Gayane (ballet) - Analysis

Analysis

The ballet Gayane was modestly successful when danced before Joseph Stalin; re-release outside the USSR is infrequent. At the time, it was understood that the simple libretto was a necessary backdrop for the dancing, which was splendidly staged and choreographed by Anisimova, who danced in the original production. Choreographically, Anisimova thought in character dancing terms; she knew much classical dance.

Excerpts from Gayane are performed by dance companies and dance schools, especially the wedding in the second act: wonderful duets and variations for Gayane and Kasakov, her lover. The choreography was unusual for its time — classical and folk dance combined, especially the stylized use of arms and hands from the folkloric Armenian culture that is the ballet's background.

The collective farm's ethnic diversity is the backdrop for each part of the music (adagio arrangements, lively Armenian and Caucasian tunes) and for the compelling tale of love between the social classes. For concert performance, composer Khachaturian arranged three orchestral music suites drawn from the score; the Sabre Dance, from the ballet's final act, is the most famous musical piece from Gayane.

The premiere cast included Natalia Dudinskaya and Konstantin Sergeyev, then leading figures in Leningrad ballet. Nina Anisimova danced the part of an Armenian girl who is an image and symbol of Socialist labour: she works hard; she knows how to produce the most from the fields; but she also knows how to enjoy life, spending her free time dancing and laughing.

The suite of dances in the second act reflects the nationalities of the Soviet Union; at the time, the Republic of Armenia was one of 16 republics within the Union. For that, Anisimova created the famous Sabre Dance that, when performed as a musical extract, became many dance companies' showpiece.

The style of movement in the dance is unusual and unexpected for character dance — unusual bends of the body, inventive positions of the arms, not from the classical moves, the overall structure of the body is not balletic, but, most of all, in keeping with Aram Khachaturian's music, the choreography is temperamental, like Alexandrovna Anisimova herself.

When critics analysed Gayane, they saw that, in strict ballet terms, it is incompletely successful as a whole, because of its naïve libretto, and because of its overtly sociological story emphasis, yet, choreographers, critics, and historians persuaded the Kirov Theatre to profitably stage excerpts of the ballet.

The variation of Gayane, the variation of Giko, and the character dances of the people were effectively done and subsequently danced as concert pieces. After its premiere in Perm, Anisimova twice restaged Gayane for the Kirov; after revising it, the 1952 version stands as the definitive version of Gayane.

In the end, at the Kirov, Alexandrovna Anisimova did something important onstage — she proved that character dancing endures and should be included in the world of classical ballet. The dance in Gayane did not follow the Petipa tradition, for example, Swan Lake, wherein the audience is treated to national dance in discrete divertissements of "dances of le salon", in Petipa's words; in contrast, the dance in Gayane, by force of character, is felt throughout the ballet; it is a natural part of the people and of their history. In time, the ballet helped choreographers understand the importance of choreographic art in Russia — combining character dance with classical and mime traditions. Gayane is an excellent example of character dance and ballet combined; its artistic value to twentieth-century Soviet choreography is significant.