Tangled Relations

Abstract

This chapter explores the complex, reciprocal influences that weave back and forth through the performance histories of Shakespeare and of ballet, tracing their concerted force in shaping and reshaping commonplaces in Shakespeare, ballet, and the world at large. It offers a preliminary sketch of the historical landscape in which Shakespeare-ballet connections reside, laying out routes across time, and signalling landmarks both past and present that figure importantly in the development and our understanding of these connections. It analyses the pivotal role of Romeo and Juliet ballets danced to Prokofiev’s score, as Shakespeare ballets became prominent in this landscape in the mid-twentieth century. The mediation involving three voices and languages—verbal, corporeal, and musical—plays a central role in this discussion which includes first-hand accounts from present-day choreographers, composers, and dancers. Throughout, the chapter offers observations, reflections, and questions aimed at moving the young but burgeoning field of Shakespeare-and-Ballet forwards, pushing its boundaries and signalling new intersections. The larger aim of this chapter is to demonstrate the full measure of Shakespeare-ballet connections and their value in even wider cultural contexts than Shakespeare studies and dance studies.