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Ballet that Brought Dance to the Bauhaus Movement
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From a performance by the Bavarian Junior Ballet |
Given the emphasis on functionality and design for industrial production, the Bauhaus movement is rarely associated with disciplines like dance. But for Oskar Schlemmer (1888-1943), translating its principles into movement and performance was as compelling as a well-conceived chair or building.
In the last century, the Bauhaus has indelibly shaped our modern built environments and the ways we think of the relationship between form and function (it even inspired conceptual cookbooks). German architect Walter Gropius founded the school in 1919 in Weimar, Germany, with the intention of uniting architecture, fine arts, and crafts. The school focused on minimalism and creating for the social good and involved artists and designers like Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, László Moholy-Nagy, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, and Anni and Josef Albers.
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| From a performance by the Bavarian Junior Ballet |
As seen in a fully colorized film of the dance from the 1970s, the dancers are incredibly deliberate as they navigate sparse sets with clean lines. Open Culture notes that they appear almost like pantomimes or puppets “with figures in awkward costumes tracing various shapes around the stage and each other.”
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| Some of the original costumes |
Triadic Ballet is rarely reproduced, but Bavarian Junior Ballet will bring the work back to the stage this June to celebrate its 15th anniversary. And if you’re in New York, you can see one of Schlemmer’s studies in Living in the Age of the Machine at MoMA. It’s also worth exploring The Oskar Schlemmer Theatre Estate and Archives, which boasts a trove of archival imagery and drawings on its website.
Bauhaus Ballet: A Dance of Geometry 2 min. video here.
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| 2022 |
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| Boat-billed Heron |
Friday's Smiles ...
4 comments:
Dear Jacki,
I couldn't just enjoy this blog without commenting. You picked two subject which resonate with me: architecture and ballet or dance. When I went to the USC School of Architecture in 1962, their graduates were known as the "fastest renderers in the west". However that was about to change as the powers that be, decided on a less practical curriculum in favor of a "less is more" approach. There was always this tension between the FL Wright approach and the Mies Van Der Rohe approach, but USC took the later. Then when I had my daughter, a joined the ranks of moms who supported the dance studio by making costumes, painting sweatshirts for sale, etc. I couldn't get the 2 minute ballet to play but found a 9 minute one that had some of that dance as well as other information on the Bauhaus movement: so interesting to me. Thank you.
Wright
Jacki, I loved your blog too. I always was enthusiastic about the Bauhaus.
Yes, and the photos of the three boys are so precious.
Have a happy weekend!
Thanks, Carrol. I am always happy to see your comments, they are a boost to me. Yes, I remember the change, and our art department followed, as USC did, with less is more. I have visited many of the FLW homes, I used to live near Barnsdale, and although the design is clean and usually beautiful, I found them to be cold? I do remember being at your "Stairmaster" house and you showing me the exquisite ballerina costumes. Is there anything you can't do. I think not. Have a great, healthy weekend and week ahead. A hug for you and Stan.
Thank you Elenor, I really appreciate you continued support over the years. Thanks again.
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