The Bournonville method is a ballet technique and training system devised by the Danish ballet master August Bournonville.

Overview[link]

August Bournonville trained with his father Antoine Bournonville and other notable French ballet masters. He was heavily influenced by the early French school of ballet, which he preserved in his teaching and choreography, when the traditional French methods began to disappear from European ballet.^[1] What is considered today to be the "Bournonville style" is essentially the unfiltered 19th century technique of the French school of classical dance.

The technique features very basic use of arms, usually keeping them in preparatoire position. Perpetual use of simple diagonal epaulements. Vocabulary for men is essentially varied forms of beats. Pirouettes are taken with a low developpe into seconde, then from seconde, for outside turns, and with a low developpe into 4th for inside turns. Also common are the dramatic use of fifth position bras en bas (preparatory position) for beginning and ending movements. The style has many recognizable poses such as pointe derriere one arm in 5th, the other a la taille (at the waist), with a touch of epaulement. F

Characteristics[link]

• The guiding principle of the Bournonville method is that the dancer should perform with a natural grace, dramatic impact and harmony between body and music^[2]
• Graceful epaulement, with the upper body usually twisting towards the working foot, to draw attention to and emphasise the movement.^[3][4]
• Lowered eye-line to give the impression of kindness, not raised with the expression of being proud.^[5]
• The eyes naturally follow the moving leg.^[6]
• Great attention is paid to the shape and placement of the arms. Arms are held in front of the body in all positions, so as to be anatomically correct.^[7][8]
• Feet are low in the cou de pied position, with the toe of the working foot behind the ankle of the standing leg.^[9]
• Pirouettes are performed with a low leg position, a result of the long skirts worn by ladies during his time.^[10]
• Bournonville method is noted for developing quick footwork, as required by Bournonville's choreography
• There should be no visible effort. Even the largest, most dramatic steps should be performed in an understated manner.^[11][12]
• There should be a visible contrast between the speed of the legs and the grace of the arms and torso. The legs are the rhythm, the arms are the melody^[13]

Notable Students[link]

The following is a list of notable dancers who received their training in the Bournonville method:

See also[link]

• Royal Danish Ballet

References[link]

v t e Ballet General information ballets companies glossary history music timeline Ballet terminology Ballet d'action Barre Ballet blanc Comic ballet Contemporary ballet Ballets de cour Demi-soloist Divertissement Narrative ballet Neoclassical ballet Opéra-ballet Pas de deux Pas de quatre Pas de trois Pièce d'occasion Pointe shoes Romantic ballet Turnout Tutu Variation Ballet by genre character classical contemporary neoclassical Ballet by region British French Italian Russian Dancers American British French Russian Technique Balanchine Bournonville Cecchetti Royal Academy Vaganova Ballet apparel dance belt leotard pointe shoes slippers tights tutu unitard Schools The National Ballet School of Canada Stuttgart Ballet Cuban National Ballet School Elmhurst School for Dance English National Ballet School Moscow State Academy of Choreography Royal Ballet School School of American Ballet La Scala Theatre Ballet School Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet Royal Winnipeg Ballet Companies American Ballet Theatre Anaheim Ballet Atlanta Ballet Ballet Manila Ballet Philippines Barcelona Ballet Berlin State Ballet Birmingham Royal Ballet Bolshoi Ballet Boston Ballet Cairo Opera Ballet Company Cape Town City Ballet Carolina Ballet Cincinnati Ballet Cuban National Ballet Dayton Ballet Donetsk Ballet Dutch National Ballet English National Ballet Finnish National Ballet Georgian National Ballet Greek National Opera Guangzhou Ballet Hamburg Ballet Hong Kong Ballet Houston Ballet Iaşi Romanian National Opera Iranian National Ballet Company Joffrey Ballet K-ballet Kiev Ballet Korea National Ballet Company La Scala Theatre Ballet Les Ballets de Monte Carlo Les Grands Ballets Canadiens Los Angeles Ballet Mariinsky Ballet Moldova National Opera Ballet National Ballet of Canada National Ballet of China National Ballet Theater of Puerto Rico National Opera and Ballet National Theatre Munich New Jersey Ballet New York City Ballet Norwegian National Opera and Ballet Oklahoma City Ballet Oregon Ballet Theatre Pacific Northwest Ballet Paris Opera Ballet Philippine Ballet Theatre Polish National Ballet Queensland Ballet Royal Danish Ballet Royal New Zealand Ballet Royal Swedish Ballet Royal Winnipeg Ballet San Francisco Ballet Scottish Ballet Shanghai Ballet Company Spanish National Dance Company Stuttgart Ballet The Australian Ballet The Royal Ballet Tokyo Ballet Tulsa Ballet Universal Ballet West Australian Ballet Ballet portal Did you know? today's news today's article today's biography today's picture recent news 2009 2008

Pierina Legnani as the Tsar Maiden in Petipa's revival of the Saint-Léon/Pugni ballet The Little Humpbacked Horse. St Petersburg 1895

Pierina Legnani (1863–1930) was an Italian ballerina considered one of the greatest ballerinas of all time.

Career[link]

Legnani was born on September 30, 1863 in Milan. From 1893 until 1901 she was Prima Ballerina Assoluta with the Tsar's Imperial Ballet at the Maryinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg.^[1] Legnani trained at La Scala where she developed her technical expertise. She was the first ballerina to introduce the 32 fouettés en tournant into the coda of the Grand Pas d'action of the ballet Cinderella. ^[2] The 32 turns on pointe is a bravura procedure emphasising the strength and technique of the dancer.

Legnani danced the rôles of Odette and Odile in the 1895 Riccardo Drigo revised version of the ballet Swan Lake .

Her last performance was in the Minkus/Petipa ballet La Camargo on January 28, 1901 after which she retired to live in her villa at Lake Como.^[3]

Pierina Legnani in Swan Lake

Ballets of Petipa featuring Pierina Legnani[link]

The ballets of Marius Petipa that she danced were as follows—

• Cinderella from Petipa/Ivanov/Cecchetti (music by Fitingof-Shell, 1893), Legnani was the first to establish 32 fouettés en tournant.
• The Talisman (music by Riccardo Drigo, 1895 )
• La Perle (music by Drigo, 1896)
• Raymonda (music by Aleksandr Glazunov, 1898)
• Les ruses d’amour (music by Glazunov)
• Coppélia (version from Petipa/Cecchetti, music by Léo Delibes, 1896)
• The Cavalry Halt (music by Johann Armsheimer, 1896)

Death[link]

After retiring from the stage she lived in Italy and served on the examining board of La Scala Ballet School until four months before she died. She died on November 15, 1930.

References[link]

Notes

External links[link]

• Pierina Legnani at Find a Grave

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v t e Ballet General information ballets companies glossary history music timeline Ballet terminology Ballet d'action Barre Ballet blanc Comic ballet Contemporary ballet Ballets de cour Demi-soloist Divertissement Narrative ballet Neoclassical ballet Opéra-ballet Pas de deux Pas de quatre Pas de trois Pièce d'occasion Pointe shoes Romantic ballet Turnout Tutu Variation Ballet by genre character classical contemporary neoclassical Ballet by region British French Italian Russian Dancers American British French Russian Technique Balanchine Bournonville Cecchetti Royal Academy Vaganova Ballet apparel dance belt leotard pointe shoes slippers tights tutu unitard Schools The National Ballet School of Canada Stuttgart Ballet Cuban National Ballet School Elmhurst School for Dance English National Ballet School Moscow State Academy of Choreography Royal Ballet School School of American Ballet La Scala Theatre Ballet School Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet Royal Winnipeg Ballet Companies American Ballet Theatre Anaheim Ballet Atlanta Ballet Ballet Manila Ballet Philippines Barcelona Ballet Berlin State Ballet Birmingham Royal Ballet Bolshoi Ballet Boston Ballet Cairo Opera Ballet Company Cape Town City Ballet Carolina Ballet Cincinnati Ballet Cuban National Ballet Dayton Ballet Donetsk Ballet Dutch National Ballet English National Ballet Finnish National Ballet Georgian National Ballet Greek National Opera Guangzhou Ballet Hamburg Ballet Hong Kong Ballet Houston Ballet Iaşi Romanian National Opera Iranian National Ballet Company Joffrey Ballet K-ballet Kiev Ballet Korea National Ballet Company La Scala Theatre Ballet Les Ballets de Monte Carlo Les Grands Ballets Canadiens Los Angeles Ballet Mariinsky Ballet Moldova National Opera Ballet National Ballet of Canada National Ballet of China National Ballet Theater of Puerto Rico National Opera and Ballet National Theatre Munich New Jersey Ballet New York City Ballet Norwegian National Opera and Ballet Oklahoma City Ballet Oregon Ballet Theatre Pacific Northwest Ballet Paris Opera Ballet Philippine Ballet Theatre Polish National Ballet Queensland Ballet Royal Danish Ballet Royal New Zealand Ballet Royal Swedish Ballet Royal Winnipeg Ballet San Francisco Ballet Scottish Ballet Shanghai Ballet Company Spanish National Dance Company Stuttgart Ballet The Australian Ballet The Royal Ballet Tokyo Ballet Tulsa Ballet Universal Ballet West Australian Ballet Ballet portal Did you know? today's news today's article today's biography today's picture recent news 2009 2008