How Did Stanislavski Contribute To Dance

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I believe it is important for us to firstly look at Stanislavski’s method and the man himself. We will explore what his influences, challenges and environment was like at the time in order for us to gain a greater understanding of what made him one of the most influential figures of theatre history and actor training to date.

Constantin Sergeyevich Stanislavski was a Russian actor, director and practitioner; (1863-1938). He was born during the Russian Industrial but seen many great revolutions in his life span, he wrote ‘In truth, many changes occurred during my life, and more than once where they fundamental’ (Actor Training, Second Edition, 2010, P.1 cites Stanislavskii 1988b:3). During his youth Stanislavski enjoyed plays, ballet,

Stanislavski grew up in a theatre culture that was full of ageing melodramas, it held no place for naturalism that seeked to demonstrate a believable everyday reality and very often exposed the harshness of everyday life, including most often than not themes such as racism, sex and poverty. This a big contrast to what audiences at this time were accustomed to, relying on French and German comedies mostly watching surreal and romantic themed theatre such as French plays of Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas, Alfred de Musset and George Sand. After the French Revolution, melodrama became the most popular theatrical form. Its conventions were false, its language stilted and commonplace, its characters stereotypes, and its morality and theology gross simplifications, not a setting for real emotions. Stanlislavki said ‘Human life is so subtle, so complex and multifaceted, that it needs an incomparably large number of new, still undiscovered “isms” to express it fully’ (Stanislavskii 1989:458). Stanislavski wanted to explore these differences and in doing so he experimented with such things as yoga, Western psychology, modern dance and even opera. He wanted some sort of system that actors could use to create as realistic characters as

In Brigid’s actor trainging she focuses on the Method of Physical Action, developed by Stanislavski. Stanislavski created The Method of Physical Action in order to prevent spontaneous emotion. His technique requires the actor to perform a series or one physical activity in order for the emotional response of a character to come out as desired. The actor is required to discover and then perform the logical sequence of physical sctions of the scene in accordance to her character. Stanislavski gives an example of such