New Ballet course: Jewish Contributions to Ballet

More than the Hora: Jewish Contributions to the World of Ballet

Tuesdays, 10 - 1130 am

November 8 - 29

Goethe Institute Toronto

100 University Avenue, 2nd floor  

a few steps from Saint Andrew subway station; parking is available at Roy Thomson Hall. 

If you can't make it for this session but are interested, please let me know and I will offer the course again in January-February. 

November 8: Composers Giacomo Meyerbeer and Ludwig Minkus
November 15: Designer Leon Bakst and dancer Ida Rubinstein
November 22: Dancers and Company founders Marie Rambert, Sonia Gaskell, Alicia Markova, and Celia Franca 
November 29: Choreographer Jerome Robbins

All these people made major contributions to ballet, and all ballet lovers should know about them. The connecting thread in this course is that they all happened to be Jewish. 

In the high-art world of ballet, Jewish dancers, choreographers, composers and designers have all left a significant mark. Discover how ballet as we know it would not have been the same without them.

Per class drop-in (but you must register at least 1 week in advance as space is limited): $28.25
All four classes: $100
To register please call: 416-693-4496 or email toursenlair@gmail.com

These lectures, illustrated by entertaining video clips focusing on the huge variety of what constitutes “ballet”, will introduce you to some of the well-known and less-well-known Jewish contributors to this art form. 

Classical ballet as we know it was ushered in to the music of one Jewish composer, Giacomo Meyerbeer, in the 1830s, and then sustained to the music of another, Ludwig Minkus, through its classical flowering in Russia in the late 19th century. 

The early 20th century brought the radical reforms of Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, with the sumptuous designs of Leon Bakst and the sultry dancing of Ida Rubinstein. 

Bakst design for Scheherazade

As the century unwound, many strong Jewish ballerinas – Marie Rambert, Alicia Markova, Celia Franca, and Sonia Gaskell, founded ballet companies in countries having no tradition of the art form. In the second half of the century, Jerome Robbins brought Broadway pizzazz and American flair to the art form.

If you love ballet, please check out my season of outstanding ballet trips by clicking here.

GET MORE BALLET OUT OF LIFE WITH TOURS EN L'AIR

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