Neoclassical & Contemporary Ballet
“Tradition evolves when the body discovers a new grammar.”
History & cultural context
In the twentieth century ballet kept its technique but changed its grammar. Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes (1909–1929) brought together choreographers, composers and painters and showed that ballet could be modern. George Balanchine, who began with Diaghilev, created Apollo in 1928 and later built a plotless, musical style with New York City Ballet, founded in 1948.
Neoclassical ballet strips away narrative and decoration to show structure, speed and musicality. Contemporary ballet goes further: off-balance movement, floor work and influences from modern dance, while keeping the classical body as its foundation.
Masters, schools & legacy
Key figures include Balanchine, Frederick Ashton, William Forsythe, who led Ballett Frankfurt from 1984 to 2004, Jiří Kylián at Nederlands Dans Theater, John Neumeier in Hamburg, and today choreographers such as Wayne McGregor, Crystal Pite and Alexei Ratmansky. Their works are performed by classical companies alongside the nineteenth-century repertoire.
Dances of this world
- Neoclassical ballet
- Ballets Russes and modernist ballet
- British narrative ballet (Ashton and MacMillan)
- Stuttgart Ballet and John Cranko's dramatic ballet
- Hamburg Ballet and John Neumeier's literary ballet
- Béjart Ballet
- Ballett Frankfurt and William Forsythe
- Nederlands Dans Theater and Jiří Kylián
- Eifman's psychological ballet
- Contemporary ballet today: Wayne McGregor and Crystal Pite
Further reading
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