Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake
Throughout recent history, it has been very apparent that times have changed dramatically. All aspects of culture have changed tremendously since the 1900’s, or even the 1800’s. One part of culture that has always been changing is the views people have towards different groups of people. As societies views have changed about minorities in the early 20th century, those views have continued to change about the roles these minorities take on in the world of music. To fully understand this situation, and why people have the views that they do, let us take a look at two very significant pieces in history.
Swan Lake composed by Tchaikovsky is one of the greatest works for ballet companies worldwide. When it was originally performed for the first …show more content…
Not very much classical music was being composed in the United States. The standard of a successful ballerina, was reinforced by Russian and other European cultures. They were tall, had their hair back in a tight bun, and were most definitely not darker skinned. The spread of more diversified dancers can be linked to the passage of different cultures into the United States. This is when more and more jazz was being composed and more and more people of color were finding it easier to make a living. As Theodore Bale states in “Dancing Out of the Whole Earth: Modalities of Globalization in “The Rite of Spring”, “if one wishes to discern how globalization may or may not manifest itself in contemporary and international ballet, it seems practical to begin by looking at a specific dance that has already endured three distinct phases of globalization – and whose use as a forum for choreographic thought shows no signs of abating in the near …show more content…
Above you can see a typical setting in Russia with ballet dancers native to the composition. While this could be considered the most original version, other countries adopted their own unique performances. The picture to the right depicts a performance in London, England in 2002. As one can see, the dancer is not only of a different nationality, but the attire is also different. This can be demonstrated as well with the different ballet companies that are comprised of dancers from minority
Swan Lake composed by Tchaikovsky is one of the greatest works for ballet companies worldwide. When it was originally performed for the first …show more content…
Not very much classical music was being composed in the United States. The standard of a successful ballerina, was reinforced by Russian and other European cultures. They were tall, had their hair back in a tight bun, and were most definitely not darker skinned. The spread of more diversified dancers can be linked to the passage of different cultures into the United States. This is when more and more jazz was being composed and more and more people of color were finding it easier to make a living. As Theodore Bale states in “Dancing Out of the Whole Earth: Modalities of Globalization in “The Rite of Spring”, “if one wishes to discern how globalization may or may not manifest itself in contemporary and international ballet, it seems practical to begin by looking at a specific dance that has already endured three distinct phases of globalization – and whose use as a forum for choreographic thought shows no signs of abating in the near …show more content…
Above you can see a typical setting in Russia with ballet dancers native to the composition. While this could be considered the most original version, other countries adopted their own unique performances. The picture to the right depicts a performance in London, England in 2002. As one can see, the dancer is not only of a different nationality, but the attire is also different. This can be demonstrated as well with the different ballet companies that are comprised of dancers from minority