You may kiss the Bride: Romantic Ballet goes Hollywood in Tim Burton's The Corpse Bride

You may kiss the Bride: Romantic Ballet goes Hollywood in Tim Burtons’ The Corpse Bride.

“Narrative Conference” international symposium organised by International Society of Narrative Literature, Birmingham, June 4th – 7th 2009.

© Astrid Bernkopf, 2010

Autumn 2005, Tim Burton’s stop motion film The Corpse Bride was released in cinemas worldwide. The fairy tale-esque narrative about Victor, Victoria and Emily’s struggles for true love gathered a group of adult viewers, who appreciate Burton’s dark multilayered works. The film’s narrative draws upon manifold references ranging from dramaturgical rules of nineteenth-century ballet performances and their subject matter to films such as the James Bond series, Alfred Hitchock’s Vertigo (1958) and The Birds (1963) and mythology in form of Odin’s ravens Huggin and Munin. Burton seems to have synthesised the essence of two of the best-known monoliths of ballet tradition, La Sylphide (1832) and Giselle (1841), and ballet conventions into a narrative that presents the perspectives of three main characters in a reversed world of strict mortal morals and supernatural entertainment. The sets of intertextual links or rather ‘ancestral voices’, to borrow Janet Adshead-Lansdale’s term (2007: 32), outlined in this article show that Romantic ballet’s themes and conventions have permeated Burton’s film, whilst, at the same time, having been updated to early twenty first-century film conventions and viewing habits. The film displays three kinds of references to Romantic ballet tradition: firstly, visual aspects, secondly, character and, finally, the conflict of the narrative. 

On the visual level, Burton’s work draws on the distinct dichotomy Romantic ballet sets up with its division into the worldly act and the supernatural. Yet, the film reverts the colour-coding present in nineteenth-century ballet. The white costumes and blue colouring codified for the white otherworldly act of ballet tradition translate into grey and tin colours that draw life from the mortals in The World of the Living. In its cheerful outburst of colour, The World of the Dead is livelier and resembles the American period of the 1920s and 30s through its songs. The traditional pattern of the white act’s austere beauty is here transformed into the confines of the Victorian period. The World of the Dead poses as informal and leisurely opposite, where skeletons dance and the dead happily mingle in Mrs Plum’s bar. 

Burton, not wishing to locate The Corpse Bride in any particular period or setting, still dresses Victor and Victoria, who are forced into marriage by their parents, in simple tartan costumes that resemble those of James and Effie in La Sylphide. Emily, the corpse bride, rises from her grave underneath a tree in her wedding dress just as Giselle does. Emily lifts her veil to utter ‘I do’ in response to Victor practicing his vows by sticking a ring onto a dry twig that turns out to be Emily’s finger, thereby referencing another story Heinrich Heine embedded in Elementargeister (1835; 1972 reprint). The corpse’s appearance and the veil refer to the practice of burying young women in their wedding dress, something that is re-iterated in the visual composition and narrative of Giselle. 

When trying to escape The World of the Dead, Victor appears with Emily on a moonlit forest clearing. Emily, seeing the moon, is overcome by emotion and begins to dance. Her white figure traces a manège between the trees as Myrtha does in Giselle. Victor, the only male character present, watches Emily mesmerised. In this scene, Burton includes the theatrical device of comic relief by having Emily lose her leg and stumble. Whilst drawing on these narrative and visual aspects of Romantic ballet, Burton retains early twenty-first-century film conventions to relay his narrative. The tradition of several acts alternating between the real world and the supernatural is abandoned through several shifts between the various worlds. Here, the birds or camera movement highlight the up and downward shift between the Underworld and the mortal one. Consequently, the narrative’s structure is more fragmented and in need of communication between the two realms. Messengers, used, for example, in Greek theatre and the Shakespearian period, carry information from one scene to the next such as Mayhew, who informs Victor of Victoria’s imminent wedding with Lord Barkis, Emily’s murderer. 

On the narrative level, the film merges the plots of the two ballets through the characters’ backstories. The aim not to focus on one particular protagonist creates a threefold view of the story. All three characters receive ample time to outline their origins and situation. On the eve of his wedding, Victor is abducted by Emily, when slipping the wedding ring onto her finger. He is torn between the two women and has to decide which one to follow. On the one hand, Victor is close to James who is about to marry Effie, when he encounters the Sylphide and follows her into the forest. Like James, Victor ponders over his lost mortal bride while stranded in another world. When Emily discovers Victor’s betrothal to Victoria, the male character, on the other hand, resembles Albrecht, who deceives Giselle, but is uncovered when Bathilde claims him as her fiancé. As the third member in this love triangle, Emily’s personal history is told in a song. The bride-to-be intended to elope with an impostor. She is killed for her dowry and left underneath a tree. The jilted bride rises from her grave and seeks love. Realising in the end that she cannot hold Victor, Emily frees him from his vow and unites him with Victoria. A personal story and ending that retells that of Giselle, as the dishonoured ballet heroine too forgives Albrecht and sends him back to Bathilde to marry her instead. The Sylphide too returns the ring and send James back to Effie. Through this action, Emily, the Sylphide and Giselle find eternal peace. 

The character set up and their interrelations reflect the most traditional combination of characters within the Romantic period. It is the task of the Romantic ballet hero to recognise the right woman to marry and withstand the temptation of the seductress. Not all nineteenth-century ballet narratives present the seductress as supernatural creature, yet in this instance Burton again echoes La Sylphide and Giselle in doing so. Victor must recognise Victoria as the true bride, remain constant to her and realise that he cannot marry outside his own sphere of the world. Emily, too, deliberates about the situation. She realises she cannot marry a mortal and unites Victor with Victoria. Both female characters follow the traditional ballet set up by displaying the dichotomy between the docile feminine and the ‘femme castratrice’ (Creed 1994: 127). Here again both ballets are directly referenced. Effie and Victoria represent the tamed aspects of woman, whereas the Sylphide, Giselle and Emily indulge in their passions and love. The former is married in literature, opera, ballet and film, whereas the latter is eliminated from the narrative. 

Burton claiming that the narrative for The Corpse Bride was conceived through a nineteenth-century folktale manages to weave an intertextual cobweb of literary, filmic and theatrical references and a clear set of ancestral voices that permeate the film in its visual and narrative composition. The strong quotations from ballet tradition directly display the most significant features of Romanticism in literature, opera and ballet. The narrative of a torn hero yearning for love and facing the dual aspects of femininity displays the traditional romance story and a visual setting resembling that of the ballet fantastique. Filmic devices and modes of narration help to produce an entertaining fast-paced film that retains the moral agenda of nineteenth-century narratives that many twentieth-century ballet productions have lost. 

References:

Adshead-Lansdale, J (ed) Dancing Texts. Intertextuality in Interpretation. London: Dance Books, 1999.
______. The Struggle with the Angel. A Poetics of Lloyd Newson’s Strange Fish (DV8 Physical Theatre). Alton: Dance Books, 2007.
Bernkopf, A. Narrative variants and theatrical constants: towards a dramaturgy of the Ballet Fantastique (1830 – 1860). Unpublished Phd thesis, University of Surrey, 2005.
Burton, T. Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride. Warner Bros Pictures, 2005.
Creed, B. The Monstrous-Feminine. Film, feminism, psychoanalysis. London: Routledge, 1994.
Heine, Heinrich. Elementargeister. Berlin: Aufbau Verlag, 1972.
Salisbury, M (ed) Burton on Burton. Revised edition. London: Faber & Faber, 2006.

Dancing Narratives: An Analystical Approach to the Narrative of the Ballet Fantastique

Dancing Narratives: An Analytical Approach to the Narrative of the Ballet Fantastique.

Originally published in Dance Today The Dance Magazine of Israel, Issue 14, November 2008.

Also available via Dance Voices:
http://www.dancevoices.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=59:dancing-narratives-an-analytical-approach-to-the-narrative-of-the-ballet-fantastique&catid=21:dance-discourses&Itemid=90&lang=en

© Astrid Bernkopf, 2008

To dance stories means to tell stories to an audience. Astonishingly enough, despite the large number of story ballets and works of other dance genres narrating plots, dance analysis has neglected this side of the theatre performance. Thus, current research practice shows a clear focus on issues relating to choreography, movement and the performer. Moreover, the opinion, expounded by Italian lecturer Marco de Marinis (1993) and English dance analyst Janet Adshead (1988), that a performance can only be analysed via audio-visual recordings has resulted in a dogmatic treatment of dance analysis and its methods. The analytical model introduced with this article seeks to leave such established dogmatic paths of research. Firstly, the narrative of the performance is the centre of attention and will be seen as reflecting theatre-specific modes of storytelling as well as literary ones. Secondly, the materials analysed are not audio-visual recordings of performances, but the written text of the scenario or libretto. The ballet scenario is treated, in this study, as hybrid form lying between literature and performance. The simple fact that a text is written to be performed influences its written representation (Elam, 2002) and, thus, the ballet scenario can be seen as containing elements of the performance, which can be detected in its text. The main notion of this study is constructed upon this concept and, therefore, does not propose a method to analyse the live or audio-visually recorded performance, but the content of the programme note. Consequently, this article will draw upon examples from Cyril Beaumont’s libretto of Giselle (1841), which can be found in his book The Ballet called Giselle (1969, p. 39 – 52). It is hoped that this version of the narrative of Giselle (1841) is easily accessible for comparison.

Narrative analysis has a long-standing tradition in literary studies. Since this article is based on notions of this area, a few terms need explanation before venturing into theatrical narrative analysis. A clear distinction between story, plot and narrative has been established by literary theory (Forster, 1974; Prince, 1987; Jahn, 2002; Cobley, 2004). The term story refers to the chronological order of events of the narrative. These events are not connected and may be seen as single episodes that need to be arranged. The links between such episodes are generally referred to as plot. Here, logical-causal connections between the single events of the story are created and explain why a situation has come about. The underlying notion is that something happens, because something else has happened. Narrative, in turn, is the arrangement of these episodes and their logical connections. The chronological order of events as found in the story is usually not followed in the narrative. It can, therefore, be said that narrative is the individual portrayal of the arrangement of events and their logical-causal bonds. By changing the sequence of events and establishing new connections between them, a new narrative is created from the very same story. Having set up this distinction it is possible to distinguish between different elements of the narrative and study the theatrical representation of the ballet plot.

Theatre Conventions.

The long tradition of theatrical storytelling has brought forward conventions concerning the treatment of onstage stories. In his Poetics (355 BC, 1973), Greek philosopher Aristotle outlines the structure of the performance as consisting of exposition, knotted middle section and dénouement. Furthermore, he identifies the reversal of action in the péripétie, which marks the turn from good to bad fortune and takes place between knotted middle section and dénouement. Each of these elements has its own narrative agency, and so it has become an established fact that the exposition introduces the most important characters and leads the audience into the fictional world of the plot. At this point of the performance, background information on the characters and their individual characterisations are given. Drama studies distinguish between a beginning ab ovo, in medias res and in ultimas res (Jahn, 2002). The first starts the plot with the birth of the hero/heroine and, then, continues. The beginning in medias res, as advocated by Roman poet Horace (13 BC, 2005), sets the point of attack close to the péripétie, or the open outbreak of the conflict, whereas in ultimas res refers to a point of attack set after the péripétie; namely in the dénouement. In this case, the main parts of the story may be told in backflashs or “analepses” (Genette, 1998, p. 25).

The example of Giselle (1841) shows the most commonly presented exposition. The point of attack is set close to the péripétie and so constitutes a beginning in medias res. In these opening scenes, the most basic information about the main characters, their emotions and relationships is given and the reader learns about their individual weaknesses. The performance commences with peasants leaving for work and has the gamekeeper Hilarion outline his emotions for Giselle and Albrecht, his rival. Furthermore, the two lovers are introduced and their relationship is shown to the audience.

With Hilarion entering Albrecht’s hut, the middle section of the performance begins. In this part, the evil character starts to mesh a web of intrigues, in which the main character or main characters are finally caught. The final outbreak of the conflict is delayed by an interplay between delay and continuation of the plot. In Giselle (1841), Albrecht’s hiding from the hunting party forms one part of the middle section, whereas Hilarion’s suspicion and spying is the second major element in this part of the plot, which creates curiosity and suspense on behalf of the spectator. For most of the first act, Albrecht succeeds in evading the royal hunting party and keeping up his relationship with Giselle. However, Hilarion has discovered evidence of Albrecht’s high birth and waits for the best moment to take revenge.

The péripétie as the reversal of action turns good fortune into bad. So far, the lovers, Giselle and Albrecht, have been happy, but, the moment Albrecht kisses Giselle after the divertissement, “Hilarion’s pent-up jealousy can no longer be controlled” (Beaumont, 1969, p. 43). He denounces Albrecht as impostor, and thus is the character to bring about the turn of action about. Drama has two distinct ways of dealing with this situation (Pfister, 2001): firstly, the audience may already anticipate what happens and is kept in suspense as to when this will happen. Secondly, the plot conceals what happens so that the enactment of this situation has an even greater impact. In Giselle (1841), the first variant has been chosen.

The dénouement provides a place where the conflict can be solved and a conventional ending may be reached in the closure. The ballet fantastique usually presents the white act as dénouement. In this section, the characters are tested and, according to their successful completion of the task, they may or may not be united in a relationship. For Giselle (1841), it can be argued that Albrecht manages this task, but, because Giselle is not the socially acceptable woman, he is not allowed to marry her. In this case, the adventures of the night have resulted in insights into matters of life and the duality of woman for the male character.

The conventions outlined above show the structural composition of the theatre performance and may be considered as reflecting a macrostructure. Nineteenth-century theatre tradition tends to always present them in this order, but their duration may vary and so give an emphasis on either the middle section or the dénouement. Such emphasis is created by locating the péripétie either at the end of the first act or well in the second. Whereas in the first case the dénouement becomes longer by shortening the first part of the story, the second variant allows a long and complicated knotted middle.

The theatrical microstructure is composed of monologues, sequences for the corps de ballet and the soloists, mimed and danced scenes and the traditional white act. All these elements are an essential part of the nineteenth-century ballet performance and, therefore, have to be considered. Here, the focus on the ballet scenario results in uncertainty concerning the precise location of these elements within the narrative. Although sections for soloists and the corps de ballet are generally indicated in the libretto, the ambiguity of textual hints does not allow for these scenes to be clearly identified. Moreover, these conventions are not bound to any hierarchical order as the one displayed in the theatrical macrostructure. They may appear at any point in the plot and so are the factors that attribute individuality to the ballet narrative. A different pattern of the succession of these elements may be found for each case study.

Narrative elements.

In regard to the narrative side of the performance, two different structures can be observed. Firstly, there is a narrative macrostructure, which corresponds to the theatrical one. Secondly, a narrative microstructure arranges the various actions of the characters in a, for each case study, specific order. The macrostructure’s overlapping quality stems from the common use of Aristotle’s work for literary analysis and theatre too (Barry, 2002; Jahn, 2002). In their earliest beginnings, literary studies encompassed plays besides works now clearly identified as literature such as novels (Barry, 2002). The microstructure of the ballet narrative is, in return, constructed by the actions executed by the various characters of the plot. However, these actions need to contain a certain narrative agency, since otherwise the most important features of the ballet narrative would be found in lifting an arm or dancing. A focus on key-actions is in this sense most promising, as it discriminates superfluous elements and does not lead to an overwhelming number of actions. Such key-actions are considered functions in literary studies (Propp, 1975; Barthes, 1977). Only actions changing the course of the storyline should be considered as functions, which results in all main events being considered in an analysis. Hence, to leave the house at the beginning of the story represents a function, whereas another can be found in the fight.

For the case study used in this article, this means that Giselle declaring her love for Albrecht carries out such a significant action. Furthermore, Hilarion denouncing his rival as impostor changes the storyline and the curse of having to dance until the character dies represent such key-actions, which help to develop the plot. In the case of the narrative microstructure, no true structural solution to the arrangement of narrative elements is discernable in the ballet plot. Any action can appear at any point within the storyline and, therefore, no hierarchical order of such actions is attempted.

Characters of the ballet plot.

One of the most important elements of a story are its characters. Ballet tradition has brought forward several distinct stock characters, which are shown in ever changing combinations and conflicts. They can be divided into two distinct groups. The representatives of the first group are clearly connected to one or the other gender, whereas characters belonging to the second group are not bound to one particular sex. The first group encompasses the Hero, the Unthreatening Woman and the Threatening Woman, who all may be the main character of the plot. The Hero is depicted as a young man in search of his ideal partner and falls in love with any of the two women. However, the traditional ballet plot only supports relationships between the Hero and the Unthreatening Woman. Were he to love the Threatening Woman, the lovers separated in the end of the ballet. The Unthreatening Woman represents the docile side of femininity by refraining from a sexually active life and too sensual pleasures. Conversely, the Threatening Woman indulges in erotic innuendos and chooses her lover herself. She is the active predator and is generally shown as bacchante. In regard to Giselle (1841), it can be said that Albrecht represents the plot’s Hero, whereas Giselle embodies the Threatening Woman and Bathilde, Albrecht’s aristocratic bride, the Unthreatening Woman.

The second group of characters shows Parental Figures and Trickster Figures. The Parental Figures encompass all parents caring for their child and supporting it. Such parental feelings are not only connected to mothers and foster mothers, but may also be exhibited by fathers, who care for their child. It is to note that Parental Figures support the relationship of the lovers and seek to prevent their child from harm. On the other side, Trickster Figures are the ones who cause havoc among all others. They plan intrigues and seek to separate the lovers. In the underlying case study of Giselle (1841), Berthe, Giselle’s mother, clearly represents a Parental Figure that seeks to protect her daughter from harm. The Trickster Figures of this ballet may be found in Hilarion, the gamekeeper of Act I, and Myrtha, Queen of the Wilis. It is to note that the evil actions of the Trickster are transferred from Hilarion to Myrtha, who continues to block the lovers’ way to find to each other. Also other ballets tend to distribute the sphere of the Trickster Figures on several characters, which all hinder the lovers in their relationship.

The conflict between the various characters arises from clashing interests and the strivings of each character to undo any lack or discomfort. One feature of the ballet plot is that it shows a distribution of the action according to one underlying notion; the conflict. The characters are divided into two groups: one supporting the lovers and one preventing them from achieving their goal. Such division is well-known from Greek theatre tradition and may also be found in the practice of Commedia Dell’Arte. Greek theatre divided the chorus into one group siding with the protagonist and another supporting the antagonist (Abbott, 2004). Hence, the characters of the play were separated into groups according to their position in relation to the conflict. Commedia Dell’Arte shows a similar distribution of action on the characters. Here, however, two pairs of lovers can be observed. One serious or ‘tragic’ couple seeking a relationship and another comic one, which has all actions go ‘wrong’ and so creates laughter. The distribution of action on the characters of ballet tradition is very close to the above-mentioned theatrical phenomena. In some cases, two pairs of lovers can be found and thus also a plot composition according to the example of Commedia Dell’Arte.

The characters and their individual strivings and desires may, therefore, be understood as representing another microstructure each. The clashing interests of these characters form the conflict, which can be labelled as the overarching macrostructure. Through the conflict the story’s development is ensured. This results in the conflict becoming the main notion of the ballet plot. It is inserted into the theatrical structures and expressed through the narrative ones.

From this outline, it is apparent that the analytical method presented is based on the notion of three distinct layers of analysis. Firstly, a theatrical layer has been identified that regulates the theatrical presentation of the narrative. It is composed of a macrostructure giving the structural outline of the performance and a microstructure that operates within the single parts of the macrostructure. This microstructure is not bound to any hierarchical order and, thus, all its elements may occur at any point and are frequently repeated. The second layer has been identified as the narrative one, which again consists of one macro- and microstructure. The narrative macrostructure overlaps with the theatrical one. Concerning the narrative microstructure, the outline and arrangement of key-actions provides an individual pattern of actions for each case study. In a third step, the characters and their conflict have come into foreground. Each character has his/her own personality and, therefore, can be seen as having a microstructure through his/her desires, plans and emotions. The entanglement of characters through their clashing interests results in the conflict, which can be understood as representing the macrostructure of this third layer.

The narrative model outlined in this article is, therefore, a connection between these three elements. They may be used in connection with each other or can be taken on their own to investigate either the theatrical or narrative structure of a particular work. Moreover, it is to note that this method has been composed to analyse the ballet scenario and not the audio-visual recording. Hence, textual analysis forms the basis of it and restricts it to the programme note. Finally, it is hoped that through the introduction of a method of narrative analysis the dogmatic focus on mere choreographic analyses will be broken so that this model can stand as equal next to other already-existing ones.

Bibliography:

Abbott, H. [no further name given] Porter. The Cambridge Introduction to Narrative. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
Adshead, Janet (ed.). Dance Analysis. Theory and Practice. London: Dance Books, 1988.
Angiolini, Gasparo. Lettere di Gasparo Angiolini a Monsieur Noverre sopra i Balli Pantomimi. Milan: Gio. Battista Bianchi, 1773.
Aristotle. Poetics. London: Heinemann LTD, 1973.
Barry, Peter. Beginning Theory. An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory. Manchester/New York: Manchester University Press, 2002.
Barthes, Roland. Image Music Text. London: Fontana Press, 1977.
Beaumont, Cyril William. The Ballet called Giselle. London: Dance Books, 1969.
Bennett, Toby; Poesio, Giannandrea. Mime in the Cecchetti ‘Method’ in Dance Research Summer 2000, Volume 18, Number 1, p. 31 – 43.
Cobley, Paul. Narrative. The New Critical Idiom Series. London/New York: Routledge, 2004.
De Marinis, Marco. The Semiotics of Performance. Bloomington/Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1993.
Duchartre, Pierre Louis. The Italian Comedy. The Improvisation Scenarios Lives Attributes Portraits and Masks of the Illustrious Characters of the Commedia dell’ Arte. New York: Dover Publications, 1966.
Elam, Keir. The Semiotics of Theatre and Drama. London/New York: Routledge, 2002.
Forster, Edward Morgan. Aspects of the Novel. London: Edward and Arnold, 1927 (first edition), 1974.
Foster, Susan Leigh. Choreography and Narrative. Ballet’s staging of Story and Desire. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1998.
Genette, Gérard. Die Erzählung. München: Wilhelm Fink Verlag, 1998.
Gray, Martin. A Dictionary of Literary Terms. Singapore: York Press, Longman, 1999.
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Guest, Ivor. The Romantic Ballet in Paris. London: The Pitman Press, 1966.
Hawkes, Terence. Structuralism & Semiotics. London: Methuen, 1977.
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Lämmert, Eberhard. Bauformen des Erzählens. Stuttgart: J. B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1968.
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Pfister, Manfred. Das Drama. Theorie und Analyse. München: Wilhelm Fink Verlag, 2001.
Poesio, Giannandrea. Carabosse Revisited: Enrico Cecchetti and the lost Language of Mime. In Proceedings Society of Dance History Scholars Twenty-First Annual Conference, University of Oregon, 18. – 21. June 1998b, p. 79 – 85.
Prince, Gerald. A Dictionary of Narratology. Lincoln/London: University of Nebraska Press, 1987.
Propp, Vladimir. Morphologie des Märchens. Germany [Frankfurt am Main]: Suhrkamp, 1975.
Stanzel, Franz K. Theorie des Erzählens. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, 2001.
Zimmermann, Bernhard. Die Griechische Komödie. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft. 1998.
Zipes, Jack. Fairy Tales and the Art of Subversion. The Classical Genre for Children and the Process of civilization. London: Heinemann, 1983.

Reversed gender relations - reversed storytelling patterns? Explorations of the narrative strategies of Jules Perrot's Der Kobold (1838)

Reversed gender relations – reversed storytelling patterns?
Explorations of the narrative strategies of Jules Perrot’s Der Kobold (1838)

International conference “Grounding Moves. Landscapes for Dance” 29th Annual Conference organised by Society of Dance History Scholars, Banff (Canada), June 15th – 18th 2006

copyright Astrid Bernkopf, 2006

Der Kobold, Jules Perrot’s Viennese pixie ballet from 1838, displays an idiosyncratic treatment of Romantic ballet’s narrative features. This ballet does not only show a very long exposition and péripétie without denouement or white act, but it also shifts focus from the traditionally female supernatural being to a male one. With this feature, Perrot goes against predominant narrative and choreographic conventions of nineteenth-century ballet tradition and creates a work of singular importance. This investigation focuses on one of the three layers of narrative analysis designed for the scenario of the ballet fantastique in two acts in my PhD research (Bernkopf, 2005). Whilst a full narrative investigation of this ballet is possible in this case, a focus on the conflict and the characters’ roles in it is followed.

My method of narrative analysis combines literary modes of investigation such as Vladimir Propp’s Morphology of the Folktale (2003) and other narratological treatises with studies of theatre, drama and psychoanalysis. Furthermore, neither audio-visual recordings, nor live performances or notation scores are used in this investigation, but synopses of ballet narratives as found in programme notes. The research materials, from which my theory stems, encompass 100 librettos of two-act ballets dating between 1830 and 1860 and displaying any supernatural beings or marvellous occurrences. For the ones familiar with Propp’s method, I took the ballet equivalent of the Russian magic tale which formed his corpus of research: the ballet fantastique. My entire research, based on analyses of textual sources, treats these as hybrid forms; displaying features of theatre and ballet tradition, while also containing elements of literary texts such as short stories or fairy tales. 

The three layers of my method, entitled Dramaturgy of Desire, show two syntagmatic strands of analysis in form of a theatrical and narrative layer, which each consist of a macro and a microstructure; and, in addition to this, a layer of paradigmatic analysis which centres on the characters and their conflicts. For this exploration of a single case study, I have chosen to omit the first two layers as they do not relate to the characters, but provide a structural outline of the performance and narrative and employ the layer relating to characters and their motivations only. 

Romantic ballet narratives generally display five types of characters. Firstly, there are the Hero, the Unthreatening Woman and the Threatening Woman. These characters are clearly bound to their gender and, usually, a couple is formed by two of them. The Hero is a young man in search of love. He has to prove himself worthy of his lover by undergoing a test. The Unthreatening Woman displays the docile side of femininity and is the one and only correct choice for the Hero. She is a shy and industrious girl, who does not indulge in sensual pleasures. Her counterpart, the Threatening Woman, lives an active and sensual life by hunting men on moonlit forest clearings. Her overindulgence, activity and sexuality almost inevitably lead to her death; or at least to her separation from the Hero. The nineteenth-century ballet narrative does not allow a lasting relationship between the Threatening Woman and the Hero. Hence, Giselle and Albrecht are separated; as are the Sylphide and James. 

In addition to these three characters, there are Parental and Trickster Figures. These are not bound to their gender and, thus, ballet tradition shows fathers and mothers fight against male and female villains. As in life, Parental Figures seek to protect their offspring from harm. Parents and foster parents, whether they be mortals or fairies, side with the lovers in their quest for a relationship. Generally, they cannot prevent their children from harm, but in many cases are responsible for a happy ending. However, the most important characters of a narrative are the Trickster Figures. These mischievous characters are the ones, who, through their evil deeds and intrigues drive the lovers into the catastrophe. Such behaviour can be seen in Giselle (1841) where Hilarion is the most active character in the first act. He spies on Albrecht, he finds out about his rival’s hidden identity, and he denounces Albrecht in front of the entire village. Consequently, without the constant interferences of the Trickster Figures the narrative would lose momentum. 

These characters are stock characters like the masks of Commedia Dell’Arte tradition. In every ballet they are presented in different constellations and receive an individual portrayal within the overall frame of their type. This individual sphere of the character includes all descriptive elements and features such as emotional states, desires and interests. In the outline of my dramaturgy, these individual characterisations are referred to as the characters’ microstructures. One essential feature of the ballet narrative is that the spheres of the Parental and Trickster Figures can be distributed over several characters. Hence, it is similar to what Vladimir Propp observed for the magic tale. When one villain is undone, another can assume this role and continue with spread mischief. In La Filleule des Fees from 1849, such distribution of the actions is discernable. Here, a wicked fairy plans the evil deeds, but another character is the one to carry them out. Furthermore, in some cases, the Threatening Woman assumes the role of the Trickster. A similar split can be observed in relation to Parental Figures. 

In Romantic ballet tradition, the narrative usually focuses on the female character. However, the question of the main character is a tricky one – especially in an ambiguous area such as ballet. Focalization is defined by Porter Abbott (2004) as the lens through which the audience or reader experiences a narrative in stating that: 

“Focalization is an awkward coinage, but it serves a useful purpose that the vaguer and more disputed term point of view cannot. It refers specifically to the lens through which we see characters and events in the narrative.” (Abbott, 2004, p. 66)

Although a ballet scenario gives a third person account of events, there are textual clues as to which character’s eyes see the events. 

In Der Kobold, the basic set-up of the dramatis personae appears as follows:

• Follet: half human pixie in love with Iola
• Astoroth: King of pixies and Follet’s father
• Iola: peasant girl, betrothed to Rutland
• Martha: Iola’s grandmother
• Rutland: son of wealthy landowner
• Guardian Angel

From this outline, the reader would assume that the main conflict of the ballet is rivalry between the two male characters over Iola who would be torn between them. Such plot construction is also present in Giselle (1841). This ballet clearly focuses on Giselle and puts her in the position of the main character. Also in narratology, the notion of main character is an agonising one, and many treatises prefer to overlook this aspect. Dutch lecturer Mieke Bal (2004), however, provides distinct points in relation to this figure. To avoid confusion between two similar terms, the concept of hero should be read as main character from now onwards. 

According to Bal, it is necessary to receive detailed information about the main character. The libretto states that Follet, the pixie, is the son of a mortal woman and the king of pixies. He is given the task to go to earth and resist the temptation of human love. In case of failure, Follet would have to remain among mortals and would lose his immortality. By joking about this task, Follet’s character is described as careless. On earth, the pixie uses an everlasting flower to illustrate his immortality to Iola, and, in addition, to point out that because of this he has not right to physical beauty. From this dialogue, it also becomes obvious that Follet has a heart and feelings. Here is the first instance where the pixie is afraid of his emotions and hides from the girl. More information is given at the end of the first act, where Follet swears that he will hinder the wedding between Iola and Rutland. At the beginning of Act II, he is torn between fleeing and returning to the girl. Again, he appears to the girl and flees only to return another time. 

The other characters of the narrative are not well-defined. Of Iola, we know that she is a peasant girl, who lives with her grandmother and eventually falls in love with the pixie. She is betrothed to Rutland against her will, but gives in to her fate. Her grandmother supports the marriage and is a practical woman spinning while Iola reads out a book to her. The information about Rutland is even scarcer. He appears to be wealthy as he brings Iola presents. Furthermore, he is afraid when a monster – probably Follet in disguise – attacks him in the forest. As far as this point of Bal’s chart below is concerned, the narrative clearly focuses on the pixie instead of the other characters. 

• Qualifications: comprehensive information about appearance, psychology, motivation and past
• Distribution: the hero occurs often in the story, his/her presence is felt at important moments in the fabula
• Independence: the hero can occur alone or hold monologues
(Bal, 2004, p. 132)

The scene changes follow the pixie in all but one instances. At all important points, the pixie is present. Be it to tease Iola when reading, let Iola’s fiancé vanish and take his place, or to dance alone on the waves of a river. The last point ties in with the third notion of the chart. Follet appears alone and contemplates his emotions for Iola. As said before he is torn between his task and his feelings. The following quotation shows Follet’s emotional life and clearly indicates the dilemma through the use of the words rival and love. The libretto displays more of these instances with similar terms. 

"Follet appears dancing on the waves. … Starting again his airy wanderings, he finally descends to the ground and stops standing in contemplation in front of the hut [Iola’s]. Bells ring and announce the approaching wedding of Iola with another – his rival.

This thought is unbearable for him; only he has to renounce from earthly love; only flight can help; but no, impossible! He cannot flee – once again he wants to see his love."
(Der Kobold, Act II scene 1, 1838, no page)

Another noteworthy point is sentence structure in this example. Follet is torn between fleeing and staying. The sentences jump from one though to the other. Sentence structure subconsciously echoes the inner emotions and offers a glimpse of the choreography which could pick up on this by visualising this particular turmoil. 

In regard to functions, I personally do not agree with Bal who continues her bullet points with:

• Function: certain actions are those of the hero alone: he/she makes agreements, vanquishes opponents, unmasks traitors etc.
• Relations: he/she maintains relations with the largest number of characters.
(Bal, 2004, p. 132)

My research shows that functions or key actions can be executed by any character. In this sense, I agree with Propp’s study which proposes the same for the magic tale. Therefore, although in this ballet the majority of key actions is carried out by the pixie, I do not connect this notion with the definition of focalisation or the main character. As the pixie is the one to love and tease the other characters, it is quite clear that he is the one who has relations with most of the others. Therefore, it can be said that in this narrative most of the information relates to the pixie through whose eyes the reader perceives it. This focalisation is fostered by the choice of words such as rival and love to indicate to other characters by drawing upon the emotive content of the words. 

As can be seen, the conflict of this ballet is not as initially expected a rivalry between two male characters, but the inner struggle of one. The pixie’s task is to resist human love, which appears to him in form of Iola the Unthreatening Woman. The conflict shows one of the storytelling strategies Barbara Fuchs (2004) has identified for romance literature. “These strategies [of romance tradition] consist of the complication or delay of a linear quest; first, by the successive deployment of obstacles to progress, where eros can function either as an impediment to the quest or as its very goal (Fuchs, 2004, p. 36). Fuchs adds that in some cases the relationship and sexual pleasures are the goal of the quest, whereas in others these pleasures bring about the downfall of the hero. Romantic ballet displays these features as the examples of La Sylphide and Giselle show. In both cases, the Hero, James and Albrecht respectively, face sensual temptations by the Threatening Woman, the Sylphide and Giselle. Their sexual appetite results in them failing. In Der Kobold, Follet, however, falls for the Unthreatening Woman. A paradox is that although she brings about his death, he has made the one and only correct choice. Only a union between the Hero and the Unthreatening Woman is rewarded in nineteenth-century ballet. 

The testing of the main character or characters is a typical feature of the magic tale investigated by Propp. He labels this narrative episode Difficult Task and states that in this situation the hero has to prove his abilities. Only after successful completion of the task may the fairy tale hero receive his reward, the princess. These tasks may take on various forms in fairy tales, but ballet narratives display a very limited scope in this regard. The most commonly used Difficult Task requires the main characters to remain loyal to each other. This usually happens by introducing a Threatening Woman to the story who tempts the Hero. La Sylphide may serve an ideal illustration of this. But by focusing on an inner turmoil, Der Kobold breaks with this convention of externalisation of conflicts. The conflict does not come to live through dances, but is rather found in the content of the monologues, dialogues and actions of the pixie. What is clear is that Follet fails to accomplish his task. He falls in love with Iola and dies. 

In most nineteenth-century ballet narratives this would constitute the end of both narrative and performance. Albeit not in Der Kobold. The ballet continues by showing Follet’s father try to take possession of his son’s body. However, a guardian angel blocks his way and indicates that he has no right over it. The final scene of the ballet shows the wedding procession of Follet and Iola. Thanks to the spirit’s intervention, the lovers are happily united. With this change, the ballet breaks again the stereotypical narrative set up. A deus-ex machina ensures the happy ending, which according to the narrative and its conflict should not have happened.

In conclusion, it can be said that the narrative of Der Kobold presents a male supernatural being as its focal point. This reverses the traditional gender pattern of nineteenth-century ballet narratives to a certain point. It is the pixie who has to undergo a test and fails. Furthermore, the role of the female character is diminished. Especially, Iola leads a passive existence besides the ever-active pixie. She only receives two possibilities for solo variations: firstly, at the beginning of the second scene and, secondly, in the fourth. Her fiancé does not have many significant actions either. Not even the Parental Figures are as active as they are in other ballets. The pixie assuming a double role of Hero and Trickster is the centre of attention. The range of actions and importance of all other characters is diminished, which lays emphasis on Follet and his completion of the task. Many other ballet narratives show this pattern, but do not usually grant a failed hero his reward. However, in spite of these idiosyncrasies, Der Kobold does not break with general storytelling strategies of Romantic ballet. It presents a love story with the usual range of actions and a trial. The character set up reflects the gender change by omitting the traditional Trickster. Consequently, in spite of following the traditional storylines of Romantic ballet, Der Kobold can be seen as holding a special position in the Romantic repertoire. 

Select Bibliography:

Abbott, H. [no further name given] Porter. The Cambridge Introduction to Narrative. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
Bal, Mieke. Narratology. Introduction to the Theory of Narrative. Second Edition. Toronto/Buffalo/London: University of Toronto Press, 1997 reprinted 2004.
Banes, Sally. Dancing Women. Female bodies onstage. London/New York: Routledge, 1998.
Belsey, Catherine. Desire. Love Stories in Western Culture. Oxford/Cambridge: Blackwell, 1994.
Bernkopf, Astrid. Narrative Variants and Theatrical Constants: Towards a Dramaturgy of Romantic Ballet. Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Surrey, 2005.
Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. London: Fontana Press, 1993.
Clément, Catherine. Opera, or the Undoing of Women. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1989.
Cobley, Paul. Narrative. The New Critical Idiom Series. London/New York: Routledge, 2004.
Foster, Susan Leigh. Choreography and Narrative. Ballet’s staging of Story and Desire. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1998.
Fuchs, Barbara. Romance. The New Critical Idiom Series. New York: Routledge, 2004.
Garafola, Lynn. (ed.). Rethinking the Sylph. New Perspectives on the Romantic Ballet. Hanover/London: Wesleyan University Press, 1997.
Guest, Ivor. The Romantic Ballet in Paris. London: The Pitman Press, 1966.
______. Jules Perrot. Master of the Romantic ballet. London: Dance Books, 1984.
Propp, Vladimir. Morphology of the Folktale. Translated by Laurence Scott, second revised edition. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2003.
Zipes, Jack. Fairy Tales and the Art of Subversion. The Classical Genre for Children and the Process of civilization. London: Heinemann, 1983.

Dramaturgy of Desire

Dramaturgy of Desire:
An Analytical Approach to Dance Narratives.

Originally published in Choreoglogica Journal of the European Association of Dance Historians, Autumn 2006, Vol 2, no 1. 

Copyright Astrid Bernkopf 2006

Present-day dance research allows analytical investigations into various features and elements of the performance. However, a dogmatic and ideological attitude towards research topics and their treatment can be observed. Movement and choreography are the most prominent themes of research, followed by the body and issues relating to the performer. Such selective view has catered for one essential feature of theatre performances to be overlooked: namely, the stories that are told onstage. Hence, although dance analysis has developed research tools to study various elements, there is a lack of dance specific theory relating to danced narratives. Through this theoretical vacuum, the commonly accepted and traditionally upheld focus on movement and choreographic analysis has been further cemented in the discipline. 

The aim of this article is to introduce a method to investigate the narrative of the Romantic two-act ballet fantastique. This model of analysis may stand alone or may work in co-operation with other analytical tools. Theories on fairy tales and modes of storytelling in literature and theatre form the theoretical basis for the construction of this dance-orientated method of narrative analysis. Such approach stems from the erroneous perception/notion of the nineteenth-century ballet plot as a danced fairy tale. Moreover, the constant repetition of stories, and therefore actions, suggests that it may be treated in similar ways as the fairy tale. Consequently, a literary model of narrative analysis created for the fairy tale constitutes the basis of this method of inquiry. 

In his seminal work Morphology of the Folktale (2003), Russian scholar Vladimir Propp follows the general trend of Russian Formalism and investigates literary narratives. In Propp’s case, these narratives are magic tales, which, defined by seven distinct features, constitute a sub-category of the fairy tale. Magic tales display a supernatural bride or groom, a supernatural enemy, a marvellous task, supernatural helper, supernatural abilities or knowledge, magical tools and objects or any other supernatural or marvellous features, abilities and occurrences. A corpus of research was found by Propp (2003, p. 23 – 24) in one hundred magic tales presented in Afansiev’s collection that clearly belong to this category of the fairy tale. 

Concerning the structure of these tales, Propp states that the magic tale consists of thirty-one recurrent actions, which he defined as functions. These functions are main or key actions, which directly advance the story (ibid., p. 21). Minor details of these actions are discarded completely. Hence, it is important that the fairy tale’s hero receives a present and not what kind of gift this is. One significant feature of this method of structural investigation is, thus, that the functions are recurrent elements, which may change in their execution or appearance (ibid., p. 20). Therefore, an individual function is not bound to one or the other representation, but, although being a recurrent element of the fairy tale, it is at the same time in flux and variable. 

Nineteenth-century ballet tradition offers a corpus of research similar to the one Propp investigated. The ballet fantastique can be seen as close to the magic tale, since it confronts its audience with the same features that constitute the magic tale. Besides depicting supernatural occurrences and fairy tale-like elements, the ballet fantastique follows the standard plot treatment of the nineteenth-century ballet performance and displays the conventions predominant in ballet tradition. The time between 1830 and 1860 is generally considered as the age of the ballet fantastique, during which it grew and conquered the entire European continent, thus leading to national styles that nevertheless follow the most distinct conventions of the genre. Although works displaying the most significant features of the ballet fantastique can also be found outside this timeframe, such restricted period gives a compacter corpus of research that, despite its limitations, reveals changes in storytelling strategies during the three decades. A problem concerning these materials was, however, found in their composition in one, two or three acts. Such variety did not prove beneficial for a comparison of many ballet plots. Therefore, a focus on two-act productions only is followed throughout this study. A final limitation of source materials can be found in the complete reliance on the ballet scenario. As film or video recordings of these ballet performances are not at all available, the libretto stands in for the performance by giving a detailed account of the plot. Hence, reference to performance should be understood as relating to the performance as read and constructed from the libretto and not the live or recorded stage performance. Within financial and time constraints, it was possible to gather 70 scenarios following the criteria outlined above that constitute the main corpus of research. 

An analysis of these materials according to the rules Propp established resulted in the functions not following the order Propp has outlined. Moreover, some functions did not appear at all in any of the sources. On the other hand, however, other actions were constantly repeated in the ballet plot, therefore suggesting the presence of independent ballet-specific functions.

An investigation into the recurrent actions of the ballet plot has led to the definition of three types of functions. Firstly, a group of functions remains true to the definition Propp has attached to them and have merely been transcribed to fit their representation on the ballet stage. A second group has undergone slight changes, which are reflected in the differing definitions these received. However, the main idea or notion behind these functions still remained similar to that discovered by Propp for the fairy tale. Hence, their titles were kept, although their characterisation varies. The third group comprises functions that do not appear at all in Propp’s list. These functions were given definitions and are considered as ballet-specific functions. Although it could be argued that some of them might as well be present in the fairy tale and have been overlooked by Propp, this line of reasoning is not followed in a study focusing on the ballet narrative. All functions transcribed and defined for ballet tradition will from now on be labelled as ballet functions. 

One feature of the functions defined by Propp (2003, p. 21) that has not yet been mentioned is that any character may execute any of the functions. In a similar manner, the functions of ballet tradition are not connected to the characters of the ballet plot and may be found in the range of action of all characters. Additionally, their appearance is not bound to any particular enactment onstage. Therefore, like their colleagues of the fairy tale, the group of ballet functions can take on various guises. Moreover, they are not bound to any hierarchical presentation and may appear at any point within the plot. This is easily observable when considering the Wedding, which is the traditional end of the fairy tale and so appears last in Propp’s list. In ballet tradition, some productions set the Wedding at the very end of the plot as it can be seen in Der Kobold (librettist not stated, 1838), La Filleule des Fées (lib. Saint-Georges/Perrot, 1849) and Sacountala (lib. Gautier, 1858). Contrary to the trend set in these ballets, others such as La Fille du Danube (lib. F. Taglioni, 1836) and Orfa (librettist not stated, 1852) begin their course of action with the Wedding. The same applies for all other functions. These findings suggest that the venture into the recurrent actions of the ballet plot does not lead to a structural order of functions as the one Propp described for the fairy tale. 

So far, the storytelling strategies of the ballet fantastique have been compared to a literary form. Theatre has, in its course, developed its very own and distinct storytelling devices that also influenced the composition of the ballet plot. Theatre conventions can be found in all theatre arts and find their origins in Greek theatre tradition. In this sense, an influential treatise can be found in Aristotle’s Poetics (2005). Here, Aristotle describes the structure of a performance as consisting of an exposition, knotted middle section, péripétie and dénouement. Aristotle’s influence has not only left its imprints on storytelling and performance composition in drama and opera, but has also shaped the earliest attempts of independent storytelling in the field of dance. 

Following suit, French theorist and choreographer Jean-Georges Noverre states in his Lettres sur la Danse et sur les Ballets (1760) that a ballet must have “son exposition, son nœud & son dénouement” [its exposition, its entanglement & its resolution] (Noverre, 1760, p.20). This notion applies, according to Noverre not only to the entire plot, but should be the structural outline of each act and scene too. Italian choreographer Gasparo Angiolini also underlines the importance of Aristotle’s teachings by stating a ballet should have “un principo [sic], un mezzo, un fine” [a beginning, a middle, an end] (Angiolini, 1773, p. 14). Despite their querelle on who the true inventor of the ballet d’action was, in this particular point, an agreement between Angiolini and Noverre can be detected that shows how close the theatre arts were interrelated and influenced each other. Therefore, it can be said that these elements constitute theatre conventions, which regulate certain parts of the plot and provide a structural frame within which the story unfolds.

The exposition introduces the audience to the fictional world of the performance and displays the most important characters by conveying background information about them. Here, a whole set of functions is used to set up the future conflict between the characters. In the middle section, an intensification of the conflict is brought about, and the main characters are caught in a web of intrigues. Like the exposition, the middle section is composed of an entire range of functions. With the sudden and surprising reversal of action, the péripétie, the good fortunes of the main characters change through the open outburst of the conflict. At this point, all seems lost and the evil forces of the plot appear to win. Again, this part of the performance is presented to the audience through several functions. In some cases, a repetition of actions with increasing intensity takes place during the péripétie. This can be observed in Giselle (lib. Gautier/ Saint-Georges, 1841) where game-keeper Hilarion confronts Giselle three times with evidence that her sweetheart is an impostor. In the dénouement, the knot is untied, whereas the ending aims at either closure by seeking to provide a definite solution to the conflict or denies such sense of closure. Here, the last entrances take place, and in most cases all is restored to its proper place. The fictional social order that has been subverted in the course of the plot is re-established and the supernatural spirits return to their graves. 

The monologue is another theatrical feature that can be counted among theatre conventions. It is present in all theatre arts and carries very distinct messages. Information about the characters, their origins, plans and emotions is conveyed to help the audience become orientated within the plot and follow its progress. Again, as with the other conventions, the monologue does not display one particular function, but may include any function selected from the whole group. 

In addition to the monologue, narrative links provide connections between the single events of the plot. These bridge the acts and scenes and ensure a continuous flow of information. Usually, repetitions of functions serve as narrative links that establish connections by reminding the audience of events, facts or plans. In Giselle (lib. Gautier/Saint-Georges, 1841), the hunters retell the legend of the Wilis at the beginning of Act II, which, on the one hand, ties in to Giselle’s mother Berthe’s story in the first act and, on the other hand, indicates that they have entered the realm of the Wilis where the action of the ballet will continue.

Within the descriptions of the various theatrical elements one significant feature has been that not one single function constitutes one convention, but an entire range of functions. Moreover, repetitions of functions occur frequently and emphasise the problem of all functions appearing at any moment within the ballet plot. Furthermore, two of these conventions hold a specific position in this group. The monologue and narrative links are themselves not bound to a particular location within the plot as the other conventions are. Hence, they change through their differing appearance and location. 

A second group of stage conventions is represented by dramatic, operatic and choreographic conventions that are specific to each the theatre arts. These sub-conventions deal with storytelling aspects in ways particular to the genre and have their origins in the divergent nature of theatre arts and their development as independent art forms. In ballet tradition, the most apparent of these conventions is the presentation of the principal characters. As this convention is generally conveyed through a solo variation, all functions and narrative elements connected to the monologue can be found in it. 

Therefore, the interplay between mimed and danced scenes forms the first sub-convention in this category. In nineteenth-century ballet tradition, approximately the same amount of time was allocated to mime scenes and danced sequences (Poesio, 1999, p. 841; Smith, 2000, p. 175). Both conventions may convey the same narrative content and, therefore, it is a matter of choice whether one function is presented through danced or mimed movement. 

Another distinct element of the ballet performance are solo variations and sections for the corps de ballet. Generally, dances of soloists are seen as advancing the plot, whereas the divertissement engaging the entire corps de ballet is understood as causing a disruption of the ongoing action (Foster, 1986, p. 69). However, the materials suggest that divertissements and the dances of the corps de ballet carry narrative agencies that further the development of the plot and create suspense. The divertissement delays the outbreak of the conflict and is in many cases the enactment of a celebration. The audience is distracted by the dances, and the interference of the péripétie will have an even bigger impact. The solo variations, on the other hand, carry all narrative agencies of the monologue. 

One particularly well-known feature of Romantic ballet is the division of acts into one earthly and one otherworldly. With this tradition, the borders between reality and dream are blurred, and the plot is transferred to the realm of the subconscious. In this part of the performance, the dénouement traditionally takes place and the main character is tested. All this allows the plot to be untangled and a solution to the conflict may be reached. In most cases, this happens in an enchanted forest, an under water kingdom, fairyland or a fairy palace. 

All these sub-conventions represent a means through which the performance gains an individual appearance. As a result of their non-hierarchical status, they may be exchanged for each other, and no rule concerning which convention is to be preferred is detectable in the source materials. The same can be said about the functions occurring in these conventions. All functions may find their expression in danced as well as mimed form or may be used for solo variations and ensemble dances too, which once again overthrows any attempt of a linear explanation of the ballet plot. 

The final and perhaps most important element of a story are its characters. Romantic ballet tends to focus on a limited group of characters in ever-changing situations. So far, ballet characters have been divided into the “pagan dancer” (Gautier in Guest, 1986, p. 16) and “Christian dancer” (Gautier in Guest, 1986, p. 15) as Fanny Elssler and Marie Taglioni have been described. Another distinction would be that of the “robust, earthly, vivacious foreigner” (Foster, 1998, p. 200) which separates the characters according to their nationality. 

When focusing on the narrative and the narrative agency characters have in the ballet plot, a different distinction arises through five types of characters that are presented in differing combinations. Firstly, ballet shows the Hero, who yearns for a partner and has to prove himself worthy of his lover. The Unthreatening Woman displays the docile side of femininity and is the one and only correct choice for the Hero. She is a shy, industrious girl who does not indulge in sensual pleasures. Her counterpart, the Threatening Woman, lives an active and sensual life by hunting men on moonlit forest clearings. Her over-indulgence, activity and sexuality almost inevitably lead to her death; or at least to separation from the Hero. With the Parental Figures, the fictional society of the ballet narrative has the equivalent to parents who seek to protect their offspring from harm. Mothers, fathers, foster parents and fairy godmothers side with the lovers in their quest for a relationship. In most cases, all their attempts are in vain, and the lovers have to face their fate. However, contrary to this trend, in some ballets the Parental Figures are the ones who test the lovers and so ensure a happy end. The most important characters of the narrative are the Trickster Figures. These mischievous characters, be they male or female, are the ones who through their evil deeds and intrigues drive the lovers into the catastrophe. Thus, without the constant interferences of the Trickster Figures, the plot would lose momentum. A noteworthy feature is that the Trickster Figures do not only represent the antagonists of the lovers, but also show a counterweight to the Parental Figures whose aim is to unite the lovers.

These findings lead to the observation of ballet characters being close to those of Commedia tradition. Like the maschere of Commedia Dell’Arte, the most basic characterisation of these five types does not change from one narrative to the other. The difference between various narratives is the combination in which the characters are presented. Whereas in one ballet the Hero loves the Unthreatening Woman, he follows the Threatening Woman in the next. Furthermore, the personal descriptions of characters vary and so no Unthreatening Woman is exactly like the other due to different situations, background and personal stories. Moreover, it is observable that all functions may be executed by any of the characters. The actions are, thus, not part of the range of action of one or the other character. 

In regard to the model Vladimir Propp (2003) introduced for the fairy tale, it can be said that the actions of the ballet plot do not offer a linear structural solution. Conversely, the ballet narrative can be seen as composed of three very distinct layers. The first of these is constituted by the theatrical devices employed to convey the narrative. These have been identified in the group of theatre conventions and the sub-conventions of dramatic, operatic and choreographic traditions. Within this layer, a division between one macrostructure and one microstructure is discernable. The macrostructure’s elements form a framework for the microstructure. 

Macrostructural elements are the theatre conventions as represented by exposition, middle section, péripétie, dénouement and end. They appear in this fixed order and do not tend to shift place in nineteenth-century ballet tradition. As such, these features can be considered as constants of the ballet narrative. One feature of these constant elements that has not yet been considered is their duration. Whereas in Giselle (lib. Gautier/Saint-Georges, 1841) the exposition, middle section and péripétie take place during the first act, La Fille de Marbre (lib. Saint-Léon, 1847) presents these conventions until well into the second act. With such treatment an emphasis on either the first part of the narrative or the second part after the péripétie can be achieved. This also entails that the constants are not fixed and have to be considered variants at the same time. 

The elements of the theatrical microstructure can be found in the choreographic conventions and the monologue. They are not bound to any order and can appear at all points within the plot. Through these devices, the appearance of the acts or scenes is created from an interplay between the various conventions. Therefore, it is possible that one ballet presents a function as danced sequence, whereas another performance displays the same situation as mimed scene. As these conventions are another recurrent element of the ballet narrative, their simple presence results in them becoming constants, whereas their flexibility constitutes their variable nature. With such theatrical layout of the performance an individual sequence of conventions and their duration can be created for each ballet.

The next layer in this analytical model is formed of narrative conventions. These may again be divided into narrative macrostructure and microstructure. As literary studies have adopted Aristotle’s Poetics (2005) to investigate literature (Chatman, 1980, p. 47; Barry, 2002, p. 21 – 22; Jahn 2002, N2.1.4; Abbott, 2004, p. 53,), the conventions constituting the theatrical macrostructure are at the same time the features of the narrative macrostructure. Hence the double agency of this layer that keeps its constant and variant character for the narrative side of the performance. The narrative microstructure is formed by the arrangement of functions that gives each act or scene its individual appearance. As recurrent elements of the ballet narrative, the functions of Romantic ballet provide another set of constant elements. However, due to them not being bound to any hierarchy and thus appearing at any point in the plot, the functions are yet another set of constant variants.

Another implicit third narrative layer can be found in the characters and their conflict. The conflict as the underlying notion of the plot is created from the clashing interests of the characters. Each character strives to achieve or gain something. In the case of the nineteenth-century ballet plot, this generally is love and a relationship. However, through moral implications this goal is not always achieved. The conflict as the overarching notion can, thus, be considered as providing another macrostructure. The characters and their individual characteristics, emotions and desires can be seen as representing a microstructure each. The entanglements between the characters result in the individual presentation of a conflict in a particular ballet. As these conflicts deal with love and the trials of lovers, this thematic choice is another constant feature of the Romantic ballet plot. By following the example of Commedia Dell’Arte and presenting the characters in ever changing situations, the narrow focus on one thematic range nevertheless allows for variety and is, therefore, another shifting constant. The stock characters, on the other hand, are through their presence in the ballet plot constant elements, but in as far as they are portrayed in differing ways and combinations variants at the same time.

Having outlined the nineteenth-century ballet narrative as consisting of three distinct narrative layers composed through shifting constants, it remains to be said that with this analytical approach a first step towards narrative analysis in the field of dance analysis has taken place. The method does not represent an application of a pre-existing model, but has been conceived for theatre and its purposes. The single elements outlined in this article may be arranged in alternating ways as to suit the case study and account for the difference, variety and individuality found in the ballet scenario. Thus, it is possible to change the approach from one case study to the other without major problems. Additionally, one element may be left out or a focus on either narrative or theatrical structure can be followed. It is, therefore, that the Dramaturgy of Desire emerges through application.

Select Bibliography:

Abbott, H. [no further name given] Porter. The Cambridge Introduction to Narrative. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
Adshead, Janet (ed.). Dance Analysis. Theory and Practice. London: Dance Books, 1988.
Angiolini, Gasparo. Lettere di Gasparo Angiolini a Monsieur Noverre sopra i Balli Pantomimi. Milan: Gio. Battista Bianchi, 1773.
Aristotle. Aristotle’s Poetics. Accessed 09. May 2005.
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/classics/resources/poetics/poettran.htm
Barry, Peter. Beginning Theory. An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory. Manchester/New York: Manchester University Press, 2002.
Beaumont, Cyril William. Complete Book of Ballets. London: Putnam, 1937.
______. The Ballet called Giselle. London: Dance Books, 1969.
Belsey, Catherine. Desire. Love Stories in Western Culture. Oxford/Cambridge: Blackwell, 1994.
Canton, Katia. The Fairy Tale Revisited. A Survey of the Evolution of the Tales, from Classical Literary Interpretations to Innovative Contemporary Dance-theater [sic.] Productions. Bern: Peter Lang, 1996.
Chatman, Seymour. Story and Discourse. Narrative Structure in Fiction and Film. New York: Cornell University Press, 1980.
Cobley, Paul. Narrative. The New Critical Idiom Series. London/New York: Routledge, 2004.
De Marinis, Marco. The Semiotics of Performance. Bloomington/Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1993.
Duchartre, Pierre Louis. The Italian Comedy. The Improvisation Scenarios Lives Attributes Portraits and Masks of the Illustrious Characters of the Commedia dell’ Arte. New York: Dover Publications, 1966.
Elam, Keir. The Semiotics of Theatre and Drama. London/New York: Routledge, 2002.
Foster, Susan Leigh. Reading Dancing: Bodies and Subjects in Contemporary American Dance. Berkeley/Los Angeles/London: University of California Press, 1986.
______. Choreography and Narrative. Ballet’s staging of Story and Desire. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1998.
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