On the Reflection of the Baroque Style in the Russian Art of Ballet

Abstract

The article is devoted to the theme
of the Baroque style on the Russian ballet scene
of the end of the 19th century, and the focus
of attention of this research steps over
the bounds of the indicated time period,
dwelling upon the reflection of Baroque subject
matter on the 20th and early 21st century art
of ballet. The author does not analyze
the plotline basis of ballet performances
and does not attempt to search for stylistic
attributes of the Baroque period which would
confirm the ballet’s pertaining to the Baroque
era. The author determines as her main
goal the aspiration to comprehend
the fundamental — philosophical, value-based
and spiritually significant — dominant ideas
of human existence which are relevant beyond
time and, hence, significant today, as well:
the themes of personality, time, good and evil,
stereotypes and algorithms (the theme
of liberty), the theme of allusions. The author
finds it important to comprehend how,
conformably with the baroque worldview,
they disclosed themselves in the late 19th
century art of ballet (during the era
of Marius Petitpas’ late productions, which was
the flourishing of the Baroque style
in ballet), exerting an impact on its plotline
and architectonic structure. While preserving
the retrospective-explorative vector
of her research, the author poses the question,
why do these specific concepts of the epoch’s worldview, as well as the constructive
peculiarities of the baroque manner of ballet
production has manifested itself in the art
of 20th and 21st century ballet-masters George
Balanchine and Alexei Miroshnichenko.