Chapter 10 Generic Transformations: Dancing Shakespeare from the 18th to the 21st Century
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Abstract
This paper deals with the generic transformation from literature into dance. It examines key ballets based on the works of William Shakespeare created between the ‘ballet reform’ in the 18th century and the 21st century to explore the tendencies that influence the transposition of works of literature into ballets. These can be political, artistic, financial, or guided by other factors. The paper analyses the diversity of possible approaches to the endeavour of ‘translating’ a work of literature into a visual art form, and the evolution of ballet’s means of expression (such as dance, mime, sets and costumes, spoken or written words, video projections) over the centuries. I will compare the ballets to their source material and suggest possible reasons for the choice of sources and for the often significant changes made by the librettists and choreographers. Moreover, I will juxtapose Shakespeare ballets created in different places during different periods (such as Louis Henry’s Hamlet, Naples 1812, and Robert Helpmann’s 1942 Hamlet for the Royal Ballet in London) and different versions of the same ballet (such as John Cranko’s 1962 Stuttgart version and Rudolf Nureyev’s 1977 London version of Romeo and Juliet). This will allow me to explore diverse strategies that choreographers have found, throughout the history of narrative ballet, to rise to the challenge of giving meaning to movement.