BALLET PRODUCTION

Theatre History From the 16th Century - Today

16TH CENTURY

COSTUMINGLuxuriously designed costumes make of cotton and silk

Basic costumes• Male: Tight-fitting,

short draped skirt and feathered helmets.

• Female: Abundantly decorated embroidered silk tunics in several layers with fringe

• Dress was heavily influenced by Rome

SHOES

Tightly laced, high-heeled and wedged boots for male and female dancers.

STAGING & LIGHTING

 From the beginning of the sixteenth century, public theaters were being built in Venice (1637), Rome (1652), Paris (1660), Hamburg

Similar to theatre the staging and lighting was simple as to the underdeveloped technology

17TH CENTURY

COSTUMING

Imaginative and fantastical

Decorative with symbols, so the audience can recognize each character

Costumes were often large; restricting movement

Wore large head dresses, and masks to distinguish between the sexes

Only males were allowed to perform

SHOES

Shoes were heeled

Very ornate and decorated

STAGING AND LIGHTS

Started off only in courts and then moved into proscenium arch stages

Chandeliers

Candles with reflectors

Oil Lamps

The stage was lit from the sides with candles and up to 6 grand chandeliers

18TH CENTURY

COSTUMESAround 1720 a hooped petticoat appeared, raising skirts a few inches off the ground.

Everything became more elaborate

Massive wigs and headdresses still restricted movement for dancers.

SHOESIn mid-18th century dancer Marie Camargo was the first to wear non-heeled shoes.

After the French revolution heeled were completely eliminated from the standard ballet shoe.

1795, Charles Didelot, “flying machine”

STAGING & LIGHTING

19TH CENTURY

COSTUMES

Romantic tutu

Close-fitting bodices, floral crowns, corsages, and pearls on fabrics, as well as necklace and bracelets

The silhouette of ballet costumes became more tight fitting

The Italians contributed to another change--the shorter dancing skirt that evolved into the tutu.

SHOES

Permanently toe-shoed feet

Soft satin slippers that fit like kid gloves. They had a leather sole and some darning on the sides and under, but not on the tip. Would’ve been like standing barefoot.

Russians started the evolution of the harder and stiffer pointe shoe.

STAGING

Going to the theatre was transformed from a social event to an experience in observation

Started the evolution of audience comfort and safety

Also improved the audiences sight lines

Started the use of iron to support theatre columns

LIGHTS

Introduction of gas lighting.

Installation included footlights and wing lights, but lacked lighting from above.

Gaslight in the theatre was revolutionary and this new technology influenced both the style and the aesthetics of theatrical lighting.

Gaslight was very bright, it could also be controlled from a distance

For the first time light could be projected onto the stage from new angles,

Colored light was achieved by what was called a 'medium

20TH CENTURY

COSTUMES

Ballet skirts changed to become knee length tutus. Designed to show off the point work and multiple turns

The dancer Isadora Duncan freed ballerinas from corsets and introduced a revolutionary natural silhouette

Ballet dancers became less focused on the costume and more about what would allow movement

SHOESThe birth of the modern point shoe.

Often attributed to early 20th century Anna Pavlova

STAGING & LIGHTING

MODERN DAY BALLET

COSTUMING

Development of the flat pancake tutus• Multilayered skirt that gives the impression of

lightness and flight.

Smaller and more compact tutus and bodices

More technology to create costumes faster and more efficiently

SHOES

Pointe shoes have evolved by becoming harder and boxier

 Two types of shoes• Pointe shoe• Soft canvas shoes

Have not changed much since the heels during the french revolution were eliminated, making them a very crucial historical element in ballet

STAGING

Still dance in proscenium arch theatres

Some advances to the way the theatres are set up due to technological advances

Still the same basic model of the scène proscenium from ancient Rome

LIGHTS

Technological advances have allowed for • More coloured washes• Disc slides with patterns in some lights• Intel lights that move on control• Dimmer switches• Spot lights from above, man powered

MODERN POINTE SHOE

CONSTRUCTION

BOX

The box is a hard enclosure within the front end of the shoe that encases and supports the dancer’s toes.

SOLE

In most pointe shoes, the sole is constructed from a single piece of leather that is attached to the shoe with adhesive and reinforced by stitching along its edges.

SHANK

Dancers will sometimes wear different pointe shoe models for different performance pieces

Shanks are typically made from leather leather, plastic, cardstock, or layers of glue-hardened burlap. The flexability of a shank is determined by its thickness and the type of material used.

RIBBONS & ELASTIC

WORKS CITED

http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/o/origins-of-ballet/  

http://www.e-dancewear.com/Dance_Wear_Ballet_History.html

http://cassstudio6.wordpress.com/lighting/17th-century-theatre-lighting/

 http://www.pbt.org/community-engagement/brief-history-ballet

 http://www.the-perfect-pointe.com/PointeHistory.html

 http://www.compulite.com/stagelight/html/history-4/history-4-text.html

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1542181/theatre-design/284390/The-19th-century