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The works of Monsieur Noverre translated from the French : Noverre, his circle, and the English Lettres sur la danse / edited by Michael Burden and Jennifer Thorp.
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Title:The works of Monsieur Noverre translated from the French : Noverre, his circle, and the English Lettres sur la danse / edited by Michael Burden and Jennifer Thorp.
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Other Contributors/Collections:Burden, Michael, 1960- editor.
Thorp, Jennifer, editor.
Noverre, Jean Georges, 1727-1810. Lettres sur la danse et sur les ballets. English.
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Published/Created:Hillsdale, NY : Pendragon Press, [2014]
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Holdings
Holdings Record Display
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Location:MAA LIBRARY (IKB) stacksWhere is this?
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Call Number: ML3858 .N94 2014
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Number of Items:1
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Status:Available
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Location:MAA LIBRARY (IKB) stacksWhere is this?
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Library of Congress Subjects:Noverre, Jean Georges, 1727-1810--Criticism and interpretation.
Ballet--History--18th century.
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Description:xvii, 549 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 26 cm
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Series:Wendy Hilton dance & music series ; no. 19.
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Notes:Includes bibliographical references (pages 523-533) and index.
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ISBN:9781576472156
1576472159
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Contents:Machine generated contents note: pt. I Noverre at work
1. From Les fetes chinoises to Agamemnon revenged: Ange Goudar as commentator on the ballets of Jean-Georges Noverre / Jennifer Thorp
2."Just as great as Noverre": the ballet composer Florian Johann Deller (1729
73) and music at the Wurttemberg court / Samantha Owens
3. Noverre in Milan: a turning point / Kathleen Kuzmick Hansell
4. Mozart, Le Picq, and the Serraglio (Milan, 1772): Noverre's tragic reworking of a comic ballet / Adeline Mueller
5. Outrageous dancing and respectable Noverre / Edward Nye
6. Weiss und Rosenfarb: the end of Noverrian ballet in Vienna and the beginnings of the Wienerischer Musenalmanach / Bruce Alan Brown
7. Regular meetings: Noverre and Gallini in London, 1756-1795 / Michael Burden
8. Jean-Georges Noverre applying for jobs / Anna Karin Stahle
Illustrations
pt. II The English translation of Noverre's Lettres sur la Danse Note continued: The Works of Monsieur Noverre translated from the French (1782-3)
Introduction and editorial note
v. I An essay on the art of dancing Part 1
Dedicatory letter by Noverre to the Prince of Wales, 1782
Preface: A brief history of dancing and its various forms in and since antiquity
Three letters to Noverre from Voltaire, 1763-1772
An essay on the art of dancing
Letter I The present state of dancing: it should be a faithful copy of nature, particularly in dramatic scenes, but is too often superficial, mechanical and lacking in expression
Letter II The need in pantomime-ballets for expression of the sentiments, an appropriate subject, and a clear dramatic structure, is not understood by all ballet-masters
Letter III The noblest passions are the proper objects of pantomime-ballet, and should be displayed with taste and imagination Note continued: Letter IV Ballets are fashionable diversions on the French stage; divertissements and an indulgent public perpetuate the worn-out practices of opera dancing
Letter V The extensive knowledge required by a ballet-master to assist creative inspiration
Letter VI Everything in the universe is a suitable theme for a ballet-master, and he should study social types, their activities and their surroundings, in order to reflect them accurately
Letter VII The characteristic features of pantomime-ballets as ballets en action or mute conversation
Letter VIII The great poetical genius required by ballet-masters divising opera dances, in order to make their ballets relevant to the opera and not mere divertissements or entr'acte dances. Ballet-master, machinist, scene-painter and composer should all work together
Letter IX The need for variety in performance, and recommendations for making stage costumes more meaningful Note continued: Letter X Physiognomy is the most useful interpreter of an individual's feelings; Garrick is the model for expression through these means
Letter XI Arguments in favour and against the use of masks; the importance of the face and eyes in expressing the changing passions
Alphabetical index of technical words
v. II An essay on the art of dancing Part 2
Letter XII "Action" in dance means pantomime, the art of conveying different expressions by characteristic and intelligible gestures; not to be confused with low buffoonery
Letter XIII Dance is more than physical ability or exertion; the dancer must feel justly and express with feeling, to capture the soul of the imitative arts
Letter XIV The requirements of a dancer: willingness and ability to correct personal defects, and good teachers
Letter XV Personal defects: weaknesses of, and remedies for, the dancer who is jarrete (knock-knee'd) Note continued: Letter XVI Personal defects: weaknesses of, and remedies for, the dancer who is arque (bow-legged); observations on the proper motions of the arms, and on beaten steps
Letter XVII Personal defects: turnout of the legs, the importance of good training early on and the dangers of the tourne-haunch
Letter XVIII Common causes of injury, and further observations on jumps and beaten steps
Letter XIX Observations on how best to co-ordinate steps, preserve equilibrium and ensure harmony of movements in dancing
Letter XX Musicality in dancing: the importance of hearing and observing the measure, and knowing how to time steps and movements exactly
Letter XXI Chorography (dance notation): the systems of Arbeau, Beauchamp, Feuillet are a fine record of the past but inadequate for current needs
Letter XXII Proposal to reform the Academy of Dancing and return it to its former pre-eminence in training dancers and dancing-masters Note continued: Letter XXIII The limitations of the French Academy of Dancing and the article "Chorographie" in the Encyclopaedia: dance notation would have been more useful if illustrated, by leading artists and engravers, with images of dancers performing the dances, and explanations of the expressions depicted as they danced
Letter XXIV Chorography is useless as a tool for creating new works, as it is inadequate for recording embellishments, sight-lines, and the complex structures of pantomime-ballets
Letter XXV Written descriptions of ballets are useful only for outlining the intrigue in pantomime-ballets: description of Noverre's Les caprices de Galathee [The whims of Galathea]
Letter XXVI Description of Noverre's The toilet of Venus, or the frolics of love, an heroic pantomimical-ballet
Letter XXVII The costumes of The toilet of Venus, and the use of expressive pauses in the music; description of Noverre's The jealousies of the seraglio Note continued: Letter XXVIII Descriptions of Noverre's hove turn'd pirate, or a voyage to Cythere; The jealous man without a rival, and discussion of de Cahusac's and Diderot's ideas on danse d'action
v. III The Ballets
Dedication by the translator to the Duchess of Devonshire
Preface
Scenarios and dramatis personae of Noverre ballets:-
1. The Danaides, or the daughters of Danaus. A tragi-pantomime-ballet
2. Rinaldo and Armida
3. Adela of Ponthieu (with Noverre's dedication and verse to the Duchess of Devonshire)
4. The Graces. An anacreontic ballet
5. The Horatii and Curiatii. A tragic ballet
6. Agamemnon revenged. A tragic ballet
7. Apelles and Campaspe, or the self-conquest of Alexander. An heroic pantomimical ballet
8. The amours of Venus, or Vulcan's revenge. An episodical ballet
9. Alceste, or the triumph of conjugal love. A tragic ballet.