“The company has had its moment of greatness. Unique in its exuberance of style, a repository of masterpieces rescued from oblivion, and for many, an introduction to ballet, the Joffrey has played a vital role in the development of dance in the United States,” says Kisselgoff in an article announcing Joffrey’s return (Anawalt 321). Though his life was a few pas de chats, Robert Joffrey did everything he could to keep his dream going. Due to his prominence in the ballet industry, influence on modern dance, and direction in ballet technique, Robert Joffrey was the most significant choreographer of the 20th Century.
Robert Joffrey was born in Seattle, Washington on December 24, 1930. He was born with the name Abdullah Jaffa Bey Khan. His mother
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was Italian born and his father was an immigrant from Afghanistan. Throughout his childhood, Robert Joffrey combatted many illnesses, the most prominent being asthma. In his youth, Joffrey started tap dancing and then switched to ballet to help with his asthma. The doctor “believed that the breathing exercises taught to the children would help alleviate some of Joffrey's asthmatic conditions thereby making the task of breathing a little easier and his overall childhood a little better (“Robert Joffrey Facts”).” At the age of twelve, Joffrey started studying ballet seriously with Mary Ann Wells. Under her teaching, he performed locally throughout his teens. In 1948 at the age of eighteen, Joffrey performed a solo recital of his own choreography. Robert Joffrey moved to New York to enroll and study at the School of American Ballet at the age of eighteen. In addition to studying at the School of American Ballet, Joffrey studied under Alexandra Fedorous. He, also, studied modern dance under May O’Donnell and Gertrude Shurr. Robert Joffrey made his professional debut with Roland Petit’s Ballet de Paris during the 1949-1950 season in New York. After his tour with Petit, Joffrey was invited to perform with May O’Donnell’s troupe. He performed with her troupe from 1950-1953. During the 1953 season of “American Dance,” Robert Joffrey performed as a soloist at the Alvin Theatre in New York. Robert Joffrey became a very accomplished dancer, but also an exceptional teacher. From 1950 to 1955, Joffrey was a faculty member of the High School of Performing Arts in New York City. He, also, served on the board and the faculty of the American Ballet Theatre School. In 1952, Joffrey choreographed his first ballet Persephone. Persephone was staged for the Choreographer’s Workshop program and used his students from the High School of Performing Art. His next two ballets were Scaramouche and Umputeedle. They were staged for Jacob’s Pillow in 1953 for another Choreographer’s Workshop program and stared his students from the high school. In 1954, Joffrey realized that his dream of creating a dance company could finally happen. In this year, Robert Joffrey formed the Robert Joffrey Ballet Concert. The company first performed at the YM-YMCA where they premiered two new ballets: Pas de Deesses and La Bal Masque. In 1955 the Robert Joffrey Ballet Concert was asked back to the YM-YMCA. They premiered two new ballets: Harpsichord Concerto and Pierrot Lunaire. From 1954 to 1956, Joffrey choreographed for the summer series at the Seattle Aquatheatre. In 1956, Robert Joffrey Ballet Concert changed to Robert Joffrey Theatre Ballet when Gerald Arpino became co-founder and associate director. Starting in 1956, Joffrey staged dances for the NBC-TV Opera Theatre for two years. Realizing he needed more financial security, in 1956 Joffrey launched his first 23 state tour with six dancers, including Gerald Arpino and a borrowed station wagon. Robert Joffrey became a resident choreographer for the New York City Opera from 1957-1962. In 1955, Robert Joffrey became the first American Choreographer to be invited to stage his work for Ballet Lambert in England. He performed Pas de Deesses and Persephone. In 1962, Joffrey changed the name of the company to Robert Joffrey Ballet. By this time, the company had already completed six tours without external funds. The company had grown to 38 members and a small orchestra and had a repertoire of 21 ballets. Realizing that he could no longer be creative on his budget, Joffrey sought help from wealthy arts patrons. One specific patron, Rebekah Harkness Kean, sponsored Robert Joffrey to be able to continue his choreography and love of dance , as well as, financed a tour for Joffrey’s company. Shortly after the tour, the company split up due to tension between Joffrey and Kean. Kean wanted to change the name of the company to Harkness Ballet, but Joffrey wanted to keep then name as it was. Most of the dancers, still under contract with the Harkness Foundation, left to go to Harkness Ballet. Most of the equipment and costumes were also owned by the foundation; therefore, Joffrey’s company was all but over. The Joffrey Ballet rose again in 1966 with 20 of their best dancers. They opened at City Centre in New York and became their resident company. Joffrey’s company was performing annually in Los Angeles as well as New York at the time of his death. There are many theories about how he died. “A spokeswoman for the hospital initially said that Joffrey suffered from a liver ailment caused by medication he was taking for asthma and a muscle condition. Then another spokeswoman from the hospital said, ‘He died of liver, kidney and respiratory failure, period. Asthma medication had nothing to do with it’ (Folkart).” According to Sasha Anawalt’s book The Joffrey Ballet: Robert Joffrey and the Making of an American Dance Company, Robert Joffrey died due to AIDS related complications, though this theory has been proven false. Robert Joffrey has been very influential in the ballet industry by founding his dance school, the Joffrey Ballet School, in 1953. At the school, dancers are taught many different dance styles in order to make them into versatile dancers. The ballet school “transforms passionate dance students into versatile, individualistic artists able to collaborate and evolve fluidly in a fast-changing society (“Joffrey Ballet School”).” The Joffrey Ballet School was founded in 1953 by Robert Joffrey and Gerald Arpino. The reason the school was founded was to “deconstruct dance to allow dancers the ability to perfect their technique and form so it flows naturally and passionately from within.” The school’s goal is to find the small artist within everyone. During the duration of its existence, the Joffrey Ballet School has remained the most prominent school for American dance education. The school offers classes to all ages and levels. Joffrey Ballet School offers a multitude of summer dance programs available to students that go through an intense selection process. Students that graduate from the school go on to join many major ballet and modern dance companies. Robert Joffrey has also helped the ballet industry by making unknown choreographers well-known to the public. “He invited great living ballet choreographers to revive some of their least-known masterworks (“Robert Joffrey”).” During this process, Robert Joffrey’s company assembled one the largest and most diverse repertoires in the world. Joffrey introduced modern choreographers to the ballet industry. Because Robert Joffrey introduced unknown modern dance choreographers into the ballet industry, he opened the door to new styles of ballets. This brought around the time of the “crossover” choreographer. A crossover choreographer is a modern dance choreographer that was hired to choreograph a ballet for a ballet company. This style of choreography led to crossover ballets. “The Joffrey was the first major American ballet company to commission a ''crossover'' ballet, ''Deuce Coupe,'' a 1973 work by Twyla Tharp, then known as a modern-dance choreographer (Dunning).” Robert Joffrey has given many choreographers chances to be in the spotlight. He has shown them to the world and gave them a push in the right direction for all to see. Many choreographers have become famous because Robert Joffrey gave them a chance to choreograph for his ballet company, such as “Laura Dean, Mark Morris, Mark Haim and Moses Pendleton, a Pilobolus founder (Dunning).” The Joffrey Ballet has not only introduced modern choreographers to the ballet company, but has also revived many older works of famous modern dance choreographers, such as The Green Table by Kurt Jooss.
Robert Joffrey’s company’s goal was to show their ballet audiences that modern is another art form that they would enjoy. Joffrey has brought forward into the light many different styles that audiences can understand and appreciate. Reviving these older works have helped to broaden the perspective of the average ballet dancer and audience member. Robert Joffrey’s influence on modern dance has helped majorly in the spreading of modern dance throughout the country and to ballet …show more content…
enthusiasts. Robert Joffrey developed a dance technique that is taught in the Joffrey Ballet School. The dancers at his school are taught ballet, jazz, modern dance, contemporary, character, hip-hop, and many more dance styles. Joffrey Ballet School is the “only ballet school in New York City that offers a well-rounded dance curriculum that includes serious training in both classical ballet (technique, pointe, variations, adagio, men’s classes) and contemporary ballet (technique, improvisation, partnering), as well as modern, character, choreography, dance history, music, pilates, and yoga (“Joffrey Ballet School”).” The Joffrey dance technique has been designed into different levels to provide appropriate teachings to the proper age, maturity, and dance expertise of each student. At the end of each year that the student participates, he or she will move up a level to make sure he or she is progressing and not plateauing. Robert Joffrey’s technique has done much to influence the dance industry because many dancers have graduated from Joffrey Ballet School with jobs with major dance companies. Graduates of Joffrey’s school have also started companies of their own to teach Joffrey’s dance technique to their own students and spread his teachings throughout the country. Robert Joffrey has also been very influential through his company.
His company has produced his own works, but also works from other choreographers, old and new. “His company has performed works from Robert Joffrey himself, Gerald Arpino, Brain MacDonald, Alvin Ailey, Jerome Robbins, Agnes de Mille, George Balanchine, Leonide Massine, Kurt Jooss, Twyla Tharp, and many more (Doeser 31-32).” For The Joffrey Ballet to perform works from all of these choreographers, Joffrey showed that he could be influential without performing only his work. He was influential by touring across the country and internationally with works of all different styles. He was able to show people that dance is not only ballet, but modern, jazz, and much
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Every dance that is created by a choreographer has a meaning and or purpose behind it. The dance choreographed could be used to send a political, emotional, or a social message. Regardless of the message being sent, each dance created possesses a unique cultural and human significance. This essay will examine and analyze two dance works from history and give an insight into what each dance work provided to the society of its time.
Learning about Dance: Dance as an Art Form and Entertainment provides visions into the many features of dance and inspires scholars to keep an open mind and think critically about the stimulating, bold, ever-changing and active world of dance. Learning about Dance is particularly useful for those who do not have a wide and diverse dance contextual, such as students in a preliminary level or survey dance course. This book consists of twelve chapters. Chapter one dance as an art form focuses on the basic structures of dance. Dance is displayed through the human body, it has the control to communicate and induce reactions. Dance can be found in many different places, it enables the participants and seekers to touch and knowledge the joy of movement. Dance is discovered as being one of the oldest art forms worldwide. Dance existed in early cultures was recognized in a sequence of rock paintings portrayed dance. Since this discovery of rock paintings, several other forms of art have been found that depict dance. People used rituals in order to worship the gods and believed that the rituals held magical and spiritual powers. During the ancient period civilizations sentient decisions began to be made with regard to dance. Other periods that had an impact on dance were the medieval period, the renaissance period, and the contemporary period. Chapter two the choreographer, the choreographer is a person who comes up with the movements created into a dance routine. The choreographer expresses themselves through choreography because this is their way of communicating with the audience. In order to be a choreographer you must have a passion for dance. Each choreographer has their own approaches and ways of making up a routine. Choreographers ...
Dance is an ever evolving form of art; in much the same way that one can categorize and differentiate between eras and styles of architecture one can also do so with dance. These eras at times have sharp delineations separating them from their antecedents, other times the distinction is far more subtle. Traditional forms of dance were challenged by choreographers attempting to expand the breadth and increase the depth of performance; preeminent among such visionaries was Seattle born dancer and choreographer Mark Morris. Mark Morris' began as one of the millions of hopeful individuals attempting to simply make a career in dance; he not only succeeded but managed to have a lasting effect on the entire landscape of dance.
Men in particular responded to José’s dancing because they saw in it freedom, a male passion and strength, that ventured because the partnering role that was found in ballet and had a depth that was conspicuously absent from most Broadway show dancing. Limón’s choreography sought a complete range of expression for both the male and the female body - from strength and sheer physicality to tenderness and gentleness.
In the dance world a staggering number of choreographers have made a lasting impact on the way dance is seen to its audience. Alonzo King’s exceptional oeuvre of work includes him in this great history of significant choreographers. He not only created the link between modern and ballet in the twentieth century, but he bridged the ...
Ballet traces back to the 15-century Italian renaissance court; Ballet is known as the mother of all dance due to its influence on any style of dance no matter how small. In the 15th century ballet was a form of entertainment for the Italian Renaissance court. These performances took place in balls and banquets. (“Ballet”) Ballet one of its first performances included aristocratic amateurs with poetry and song alongside the production. (“Ballet”) During the 15th century, France also became influence with ballet. (“A Brief History of Ballet - Illustrated by Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre.”) The influenced of ballet in France was because of Catherine de Medici in 1533. (“Ballet”) She married the French King Henry II which allowed from French and
7.Jerome Robbins started his dancing career when he majored in chemistry in his college days. He went to American Ballet Theatre when he graduated from the university. He was always pursuing to introduce traditional ballet into Broadway. For years’ hard work, Robbins successfully produced a lot of dramas to the public and made huge success. He was featured by giving young actors pressures of producing dramas by themselves and mixed classical musicals with modern dancing.
The fine art of modern dance is like many other fields in that it is based on the actions and deeds of those who were pioneers in the field. These pioneers helped to mold modern dance into what it is today. Of the many people who are partially responsible for this accomplishment is Isadora Duncan. Duncan, often referred to as the “mother of modern dance,” inspired many other dancers to the extent that the art of dance would not be the same today without her many contributions.
Ballet is an athletic art form that utilizes muscle control, flexibility, and physical strength. It requires extreme discipline from the dancers and takes an extreme amount of mental concentration. This discipline causes dancers to have success throughout life and specifically in academic studies. There are many ways that dance can affect the success of a person’s life; however, there are two in specific that make dancers generally more successful. To begin, ballet causes dancers to be self-motivated workers; dancers cannot rely on others to push them to be better, but must have the drive within themselves.
Robert Edward Lee was born on January 19, 1807 in Stratford, Virginia to Colonel Henry “Light-Horse Harry” Lee and Ann Hill Carter. Lee’s ancestors included a president, chief justice of the United States, and signers of the Declaration of Independence. His father, Henry Lee, had served as governor of Virginia and was under command of General George Washington in the American Revolution.
Li’s passion for ballet shows on and off stage through his arabesques, flexibility, fouettés, grande jeté and pirouettes that were nothing less than perfection. I understood that becoming a dancer requires commitment, passion and having a great memory as there’s many moves, routines and ballet terms that you need to learn. When I was performing on stage, I felt free and that I could own the stage as it felt like it was my second home. I also felt complete within myself just as Li felt. To perform on stage, you need to be light and graceful along with connecting to the music using precise steps, poses and formal gestures. The film used dance, music, scenery, and costumes to portray a story characterised by Li’s dance. Classical ballet dancers require the utmost grace and I’ve found that you also need a tremendous level of concentration and memory. This portrays when his choreographer Ben Stevenson asked Li Cunxin to replace the main male role due to an injury on the day of the performance to memorise new dances and perform them in front of an enormous crowd. Many of my performances have been in a group where we all need to be in sync and work together. This film highlighted that in order to become a professional ballet dancer, you have to prepare to work extremely hard no matter how gruelling the schedule is in order to
Ballet in Louis XIV's court was characterized by extreme ornamentation and gaudiness. The ballet master, Jean Baptiste Lully, sought to show the dignified style of the Sun King. The themes of ballets at court range...
New Dance is described as a developing art form; this dance was articulated in the early 20th century. According to Chapter 8 in History of Dance book, “the new dance emerged as a response to the ballet that populated the variety shows and music halls, which had a rigid formula of steps and poses” (Kassing). The New Dance was a product of several strands that interlaced together dancers’ studies and backgrounds; these strands and others were woven together in a historical, political, and societal framework. For instance, one strand of New Dance consisted of the concepts, techniques, costumes, and stage settings from around the world. These strands influenced major dancers and choreographers, such as, Isadora Duncan, Loie Fuller, Ruth St. Denis, and Ted Shawn.
Ballet has been an art form since the late fifteenth century, but society did not truly see the impact of ballet until the nineteenth century. Modern day thinkers possess the idea that ballet began with tutus and pointe shoes, but it wasn’t until the nineteenth century that this opinion was observed. Ballet has come a long way. It has survived the turmoil of many wars and has changed itself by accepting new ideas and impressing the audience with its unique stylistic views.
After I began to learn to dance ballet, I found out that these elegant movements actually require a lot of strength, flexibility of the bodies and brain’s participation to make it looked elegant. The dancers’ movements in the performance were so fluent and elegant and it is not hard to imagine how hard they had practiced, stretched and use the strengths to do all the ballet poses with their bodies look longer and longer. Their expressions also impressed me a lot. By looking at their expressions, the audience can easily understand the scenes and blend into the story. The performers actually not only are required to have good dancing skills but also are required to have some talents to be actors. Moreover, they also have to be good at expressing their feelings on the