20th Century Ballet

The modern formula for ballets was actually spearheaded by Marius Petipa a Frenchman who was commissioned to be the chief choreographer of the Imperial Russian Ballet.  He perfected the full-length, evening-long story ballet, combining mimed scenes with set dances.  He is best known for The Sleeping Beauty (1890) and Swan Lake, both of which were set to scores of Tchaikovsky.

Petipa helped create a new company with Russian Impresario Sergei Diaghilev called the Ballets Russes.  They brought their company to Paris in 1909 and helped revitalize ballet all over the world. 




In the 1920’s and ‘30s the US and Germany began to develop modern dance.  Dancers from both countries moved away from conformity and began creating their own expressive movement and styles, and choreographed dances that were closer to human movements.

Today’s ballet art form is of great variety.  Reconstructions of classic ballets coexist with new works created by modern choreographers that experiment with both traditional and new styles.

 

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