The Sleeping Beauty - Alexandra Ballet

22 Pages·2003·0.71 MB·English

alexandra ballet
Young People(cid:146)s Performances

Friday - March 5, 2004
Blance M. Touhill Performing Arts Center
University of Missouri (cid:150) St. Louis

9:30 a.m. (9:00 a.m. arrival(cid:150)11:00 a.m. departure)
and
12:45 p.m. (12:15 p.m. arrival(cid:150)2:10 p.m. departure)
The Sleeping Beauty

Alexandra Ballet(cid:146)s presentation of The Sleeping Beauty will provide an opportunity
to introduce ballet to your students through lessons that focus on the history,
technique, and performance of dance, and also integrate ballet with areas of education
such as literature, creative writing, character development, French, music, theater,
history, and art. The Alexandra Ballet Educational Booklet has been designed as a
resource for teachers to provide specifics about the performance, as well as a broad
spectrum of learning materials that might be used to enrich your class(cid:146) experience of
The Sleeping Beauty.

Alexandra Ballet is funded in part by
Arts and Education Council of Greater St. Louis
Regional Arts Commission, Saint Louis
Missouri Arts Council

Contents of this handbook may be copied for educational purposes for those students
who are confirmed to attend
Alexandra Ballet(cid:146)s Young Peoples(cid:146) Performance of
The Sleeping Beauty on March 5, 2004.

Contents of this booklet may not be reproduced in whole or in part for any other
purpose without permission from Alexandra Ballet.
Prepared by Alexandra Ballet for the Young Peoples(cid:146) Performance of The Sleeping Beauty at
Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center, University of Missouri (cid:150) St. Louis, Friday, March 5, 2004.
Page - 2
Alexandra Ballet, 68 E.Four Seasons Center, Chesterfield, MO 63017, 314-469-6222, www.alexandraballet.com
ORIGIN OF THE STORY

Many fairy tales or folktales • Are there differences between the
began as oral narratives passed from one written version and the performed version of
generation to the next until a written The Sleeping Beauty, and what are they?
version was recorded. Often the tales One difference is the addition of the
reflect cultural values or life(cid:146)s universal divertissement, a short dance performed by a
themes. The Sleeping Beauty ballet small number of people, at a point in the
based on Charles Perrault(cid:146)s (1628-1703) ballet when there is a break in the plot, such
fairy tale (cid:147)La Belle au Bois Dormant(cid:148) as Red Riding Hood and the Wolf in Act II
(The Sleeping Beauty) portrays the Scene II (cid:150) The Wedding.
struggle between good and evil. Charles
Perrault was born in Paris, France to a • As your students read the book or watch
wealthy family. He studied law and had the ballet, ask them to identify values or
a career in government service before he themes that are emphasized in the story.
became a writer. When he was 69 years Does the tale present only one or two sides
of age his book for children (cid:147)Tales and of the theme? Does a character portray one
Stories of the Past with Morals: Tales of side of the theme?
Mother Goose(cid:148) was published.
Perrault(cid:146)s tale, published in Paris • If opposing sides are presented, do they
in 1697, is a version of a similar tale struggle and how does the struggle end?
written by an Italian, Giambattista
Basile in 1637. Both Perrault(cid:146)s and • Ask your students if they have had a
Basile(cid:146)s tales are variations of struggle with a friend or within themselves
(cid:147)Perceforest,(cid:148) a story of romance from over a value? How did it end, or has it?
1528. More information about the
history of the fairy tale (cid:147)The Sleeping • Lesson plans for (cid:147)Using Fairy Tales to
Beauty(cid:148) is available through Debate Ethics(cid:148) are on http://www.education-
http://www.balletmet.org/balletnotes.html. world.com/a_curr/curr295.shtml/ and (cid:147)Folktale
Writing(cid:148) can be found at
Activities http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/;
select (cid:147)Once Upon a Time(cid:148) from the list of
• Ask students if they know or will lessons.
research the names of other stories
written by Charles Perrault. • A 5 Step method for (cid:147)Writing Folktales
with Alma Flor Ada(cid:148) is on
• Authors Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/folk/index.htm
published another version of the same
tale entitled, (cid:147)Briar Rose(cid:148) which was • Younger students can practice
published in 1812. Can your students storytelling or ask a family member to
find other authors of the fairy tale from record a family tale.
the public library catalogue?

Prepared by Alexandra Ballet for the Young Peoples(cid:146) Performance of The Sleeping Beauty at
Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center, University of Missouri (cid:150) St. Louis, Friday, March 5, 2004.
Page - 3
Alexandra Ballet, 68 E.Four Seasons Center, Chesterfield, MO 63017, 314-469-6222, www.alexandraballet.com
ORIGIN OF THE STORY (Activities continued)

• Plan a trip to the library to explore
• Select folktales from different cultures
the 398.2 section of nonfiction (cid:150) a
and times in history to integrate literature and
chance to practice using the Dewey
social studies.
Decimal System.

• The website
• Older students can identify a folktale
http://web.infoave.net/~tnorris/lesson.htm gives a
theme and write a tale. lesson plan for 6th-8th grade differentiating

myth, folktale, and legend, and provides the
• Ask students to collect family stories
full text of an (cid:147)Australian Aboriginal Legend,
to add to a genealogy project or to
The Legs of the Kangaroo.(cid:148)
enhance with photos.

• A timeline for (cid:147)The Sleeping Beauty(cid:148)
• The web site www.storyarts.org
fairytale and the ballet beginning with 1575
provides lesson plans, (cid:147)Using Folktale
through 1984 is presented on this web site
Themes in the Classroom and Finding
http://www.artslynx.org/dance/beauty.htm.
Folktales to Tell(cid:148) by selecting

(cid:147)Storytelling in the Classroom and
• A (cid:147)Fairy Tale and Folk Tale
Retelling Folktales(cid:148) or (cid:147)Lesson Plans
CyberDictionary can be found at
and Using Folktales as Themes.(cid:148) http://www.op97.k12.il.us/instruct/ftcyber/index.html
including interactive jigsaw puzzles related to
tales.

Prepared by Alexandra Ballet for the Young Peoples(cid:146) Performance of The Sleeping Beauty at
Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center, University of Missouri (cid:150) St. Louis, Friday, March 5, 2004.
Page - 4
Alexandra Ballet, 68 E.Four Seasons Center, Chesterfield, MO 63017, 314-469-6222, www.alexandraballet.com
CREATION OF THE BALLET

In 1988 Ivan Vsevolozhsky, Pavlova was introduced to the art of ballet
Director of the Imperial Theaters in Russia by seeing The Sleeping Beauty, inspiring
asked Peter Ilyitch Tschaikovsky to her at age eight to become a dancer.
compose a ballet based on (cid:147)The Sleeping George Balanchine(cid:146)s first
Beauty,(cid:148) and Marius Petipa to performance was in The Sleeping Beauty.
choreograph the ballet. The creation of Rudolf Nureyev debuted in the West
the music and dance at the same time dancing in this ballet, and Enrico Ceccetti
allowed the composer and choreographer danced the characters of Carabosse and the
to work together. Petipa planned his Bluebird. Since that time, company after
ballet, noting rhythm, orchestration, length company has presented the ballet, which is
of number, and their breakdown into said to be one of the most popular to
measures for Tchaikovsky. audiences of all ages and countries.
In what was a relatively short
period of time, The Sleeping Beauty was Activities
completed and performed by January 1890
in the Maryinsky Theatre in St. • Do your students know other ballets
Petersburg. The ballet was set in the time that tell a fairy tale or folk tale such as
of Luis XIV(cid:146)s reign in France, the late 17th Swan Lake, Nutcracker, or Giselle?
century, and was given courtly costumes
of that time, including the white wigs and • Do your students know who Margot
buckled, high-heeled shoes. This was the Fonteyn, Anna Pavlova, and George
time period when Perrault(cid:146)s tale was Balanchine were?
published. Following the first presentation
of the ballet, several adaptations by other • Ask students to research the life and
choreographers with other companies were accomplishments of a ballet professional.
presented.
The full-length production of The • How long do they practice and
Sleeping Beauty, in a form close to rehearse daily or weekly?
Petipa(cid:146)s original version, was successfully
presented for the ballet(cid:146)s premiere in the • Are dancers(cid:146) hours or schedules
United States in 1949. Perhaps there is no different from other performing artists, or
other ballet that has been so closely linked from athletes? If so, how?
to creating a love for ballet in the United
States and for playing a role in the careers • In addition to using ballet to convey
of so many well-known figures in the the story of The Sleeping Beauty, what
ballet world. other performing techniques do dancers
The great ballerina, Margot use? Give an example of the use of mime
Fonteyn, danced the title role in The or pantomime.
Sleeping Beauty in New York. Anna http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleeping_Beauty.

Prepared by Alexandra Ballet for the Young Peoples(cid:146) Performance of The Sleeping Beauty at
Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center, University of Missouri (cid:150) St. Louis, Friday, March 5, 2004.
Page - 5
Alexandra Ballet, 68 E.Four Seasons Center, Chesterfield, MO 63017, 314-469-6222, www.alexandraballet.com
CHOREOGRAPHER

Marius Petipa began as a Activities
principal dancer at the Maryinsky
Theater in St. Petersburg, Russia in • Ask the class to define the term
1847. He then progressed to ballet choreographer and ask them to choreograph
master and, in 1869, to artistic director movement to music. Any music can be used
of the company. He is known for his for this activity. Young children like playful
luxurious productions with theatrical songs or music that makes them think of an
appeal, often linked to current events or animal. Let the class spread out and move
fashions. His full-length ballets include to the music. You can point out how each
character dances, the use of mime, and student is using his/her imagination to create
dramatic, classical dances between the a dance. Some may want to volunteer to
principal characters.1 The Sleeping show their dance to classmates or teach it to
Beauty was one of 50 ballets classmates, just as a choreographer does.
choreographed by Petipa. He raised the This lesson can be used as part of a physical
standards of dance technique and education unit on dance.
choreography to the level for which the
Russian ballet has been admired ever • For older students the (cid:147)Home(cid:148) section of
since.2 the first footnoted web site provides an
interdisciplinary lesson on St. Petersburg
1Russian Ballet: 1855-1881,
from 1855 to 1928 linking the arts, science,
http://webserver.rcds.
and politics. (http://webserver.rcds.
rye.ny.us/id/Dance/danceHLF.html
rye.ny.us/id/default.html)
2Marius Petipa, Choreographer,
http://www.balletmet.org/Notes/Petipa.html • This is a list of four lesson plans
pertaining to choreography.
1. Coral Reef Choreography Project
http://www.pecentral.org/lessonideas/ViewLesson.as
p?ID=3247

2. Recipe Dance / Making Duets
http://www.pecentral.org/lessonideas/ViewLesson.as
p?ID=3131

3. Moving to a Path Map
http://artswork.asu.edu/arts/teachers/lesson/dance/dan
ce4.htm

4. Making a Dance Involving Balance
http://artswork.asu.edu/arts/teachers/lesson/dance/dan
ce5.htm

Prepared by Alexandra Ballet for the Young Peoples(cid:146) Performance of The Sleeping Beauty at
Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center, University of Missouri (cid:150) St. Louis, Friday, March 5, 2004.
Page - 6
Alexandra Ballet, 68 E.Four Seasons Center, Chesterfield, MO 63017, 314-469-6222, www.alexandraballet.com
BALLET

Ballet is a standard art form of
Activities
movement to music, which evolved in

Western Europe during the Renaissance • Ask your students to learn about the
(1300-1600). Ballet technique consists origins, history, technique, vocabulary,
of stylized movements and positions that music, paintings, discipline, and staging of
are taught by a well-defined, though ballet.
flexible, system called academic ballet.
The ballets were presented in the Italian • Have your students seen other forms of
royal courts as early as 1489. Then, the ballet such as contemporary? What ballet
Italian Medici and d’OrlØans French piece would be an example of
families married and took the ballet to contemporary work? Ask them to compare
the French courts. Some historians say and contrast classical and contemporary
that the first traditional ballet was ballet. (Alexandra Ballet(cid:146)s presentation of
presented there in the late 1500(cid:146)s. Alice in Wonderland in 2003 was a
During the late 1600(cid:146)s, the contemporary ballet, which included modern
promotion of the art of ballet by Louis and tap.)
XIV in France solidified the art and
created the opportunity for the spread • Visit (cid:147)Core KnowledgefiLesson Plans(cid:148)
of ballet(cid:146)s influence. Because the and select your grade level followed by
ballet steps were first named and (cid:147)Music,(cid:148) (cid:147)The Three (cid:145)Ts(cid:146) (cid:150) Toe shoes,
codified at the dance academy in Tutus and Tchaikovsky(cid:148) at
France, French is the international http://www.coreknowledge.org/CKproto2/resrcs/less
language of ballet. The Russian ons/1.htm.
influence began in 1738 when their
academy of ballet was established, the • Combine research on ballet with
second oldest in the world. learning the (cid:147)ThinkQuest Internet Challenge
of Entries(cid:148) at http://www.thinkquest.org/library/
Today, ballet companies
Search the site by keyword ballet. Then,
include classical ballets such as The
select (cid:147)Studio to Stage(cid:148) and click on the
Nutcracker and The Sleeping Beauty
(cid:147)last(cid:148) or (cid:147)next(cid:148) arrows at the bottom of the
in their repertoire. At the same time
window to move around within the site.
ballet is adapting and expanding its art

to express the themes of today. Also,
• Other web sites with information on
other forms of dance, such as modern
ballet are www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballet Most
or jazz, and contemporary music are
encyclopedias have a section on ballet, and
influencing the world of ballet.
the public library has (cid:147)The World of Ballet
and Dance, The Young Ballet Dancer, A
Young Person(cid:146)s Guide to the Ballet.(cid:148)

Prepared by Alexandra Ballet for the Young Peoples(cid:146) Performance of The Sleeping Beauty at
Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center, University of Missouri (cid:150) St. Louis, Friday, March 5, 2004.
Page - 7
Alexandra Ballet, 68 E.Four Seasons Center, Chesterfield, MO 63017, 314-469-6222, www.alexandraballet.com
COMPOSER

Piotr (Peter) Ilyich Tchaikovsky Activities
(1840-1893) was considered one of the • Tchaikovsky(cid:146)s music is used to teach
foremost composers of the 19th century. contrasts and synonyms with a lesson plan
After beginning the study of law, he for Grade level 4 on
began music classes at the St. Petersburg www.csrnet.org/csrnet/substitute/sleepingb.html
Conservatory. Finding his true gift he
• A photograph and bibliography of the
started teaching at the Moscow
composer are available in most
Conservatory and began his career as a
encyclopedias, and the public library has
composer. He wrote six symphonies,
juvenile literature about the composer.
nine operas, the best known are Eugene

• The public library has CD(cid:146)s of
Onegin and The Queen of Spades, four
Tchaikovsky(cid:146)s music that could be heard by
concertos, numerous suites, string
the class before or after The Sleeping
quartets, symphonic poems, songs, and
Beauty.
other works.

However, Tchaikovsky might be • In November The Nutcracker ballet with
most remembered for his three ballets, music by Tchaikovsky will be performed at
Swan Lake (1876), The Sleeping the Touhill Performing Arts Center and
Beauty (1889), and The Nutcracker other venues, which would be an
(ballet and suite, 1891-1892). (cid:147)His most opportunity to compare the music and
popular works are characterized by dance.
richly melodic passages in which
sections suggestive of profound
Piotr (Peter) Ilyich Tchaikovsky
melancholy frequently alternate with
dance-like movements derived from folk (1840-1893)
music. Tchaikovsky was an
exceptionally gifted orchestrator; his
ballet scores in particular contain many
striking effects of orchestral
coloration.(cid:148)1

1Microsoftfi Encartafi 98 Encyclopedia
' 1993-1997

Microsoftfi Encartafi 98 Encyclopedia '
1993-1997

Prepared by Alexandra Ballet for the Young Peoples(cid:146) Performance of The Sleeping Beauty at
Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center, University of Missouri (cid:150) St. Louis, Friday, March 5, 2004.
Page - 8
Alexandra Ballet, 68 E.Four Seasons Center, Chesterfield, MO 63017, 314-469-6222, www.alexandraballet.com
ELIZABETHAN PERIOD

The Sleeping Beauty has been
Activities
set in various time periods. Alexandra
• Ask your students to research the
Ballet will present the ballet set in the
Elizabethan time in history.
Elizabethan period, a time of prosperity,

• What were some of the important events,
confidence, optimism and vigor. The
and who were some of the significant people
Elizabethan period of history was from
of this time in European history?
the beginning of the reign of Elizabeth I

in England from 1558 until her death in • What was the (cid:147)Elizabethan World
1602. This was the time when the Picture(cid:148) at that time?
original folktales that led to Sleeping
• How might this overall view have
Beauty were being recorded. The
effected the arts and literature?
Elizabethan costumes have the elegance
http://www.springfield.k12.il.us/schools/springfield/e
of the royal court but eliminate the liz/introelizperiod.html
cumbersome white wigs and ornate
• Could the Elizabethan view of the world
costuming from the Louis XIV French
be associated with the events or outcome of
period.
The Sleeping Beauty?

SAMPLE RENAISSANCE ELIZABETHAN COURT DRESS

http://www.celticdawndesigns.com/portfolio.htm
Prepared by Alexandra Ballet for the Young Peoples(cid:146) Performance of The Sleeping Beauty at
Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center, University of Missouri (cid:150) St. Louis, Friday, March 5, 2004.
Page - 9
Alexandra Ballet, 68 E.Four Seasons Center, Chesterfield, MO 63017, 314-469-6222, www.alexandraballet.com
Taken from: A Coloring Book of the Sleeping Beauty, Bellerophon Books, Santa Barbara, CA, 1996
Prepared by Alexandra Ballet for the Young Peoples(cid:146) Performance of The Sleeping Beauty at
Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center, University of Missouri (cid:150) St. Louis, Friday, March 5, 2004.
Page - 10
Alexandra Ballet, 68 E.Four Seasons Center, Chesterfield, MO 63017, 314-469-6222, www.alexandraballet.com