Narrativity in Concerto Barocco by George Balanchine

Abstract

Abstract: George Balanchine is widely acknowledged as one of the most musical choreographers of the twentieth century. He was also the pioneer of neoclassical ballet, that is, ballet without stories or characters in the conventional sense. Instead, neoclassical ballet focuses on inflecting our interpretation of the music. Not having stories in the conventional sense, however, does not mean that neoclassical ballet is devoid of narrativity, because for Balanchine, dance "has its own means of telling a story" through formalistic elements such as space, movement, and their interaction with music. Concerto Barocco (1941), choreographed to Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor BWV 1043 by J. S. Bach, is one of his first neoclassical ballets and has been praised for its musicality. As such, it serves as a good example for discussing what narrativity is in neoclassical ballet, and its relationship with music. This article analyzes the first movement of this ballet, choreographed to the first movement of Bach's concerto. Balanchine's view on how formalistic elements in dance can tell narratives reflects the view in structuralist and formalist literary theories that form is part of content. Although dance scholars have not used structuralist and formalist literary theories to analyze neoclassical ballets, music theorists such as Fred Maus have adapted these theories to interpret how absolute music tells narratives with tonal tension and relaxation, instrumentation, rhythm, meter, and other parameters. Taking inspiration from these models, this article examines how the formal properties of dance interact with formal properties of music in creating narratives. Bearing in mind the differences among literature, music, and dance, this article extends and refines existing theories where they prove inadequate for understanding the relationship between dance and music. In the first movement of Concerto Barocco , the music generally evokes ideas of conflict and collaboration through tonal departure and return, and the relationship between the soloists and the orchestra. However, exactly how the ideas of conflict and collaboration play out is left indeterminate. Balanchine's choreography tells a tale where the conflict between the soloists and between the soloists and the corps de ballet at the beginning becomes collaboration when the music returns to the home key at the end of the piece. This narrative is enhanced by the choreographic unison at the end, which reinforces the idea of collaboration, and by the emphasis on the tonal narrative of the music at the expense of the thematic one. This article concludes by reflecting on what narrativity means for neoclassical ballet and absolute music. Without words, dance and music can tell intricate narratives in their own ways. Indeterminacy in these media can even be seen as an advantage in enhancing emotional impact and conveying abstract ideas.