燈光漸漸暗淡,舞台幕徐徐上升,觀衆隨即被帶進一個 夢幻境界,裏面有迂迴曲折的故事,變化無窮的形象,但都 無需用言語表達出來。這正是一個芭蕾舞的世界,舞蹈者的 身軀,藉着千變萬化的動作與姿勢,將人類的喜怒哀樂表露 無遺。
舞蹈始創於古代,原始人以舞蹈求雨驅魔、助長耕種和 慶祝豐收。至於芭蕾舞,則源自十六世紀意大利和法國的舞 蹈宮廷。當時的王孫公子,經常舉行豪華宴會,由藝人載歌 載舞、吟詩咏句助慶。不久,巴黎成立第一間舞蹈學院,訓 練在舞台表演的專業舞蹈者。
為求芭蕾舞更有表達性,舞蹈設計家力求技術創新,舞 步變化多端,而且脫離風格固定的動作,使舞姿更趨自然化
○至十九世紀初葉,發生重大改革;女舞蹈家証明能以脚光 站立,舞姿更見輕盈靈巧;此外,現今著名的羅曼蒂克舞衣 一種低胸、腰、小燈籠袖的簿紗芭蕾短裙,亦是這個 時代的設計。
其後芭蕾舞由法國傳入英俄兩國,日趨流行。在俄國, 由於沙皇是皇室戲劇院的贊助人,故此舞蹈者皆為公僕,待 遇優厚。當時的芭蕾舞表演,流行三幕的長劇,編有精彩的 獨唱片段,使舞蹈者有發揮才能的機會。此類芭蕾舞劇,至 今仍享盛名的有「天鵝湖」和「睡美人」。
ARTICLE FOR TUEN MUN FESTIVAL BOOKLET
The light dim. The curtain rises and the spectator is transported into a magical world where stories are told and images are expressed without words being spoken. Such is the world of ballet and it is most exciting that the human body, its movement and gestures, is sufficiently flexible to be capable of expressing the full range of human emotion. Children and adults alike may be held spell-bound by the ease and grace of the ballerina who, on the very tips of her toes, seems to float across the stage, or catch their breath in amazement as the male dancer leaps, bounds and spins and escorts his partner with consideration and devotion.
Of course, such skill was not achieved immedi- ately. The history of dance goes back to the beginning of time when the most primitive peoples danced to bring the rain and make the crops grow, celebrated their harvests with festive ceremonies or reenacted their tragedies by frightening away the evil spirits through dance. The origin of ballet, however, is to be found in the court dances of Italy and France in the sixteenth century. Lavish entertainments spon- sored by the princes of the city states incorporated dance, songs and poetry and soon the first dancing academy was established in Paris, France to train dancers for professional careers on the stage. This school still exists today in the Paris Opéra and its is the reason why the technical terms used in ballet are in the French language.
The demand for (ballet) dancing to become more expressive brought about innovations in technique, the vocabulary of steps increased and choreo- graphers broke away from sylised movements and
芭蕾舞之夜
began to use the human body in a more natural way. The greatest changes occurred in the early nine- teenth century when it was discovered that the female dancer could stand on the tips of her toes which made her look as if she were floating through the air. This technical innovation coincided with a movement in literature and the increasing popularity of stories about supernatural beings (sylphs or fairies), unobtainable love, curiosity about countries far away and the desire to write about 'real' people as opposed to gods and goddesses. Thus, romanti- cism in art, literature and music was reflected in. dance resulting in the creation of one of the most beautiful ballets still performed today: Giselle. Dating from this period are the attractive gossamer-like long bell-shaped skirts with slim fitted-waists, low bodices and small cap sleeves, nowadays called the Romantic tutu, and which creates the image in many people's minds of the ballerina.
From France ballet spread to England and Russia where it gained in popularity while dance declined to music hall levels in the west. The Tsar was the sponsor of the Imperial Theatres, therefore dancers were civil servants and very well treated. In St. Petersburg, as it was then called, now Leningrade, a Frenchman Marius Petipa, directed the ballet for many years. The fashion decreed that ballets should be long, three-act spectacles with brilliant solos to display the talents of the ballerinas and male dancers. Among the best of those that still survive are Swan Lake and the Sleeping Beauty. One of the reasons for the survival of these two ballets is the beautiful music written for them by P.I. Tchaikovsky.
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