Classical Dance

This page is basically about ballet. For other forms of dance, see Popular Dance.

Ballets (etc.)

Ballet from which The Dying Swan comes

None – it's a solo

Ballet for Martha: subtitle of (ballet by Aaron Copland)		Appalachian Spring
Ballet with music by Délibes, about a dancing doll that comes to life; sometimes subtitled The Girl with the Enamel Eyes		Coppélia
Ballet by Khachaturian: includes the Sabre Dance		Gayaneh
Ballet by Adolphe Adam, inspired by a poem by Heinrich Heine: leading man Albrecht is forced to dance to death, but the eponymous heroine returns from the grave to save him (she goes mad and dies when she discovers that he was not a peasant like her, but a duke engaged to another …)		Giselle
The toymaker Drosselmeyer is a central character in		The Nutcracker
Includes the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, the Dance of the Reed Flutes, and the Waltz of the Flowers, as well as Russian, Arabian and Chinese dances
Ballet by Stravinsky: title character is the Russian version or equivalent of Mr. Punch		Petrushka
Ballet by Stravinsky: in Part II, a young girl dances herself to death after being chosen as a sacrificial victim; caused a sensation when first performed, in Paris in 1913; the music is often performed as a concert piece		The Rite of Spring
Ballet by Tchaikovsky in which Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella appear; opens with King Florestan declaring a grand christening ceremony for his daughter Princess Aurora		Sleeping Beauty
Ballet by Khatchaturian – Onedin Line theme came from		Spartacus
Tells the story of Odette, a princess who falls victim to the curse of an evil sorcerer		Swan Lake
Has no plot, but is often described as the first ballet to be "simply about mood and dance"; based on piano music by Chopin, orchestrated by Glazunov, with original choreography by Michel Fokine; a short version was premiered in 1893, but the most famous version was premiered in Paris in 1909 by Diaghilev's Ballets Russes		Les Sylphides
Ballet by Delibes (with a famous pizzicato piece) over which Diaghilev resigned from the Maryinski Theatre		Sylvia

Train about which Nijinska choreographed a ballet in 1924

Le Train Bleu

People

Composers

The Wooden Prince, The Miraculous Mandarin (pantomime ballet)		Béla Bartók bartok
Checkmates (1937), Adam Zero (1946)		Sir Arthur Bliss
Les Sylphides (see above) is set to orchestral arrangements of the piano music of		Frederic Chopin
Billy the Kid (1938), Rodeo (1942), Appalachian Spring (1944 – originally an orchestral score)		Aaron Copland
Jeux (1912)		Claude Debussy
Love the Musician (1915), The Three–Cornered Hat (1919)		Manuel de Falla
Coppelia (1870), Sylvia (1876)		Léo Delibes
Panambi (1937)		Alberto Ginastera
The Red Poppy (Moscow 1927)		Reygnold Gliere
Terpsichore (1734)		Handel
Gayaneh (1942), Spartacus (1954)		Aram Khachaturian
Ocean's Kingdom (2011 – commissioned by the New York City Ballet)		Paul McCartney
Les Biches (1923)		Francois Poulenc
Romeo and Juliet (1935) – the famous piece that later became known as Montagues and Capulets, the main part of which is known as the Dance of the Knights, opens Suite No. 2		Sergei Prokofiev
Daphnis et Chloe (1912)		Maurice Ravel
The Firebird (1910), Petrushka (1911), The Rite of Spring (1913)		Igor Stravinsky
Swan Lake (1876), Sleeping Beauty (1889), The Nutcracker (1892)		Tchaikovsky

Dancers and choreographers

Born in Havana, Cuba, in 1973: the first Principal Dancer at the Royal Ballet to have African heritage (joined in 1998, left in 2015)		Carlos Acosta
'Founder choreographer' of the Royal Ballet (1956)		Frederick Ashton
Engaged in 1925 by Lilian Baylis, owner of the Old Vic and Sadler's Wells theatres, to stage dance performances; founder of the Vic–Wells Ballet (1931), which was renamed Sadler's Wells Ballet in 1939 and later (1956) became the Royal Ballet; first recipient (1953) of the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Award (for outstanding services to the art of ballet)		Dame Ninette de Valois
Russian impresario, founder of the Ballets Russes (1909); commissioned The Firebird, Petrushka, and The Rite of Spring from Stravinsky		Sergei Diaghilev
Dancer and choreographer, 1904–83, real name (Sydney Francis) Patrick (Chippendall Healey–)Kay: co–founder (with Alicia Markova) of the London Festival Ballet, 1950, which was renamed the English National Ballet in 1989		Sir Anton Dolin
Russian dancer, choreographed Les Sylphides, The Firebird and Petrushka (among others) for Diaghilev		Mikhail Fokine
Director of the Royal Ballet, 1970–77; died backstage at a performance of his Mayerling, at Covent Garden in 1992		Kenneth MacMillan
Born London 1910, died in 2004: the first English dancer to be termed Prima Ballerina Assoluta; co–founder (with Anton Dolin) of the London Festival Ballet, 1950, which was renamed the English National Ballet in 1989		Dame Alicia Markova
Soviet dancer, widely regarded as the greatest male ballet dancer of his generation: defected to the West in Paris, in 1961, while on tour with the Mariinsky ballet; Principal Dancer at the Royal Ballet, 1962–70; formed a successful and long–lasting partnership with Margot Fonteyn; played the title role in Ken Russell's 1977 film Valentino; died in Paris in 1993, aged 54, of an AIDS–related condition		Rudolf Nureyev
Russian dancer, 1881–1931: recognised as the creator of The Dying Swan (choreographed by Mikhail Fokine in 1905, to music from Saint–Saens's Carnival of the Animals); a dessert was created in her honour in Wellington, during a tour of New Zealand and Australia in the 1920s		Anna Pavlova
Born Warsaw, 1888; collaborated with Diaghilev, 1912–3; founded Britain's first ballet company in 1926 – still "one of the world's most renowned dance companies" (Wikipedia) in 2022; died in 1982		Dame Marie Rambert

Other

Standing on one leg, with the other extended straight out behind the body		Arabesque
Standing on one leg, with the other extended in front, to the rear or to the side, but with the knee bent at 90°		Attitude
Standing on one leg and moving the other (often rapidly) to the front, rear or side		Battement
Supporting the weight on the balls of the feet		Demi-pointe
Supporting the weight on the tips of the toes (usually while wearing specially reinforced shoes)		En pointe
Jumping into the air, rapidly crossing the legs before and behind each other		Entrechat
Jumping from one foot to the other, throwing one leg in the direction of the movement		Jeté
Duet, usually performed by one male dancer and one female		Pas de deux
A smooth and continuous bending of the knees outward, with the upper body held upright		Plié
Hip–height rail used in ballet practice		Barre
Non–featured dancers in a ballet		Corps de ballet
Company founded in 1968 by Arthur Mitchell		Dance Theatre of Harlem
Originated as a French folk dance; became popular at the court of Louis XIV		Gavotte
Maryinski School: better known as		Kirov Ballet
Heroine of Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty		Princess Aurora
Petrushka (Stravinsky): title character is a		Puppet (marionette)
Former name of the Royal Ballet		Sadlers Wells Ballet
Dancers in Stravinsky's Circus Polka, in Balanchine's circus ballet		Young elephants

© Haydn Thompson 2017–25