productions. In 1951 he choreographed The King and I on Broadway, creating its famous dance numbers—including “Shall We Dance”—as well as an unconventional ballet within the musical, “The Small House of Uncle Thomas,” which used a traditional Asian dance vocabulary and had an anti-slavery message. The Broadway productions of Peter Pan (1954), West Side Story (1957), and Fiddler on the Roof (1964) followed. By the late ’60s Robbins returned to New York City Ballet and turned his creative energies almost fully back to ballet, which was his first love. In all he choreographed more than 60 ballets, including those on PBT’s May program—West Side Story Suite, Fancy Free and In the Night—as well as The Concert, Les Noces, Afternoon of a Faun, and Dances at a Gathering. He received dozens of awards over his career—five Tonys, two Oscars, one Emmy, the Kennedy Center honors, the French Legion of Honor, and more. On his death in 1998, from the effects of a stroke, the lights on Broadway were dimmed. Photo credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jerome_Robbins_ca._1968.jpg Fast Facts adapted from Jerome Robbins’ NY Export: Opus Jazz – The Film, A resource Guide for Dance Teachers (2011) • Jerome Rabinowski was born on October 11, 1918 in New York City, but grew up in Weehawken, NJ. He later changed his last name to Robbins. • Robbins’ worked in both classical ballet and musical theater. Some productions were even created for both settings. West Side Story, originally a musical theater production, was adapted to be presented by ballet companies. Fancy Free was a ballet Robbins created that was then adapted to be a musical known as On the Town. 4 • Robbins’ approach to ballet choreography was considered unorthodox at the time. Robbins: o incorporated vernacular and pedestrian movement and elements of ballroom dance into classical ballet forms o chose a range of dancers (integrated company, multi-racial) o danced about social themes, American themes and topics • Robbins choreographic ability was extensive. His choreography: o demonstrated a sense of endless invention and the ability to improvise a range of variations o was humorous o showcased themes of belonging and community o had a pedestrian quality that reflected humanness • Robbins choreographed and directed some of the greatest American musicals: On the Town, High Button Shoes, The King and I, The Pajama Game, West Side Story, Gypsy and Fiddler on the Roof. • He also directed and choreographed the movies The King and I and West Side Story, for which he received an Oscar for best director. • Robbins also created many successful ballets. He had a longtime collaboration with George Balanchine and NYC Ballet, sharing leadership with Peter Martins after Balanchine died in 1983. • In 1958 the Jerome Robbins Foundation was established to support dance, theater and associated arts. • Jerome Robbins died on July 29, 1998 at the age of 79. THE COMPOSER Leonard Bernstein (1918 – 1990) Bernstein was an American conductor and composer who brought a jazzy and eclectic energy to classical music. He was music director of the New York Philharmonic from 1958 - 69 and was also associated with many of the world’s leading orchestras. Among his compositions are symphonies, operas, ballets, and scores for film and Broadway. He pioneered classical music education on television, starring in a series of lectures for many years. He received numerous awards and honors, including Tony, Emmy, and Grammy Awards. He’s one of the first American conductors to achieve world-wide fame. 5 Bernstein and Robbins met when they were young artists making their way in New York - both were around 24 years old. Robbins was at American Ballet Theatre, dancing and also creating his first ballet, Fancy Free; he’d heard of Bernstein and sought him out as a possible composer for the ballet. They were so in sync that on their first meeting they hit upon the theme for the ballet. They produced two additional ballets together and in 1957 collaborated on West Side Story for Broadway. Select List of Bernstein Works Candide (Broadway operetta, 1956) On the Town (Broadway musical, 1944; film, 1949) On the Waterfront (film, 1954) West Side Story (Broadway musical, 1957; film 1961) Ballets with Jerome Robbins: Fancy Free (1944), Facsimile (1946), The Dybbuk (1974) Photo: Carl Van Vechten. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Robbins’ Style of Movement Robbin’s choreographic style evolved from classical and neoclassical ballet traditions. Classical Ballet Neoclassical Ballet Robbins’ Style § women in pointe shoes § manipulation of the § strict attention to form § form and movements are classical form § ballet, jazz, modern, precise, graceful, flowing § increased speed, social, and street dance § adherence to a specific energy and attack vocabularies blended vocabulary § asymmetry; can have together § turn-out of the legs and an off-balance feel § everyday movement hips § non-narrative integrated into § balance and symmetry (abstract) - movements choreography, e.g. (of the body and on linked to music rather walking, running stage) than characters or plot § movements are theatrical § ethereal quality - the § paired down - they tell the story appearance of floating aesthetic—simple sets § ease, naturalness, humor § emphasis on narrative and costumes essential to choreography (story ballets) § increased athleticism § movements create § elaborate sets and recognizable, costumes understandable § technical virtuosity characters 6 A look into the instructional performance… Classical Ballet: Swan Lake excerpts (1895) Swan Lake is about a young woman (Odette) cursed by a sorcerer to be a swan by day and human at night. She can be freed from the curse only if a young man swears his eternal love for her. A prince falls in love with Odette but before he can declare his love there’s a tragic mix-up. Swan Lake is one of the ultimate examples of classical ballet. Its music is by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky and the choreography is by Marius Petipa and his assistant, Lev Ivanov. Petipa was the most important choreographer of the 19th century - his work at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, Russia, came to define what classical ballet is. In the performance, we’ll see excerpts from Act 2 of the ballet, including the pas de deux (dance for two) with Odette and the Prince, and the choreography for the corps de ballet, who are Odette’s swan friends. Photo Credit: Rich Sofranko; Artists: Alexandra Kochis & Luca Sbrizzi A pas de deux is a hallmark of classical ballet. It establishes the relationship between the two main characters and shows off their meticulous classical technique. The corps de ballet in this scene is part of a tradition in classical ballet called the “white act” (ballet en blanc). Dancers are dressed all in white and have completely unified choreography. They idea is that they dance as one body (the definition of corps de ballet). In Swan Lake, the swan-like movements create some of the most dramatic imagery in ballet. The Dance of the Little Swans, also called a pas de quatre (dance for four), highlights classical ballet’s demanding technical precision, with dancers clasping hands and moving in fast, staccato steps. The dance portrays how little swans huddle and swim around Photo Credit: Rich Sofranko; Artists: Gabrielle Thurlow, together for protection. Jessica McCann, Diana Yohe & Joanna Schmidt Neoclassical ballet: The Symphony (2017) Choreographed by PBT principal dancer Yoshiaki Nakano and with music by Felix Mendelssohn, The Symphony is a neoclassical ballet.