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
COSTUMES
Around 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.
SHOES
In 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
SHOES
The 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-light
ing/
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/2843
90/The-19th-century