Maura Barry

Ballet 1
Catherine Lawrence
November 16, 2008

Giselle

The classical ballet Giselle, with music by Adolphe Adam, was first performed

at the Royal Academy of Music located in Paris in 1841. Still performed today, the

timeless performance tells the story of a young girl, Giselle, who dies of a broken

heart and becomes a ghost, called a Wilis. A Wilis is the soul of a girl who has

been wronged by a lover and dies of a broken heart. They are said to derive their

power from the night, which is when they come out in search of any men who

have wronged a woman and they literally dance the man to death. Perhaps the

most famous rendition of this ballet was done by Marius Petipa’s.

The tale opens on Count Albrecht, who is in love with Giselle, but has to

disguise himself as a peasant, as Giselle is poor. He hides his clothing with a

hunter who lives near Giselle, but in a fit of jealousy, another admirer of Giselle,

named Hans, retrieves Albrecht’s sword and shows it to Giselle. Directly after this,

Albrecht's bride enters the scene and out of shock Giselle goes crazy with her

sadness and dies.

The second act begins at Giselle’s grave, where Hans appears at midnight. He

is met by the Wilis, who have been summoned by their magical master, Mirtha.

He tries to escape them, but fails and is caught in a mad dance by the Wilis who

have claimed him as their victim. Albrecht has also appeared at Giselle’s grave,

full of sorrow because he has realized how much he truly cared for her now that

she is gone. The Wilis attempt to make him their second victim, and despite
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Giselle’s pleas to Mirtha to spare him, Mirtha forces Giselle to dance. Luckily,

before the dance is finished, the sun begins to rise. As the Wilis disappear,

Giselle’s soul is released to heaven, as she has come to terms with Albrecht’s

betrayal.

Full of energy and clearly experienced dancers, the dances of the ballerinas

were extremely impressive. The control they are able to exercise on every facet of

their bodies is remarkable. Every muscle knew what to do to make the body look

both strong and graceful throughout the entire performance. Among the steps

that I was able to recognize from those in class were jump combinations

incorporating developpes, jetes and temp le ves. A section of the Wilis dance

included two assembles accompanied by a glissade. Following this was a

combination of 6 changement followed by three piques. It’s very exciting to watch

professional ballerinas dance, as it can be used as motivation for one in class. It’s

always helpful to see where hard work and dedication to a craft can lead you.

I’ve always found the dance costumes ballerinas wear to be exquisitely

beautiful, and this ballet was no exception. The contrast between the peasant

costumes and those of the Wilis was helpful in conveying to the audience that the

Wilis are the ghosts of dead girls. The peasant costumes were colorful and clearly

influenced by peasant skirts and aprons, while the Wilis were dressed entirely in

white, with a considerably longer skirt to their dress than the peasants had

accompanied by a lot of layered sheer materials and toole. Another factor which

helped in noticing the difference was the lighting. The lighting was darker and

more night-like for the second act, as it took place in the evening. The scenery is
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comprised almost entirely of static elements, as there is very little use for props

or a movable set.

Interestingly enough, it is said that Adam finished the music for Giselle in just

a week. Notorious for being a quick worker, Adam was known for his thought that

just because a work was finished quickly did not mean it couldn’t be important.

The score of Giselle was one of the first to have a completely original composition,

as it was common for those who wrote librettos to write them to previously

composed music. The only number in the ballet Adam didn’t write was the

“Peasant pas de deux”, which was written by Frederic Burgmuller, as requested by

a wealthy patron whose mistress was Nathalie Fitzjames, who danced the part of a

peasant girl. Since its addition it has become part of the ballet, although the

placement varies from performance to performance.

An interesting story line, with entertaining choreography, I especially enjoyed

the supernatural, fairytale-esque element of this ballet. Not only would I like to

see other productions of this piece, I would welcome the oportunity to view the

performance live.