Ballet Master
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ballet Master (also Balletmaster, Ballet Mistress, or Maître de ballet ) is the term used for an employee of a ballet company who is responsible for the level of competence of the dancers in their company. Ballet masters are generally charged with teaching the daily company ballet class and rehearsing the dancers for both new and established ballets in the repertoire.
[edit] History of the Position
Especially during the early centuries of ballet troupes and ballet companies, (1700 to 1900), the position of First Balletmaster referred to the head choreographer who acted as a type of Artistic Director. This included creating dances, choosing works, submitting notes to the composer, as well as teaching the dancers to move in the style that was desired. It was this head balletmaster who had the responsibility of the artistic directorship of a particular group of dancers or of a theatre.
After 1900, the title has been used more to describe the master teachers/ assistant directors of a ballet company, (previously known as Second Balletmaster.)
[edit] Famous Balletmasters
- Jean Dauberval (1742-1806) Balletmaster in France, he is known today as the Father of the Comedic ballet
- August Bournonville (1805-1879) Balletmaster of the Royal Danish Ballet from 1828 to 1879 and the most prolific choreographer Denmark as ever known.
- Jean Coralli (1779-1854) Balletmaster of the Paris Opera who was born Jean Coralli Perecini in Paris of Bolognese parents.
- Filippo Taglioni (1777-1871) Balletmaster of Stockholm from 1803. Born and trained as a dancer in his native Italy, he is known today as the Father of Romantic Ballet. Also a great choreographer and teacher, he was instrumental in the training of his daughter, Marie.
- Jules Perrot (1810-1892) Maître de Ballet (First Balletmaster) of the Imperial Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia from 1850 to 1859, Perrot was a Frenchman who enjoyed a career in Paris before heading east.
- Arthur Saint-Léon (1821-1870) A Frenchman who was Maître de Ballet of the Imperial Ballet from 1859 until 1869.
- Marius Petipa (1818-1910) Maître de Ballet of all the Russias for the Imperial Theaters in (St. Petersburg and Moscow) from 1869 to 1903, 'Second' Balletmaster from 1862-1869. The Father of Classical Ballet.
- Lev Ivanov (1834-1901) 'Second' balletmaster for the Imperial Ballet 1885 to 1901.
- Christian Johansson (1817-1903) Coaching balletmaster/master teacher for the Russian Imperial Ballet 1880 to 1900.
- Enrico Cecchetti (1850-1928) Balletmaster for the celebrated Ballets Russes 1907.
- Frederick Ashton (1904-1988) Balletmaster, Choreographer, and Director of England's Royal Ballet 1963.
- Kenneth MacMillan (1929-1992) Balletmaster, Choreographer, and Director of England's Royal Ballet from 1970.
- Anthony Dowell (1943- ) Balletmaster and Director of England's Royal Ballet from 1980.
- George Balanchine (1904-1983) Balletmaster and Director of the New York City Ballet, in New York from 1949 to 1982.
- Rudolph Nureyev (1938-1993), Balletmaster and Director of the Paris Opera Ballet, Paris from 1983 to 1992. Before that, he enjoyed an illustrious career as a dancer in both the Soviet Union and in the west.
