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Pearson 1
Aubrey Pearson
Professor Edwin Austin
Dance 477
13 April 2014
The Ballet Technique within The Moiseyev Folk Dance Ensemble
The Moiseyev Folk Dance Ensemble of Russia is widely known for bringing folk dance
into a theatrical light. Igor Moiseyev, the founder and director of the company, had a passion for
taking the ideas of traditional folk dances and carrying it to the stage, enriching and reawakening
cultural dances to the public’s eye. Moiseyev himself said, “the task of our company is to create
classic patterns of the folk dance, and while casting off all the artificial and alien elements, to
achieve a high degree of artistry in the performance of folk dances, to develop a number of old
dances, and to influence the further shaping of the folk dance” (Chudnovsky 18-19). Completely
intrigued by the folk dance world, he devoted his life to such research and portraying the spirit of
folk dance on the stage throughout his career.
Because of the ballet background of his early years, he was fascinated not only by folk
dance but was knowledgeable in the art of classical ballet, which influenced the prominent
characteristics of his company. Not only did he bring the world of folk dance to a performance
setting but he creatively combined it with the classical ballet world, blending these cultures to
create a beautiful and unique compilation on the stage. His goal was to “preserve the basic
pattern of the folk dance, its main national form and flavor, and at the same time give it a new
interpretation” (Chudnovsky 25) and he believed combining the two dance cultures would
exemplify that objective, ultimately creating the theatrical folk dance genre. While these two
dance cultures may have very little in common, when Moiseyev combined them into a single
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concert the meticulous technique and performance quality of classical ballet enhanced his folk
dances while the impactful emotion naturally present in folk dance enriched the ballet technique.
As a result, Moiseyev’s Dance Ensemble featured the best qualities of both the folk dance and
classical ballet culture through dances of varying nationalities, influencing both dance genres for
the better.
Many critics, however, refute this statement. They claim that since ballet technique is
largely prominent in Moiseyev’s performances, his company is evolving into a ballet company
rather than remaining in the folk dance genre, emphasizing the technique rather than the raw
emotion and meaning behind the movement. They argue that since ballet technique was not
originally part of the folk dances performed by the common people, the addition of it subtracts
from their genuineness.
After the company performed in New York in 1986, New York Times published an article
commenting on its masterful dancing, but also noted on how Russian dance experts worry that
over the years Moiseyev’s company lost “some robust, forthright folk dance spirit that has
animated its work” (Barringer). By transforming from a folk dance ensemble into some sort of
ballet company, as said above, the review continues saying that, “Moiseyev is losing its unique
flavor” (Barringer). With the incomparable amount of ballet companies to folk companies
throughout the world, the review commented on how the company is wavering from its original
distinctive qualities.
Other reviews of his performances have similar critiques. Anna Kisselgoff, another writer
of the New York Times reviewed their performance in 1986 as well. Kisselgoff praised
Moiseyev’s choreographic creativity and virtuosity that was both breathtaking and path breaking
for the time of the formation of the company along with the brilliant technique seen from each
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dancer. But on the negative side, she found that the “superb technique took over motivating
impulse” (Kisselgoff). Did the dancers remember or even know the true purpose of the dance as
their predecessors did? Did they care what the dance expressed emotionally? With the dancers
seemingly more on assignment rather than on a cultural journey, the review found “the cost of a
certain raw vigor” (Kisselgoff) not worth the exceptional technique.
Moiseyev’s company has undergone strong critiques toward its motives and ethics ever
since its establishment. Even at the start, there was frequent talk against the formation of such a
company. People of Russia of that time believed a sharp line of distinction should remain
between classical ballet and other forms of dance and Moiseyev’s combination went against all
ethics. Melding two such polar opposite forms of dance seemed unproductive. Judgments were
also directed toward Igor Moiseyev’s decision to leave the Bolshoi, where he had worked for
over 10 years, to create his own company. As the greatest ballet company in Russia at that time,
people wondered if he thought himself arrogant enough to think he could actually create a
company better than the Bolshoi (Chudnovsky 16). Because of his unique outlook, he received
many opinionated criticisms toward his career choice, but Moiseyev remained strong in his
pursuits and became very successful because of it.
One strong belief he held to was that a professional dance company never exactly
duplicates a dance of the common people. It is not their inability to duplicate the movement,
costumes, and significance behind the movement, but rather, a professional group has different
motives behind their actions. While the common people dance for their own enjoyment with no
real distinction between performers and audience, professional dance companies perform to
please their audiences, who have high expectations for the show and hope to see deep investment
and drama on the stage (Chudnovsky 26). Stressing the difference between the dance of the
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common people and of a professional company became one of the aesthetic principles Moiseyev
heavily depended on. He wondered why audiences would come to see simple dances that any
common person could perform on their own. While anyone can go out on the streets to
experience folk dancing, he emphasized how the intricate ballet technique of his dancers added
something even more to the performance rather than took away from it as some critics claimed.
In his defense he stated, “Whatever the narrow-minded experts might say, a stage dance is not a
copy or a photograph of the original. The stage calls for a scenic dance form. What my company
seeks in the dance is a beauty of movement and form that people will understand today” (Ilupina
6). Moiseyev was very big into travelling throughout his life. He travelled from country to
country studying their customs and traditional dances, hoping to understand everything he could.
Taking his vast knowledge of the cultures he then translated them into his choreography and
dancers, who all had previous extensive ballet training either from his Folk Dance School or at
the Bolshoi Ballet School (Ilupina 5).
This revolutionary outlook on creating a folk company with its foundation in ballet was a
result of Moiseyev’s extensive ballet background in his early life. Born in 1906 in Kiev, Igor
entered the private dance school of Vera Mosolava at age 14 under the insistence of his father.
Immediately recognizing his talent, the school sent him to the Bolshoi Theater dance school after
only 3 months. Having sent very few of their students to the Bolshoi Theater dance school that
quickly, the private school knew he was destined for greatness. The Bolshoi Theater saw his
talent as well and immediately after graduating from the choreographic school at age 18, he
danced leading roles for the company, but he knew that his true passion was in teaching and
choreographing. Therefore, at the age of 24, he branched out and became the theater’s youngest
ballet master where he taught and choreographed and had success with every dance he presented.
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Because of his choreographic success, he was asked to be a member of the panel of judges at the
first festival of the U.S.S.R. folk dances. He was put in charge of following dance festivals from
then on, enjoying every minute of colorful costumes, the enchanting spirit, and overwhelming
joy presented on the stage. By way of these festivals, he was further and further convinced that
folk dance was where his concentration should lie, writing that “folk art had revealed his true
calling to him” (Chudnovsky 15). Through the many years of studying the art of ballet, it is
evident he was enthralled with that specific style but after experiencing other forms of dance he
was curious what could unfold if they were combined. This curiosity led him to forming his
company, the State Ensemble of U.S.S.R. Folk Dance Company, eventually changing its name to
The Moiseyev Folk Dance Ensemble.
At this time in history, many people were breaking from the norm in the field of dance as
Moiseyev was. In pre-revolutionary Russia, the Russians clung to aristocratic traditions, which
was strictly classical ballet. The ballet companies catered to the tastes of their aristocratic public
who, in fact, were the only people who could afford to see the performances, making dance a
very exclusive art. To help the audience escape the gloom of the day, the ballets often revolved
around light entertainment plots, such as fairy tales, fantasy, and enchantments, while completely
avoiding actual emotions and feelings (Chudnovsky 8). The performances would remove the
viewers from their current environment and bring them to a world full of fairies and trolls. This
culture of classical ballet did not sit well for upcoming choreographers and dancers of the time
who wanted to expand the horizons of dance and reach out of the confined box of ballet
technique.
Around the beginning of the 20th century, Michel Fokine paved a pathway for future
choreographers in Russia. After being a lead with the Imperial Russian Ballet for quite a few
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years, Fokine realized he wanted to break from the traditions of classical ballet. He disliked how
choreography and costumes clashed with the music and that the meaningless steps only existed
to highlight external qualities, such as what the body was capable of, instead of inner feelings.
He proposed the removal of pointe shoes to allow the women to dance freely in bare feet with the
upper body similarly loose and natural (Krauss). He proposed these philosophies to the Imperial
Ballet but was immediately rejected with no support for his radical ideas for many years.
Another notable and influential dancer of the time was Anna Pavlova of Russia. Her exploration
of dance did not challenge the traditional way of technique or choreography as other
choreographers did, but she was determined to change the exclusive feeling of ballet. She toured
for 12 years around the world to spread the love of dance to everyone, especially to the common
people who never had the opportunity to experience such an art previously. She was responsible
for spreading ballet to every continent (Fisher). Around the same time but in the United States,
Isadora Duncan believed that dance should be filled with personal expression instead of a
vocabulary of steps like classical ballet. Therefore, in contrast to the ballet vocabulary, she
emphasized natural movement with soaring arms, skips, and a swaying upper body. Her students
were told to find their own movement preferences within their dancing rather than solely copying
her own movement as classical technique often requires (Krauss).
As these examples illustrate, people around the world were revolutionizing the dance
culture with their own preferred movement styles, adding more emotion to the movement, and
spreading the dance culture to various parts of the world around the time of Moiseyev. Even
though these people had their own distinctive views and critiques of the classical ballet world
they had one thing in common; they all believed that change was necessary. Moiseyev believed
the same thing and he fashioned his own way to participate in this revolution as talked about
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previously, by adding qualities of classical ballet to folk dance and influencing both ballet and
folk dance in a positive way. Similar to Michel Fokine, Moiseyev received lots of rejection and
critique for his radical ideas. He had to stay confident in his purpose if he hoped to make a
memorable effect. Moiseyev also had similar goals to Pavlova, who wanted to end the
exclusiveness of dance. He placed folk dance on the stage to spread the knowledge of it to the
public around the world. Finally, as Isadora Duncan eventually disregarded the ballet vocabulary
through her personal experiences with ballet, Moiseyev also disregarded several elements of
classical ballet he found disagreeable through his extensive experience with the art.
As stated earlier, he had a vast life involvement in the ballet culture while growing up,
proficient in every role within it, starting off as a dancer who took direction from his teachers,
eventually becoming a technique teacher himself, and then ultimately choreographing ballets for
the company. Through his vast experience in the ballet culture, he developed some of his own
critiques of classical ballet, shaping his thoughts on how he thought ballet could be modified,
and putting his ideas into action through the creation of his company.
Moiseyev loved the technical mastery and high professional standards of classical ballet,
with pointed toes, strong upper bodies, grace, and straight legs, which was familiar to him at a
young age. These qualities are especially seen in his company. But he found several things in the
ballet culture less than effective. First, he disagreed with the ever-present solo work that
overpowered and ultimately choked the corps de ballet, leaving them only in the background.
Everything lied on the shoulders of the principal dancer while “the corps just waved their hands”
(Barringer). He felt the corps only offered decoration to the stage instead of bringing additional
meaning to the dance. To counteract this disagreeable quality of classical ballets, his company
took quite the opposite approach. He said that in his company, “95% of my dancers are soloists.
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The principal dancer in one dance will just be part of the background in another” (Barringer).
The company is known for their spectacular group work and formations, with occasional soloists
coming in and out of the group. He knew how important group work was in traditional folk
dance and was determined to keep that at the forefront of his company.
Another quality he found displeasing in the classical ballet culture was the lack of
emotion revealed on the stage due to the countless restrictions and limiting rules of the art. With
the majority of the classical ballets focused solely on fairy tales and enchantments, Moiseyev did
not see real nor raw emotion that would be very evident in the people they were trying to portray.
He said “classical ballet lives according to narrow rules, so strict and strained that it has become
isolated even from its own people” (Barringer). Speaking of his company he said, “We take quite
the opposite route. We strive to be closer to life, closer to the people. We don’t live according to
the theatrical tradition. We live in the people’s tradition” (Barringer). Through his company, he
hoped to uncover the raw emotion of the people, adding feelings to the ballet technique that he
believed were not represented previously.
After seeing the Moiseyev Company’s path breaking success, with large and enthusiastic
audiences developing wherever they toured, other folk dance companies began emerging. His
concept of bringing folk dance to a performance setting was a revolutionary idea in the 1930s.
“Before the Moiseyev company came into existence only spontaneous and sporadic efforts were
made to capture the essence of the folk dance” (Chudnovsky 19), so this trend he started changed
the folk dancing world. Depending on the directors’ preference of philosophy, some companies
chose to follow after Moiseyev’s footsteps and include a strong base in ballet while others agreed
with the critics of Moiseyev and tried to keep the dancing as close to the original as possible.
This battle between reality and performance still continues today.
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To acquire further insight into whether a particular folk dance ensemble incorporates
ballet technique into their performances or not, I interviewed two members of the Brigham
Young University International Folk Dance Ensemble. This ensemble performs locally and has
also toured across the US, through Asia, and also Europe. The first person I interviewed, Tanner
Pearson, is no longer on the ensemble but was a member for several years. While he was a
member the ensemble experienced a change of directors, allowing him to the see the difference
of focus between the two. When I asked him about the ballet technique emphasis between the
directors he responded saying that his first director seemed to focus more on the “folk dance
feeling, the feel of the country, and why the people of that country danced. He made sure we
knew the culture and the background of every dance” while the new director the next year was
“more ballet technique based. She did not teach the culture as much as how to perform the steps
correctly” (Pearson). Even from the same school, different philosophies and focuses of a director
transform a company.
With the new director, Pearson noticed that the amount of ballet technique they did as a
warm up before rehearsal increased. They began warm up by doing barre work, including pliés,
tendus, dégagés, fondus, and grand battements. Then going across the floor they worked on
balletic turns, jumps, and holding their arms in the correct ballet positions. All of this helped
build strength and muscle memory that translated to their performances. The other person I
interviewed, Brian Francis, is a current member of BYU’s Folk Dance Ensemble. He also
commented on the extensive amount of ballet technique they do for their warm up each day.
Specifically in their Irish and Ukranian dances, the ballet technique “worked wonders for the
company. Technique improved across the board” (Francis). The aesthetic in Irish dances is
turned out feet and pointed toes so with the help of constant ballet technique warm up, Francis
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found it easier to keep the feet turned out because of the built muscle memory. Francis
remembered a time when an Ukrainian choreographer, Luba Grekov, came and taught them a
dance for their upcoming show. He commented on how she was very persistent with how
important ballet technique was and mentioned it several times a day in their rehearsals. Even
from across the world, this choreographer knew how much ballet technique would influence the
company.
Both Pearson and Francis agreed that by incorporating more ballet technique into their
warm up and therefore, into their dances, it enhanced the company’s performances by building a
strong core, developing good upper-body posturing, and increasing body awareness into the
dancers. “It allowed the team to create a better framework for the dances. We learned the dance
steps and then the technique pieced it all together” (Pearson). These comments from Pearson and
Francis illustrated how ballet technique is still alive in the world of folk dance today.
Ballet technique does more than just add a graceful element to a folk dance show.
Directors of companies around the world find it valuable enough to incorporate it into their
companies. The technique gives a certain performance quality and it strengthens the dancers
enough to perform any step that is required. Moiseyev saw these benefits and introduced them
into his own company, setting a ground-breaking tradition for future companies. Without
forgetting the true meaning behind the movement, the ballet technique enhanced his company’s
dancing while the folk dance spirit and emotion gave more life to the ballet technique.
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Works Cited
Barringer, Felicity. "Moiseyev's Dancers Edge Closer to Ballet." New York Times [New York
City] 31 August 1986, n. pag. Print.
Chudnovsky, M. Dancing to Fame. Moscow: 1959. 1-100. Print.
Fisher, Jennifer. "The Swan Brand: Reframing the Legacy of Anna Pavlova." Dance Research
Journal. (2012): n. page. Print.
Francis, Brian. Telephone Interview. 02 Apr 2014.
Ilupina, Anna, and Yelena Lutskaya. Moiseyev's Dance Company. Moscow: Progress Publishers,
1966. Print.
Jacobs, Laura A. "On Dance: From the USSR to the NYCB."New Leader [New York] 6
Februrary 1989, 22. Print.
Kisselgoff, Anna. "Dance: Russian Troupe, The Moiseyev Company." New York Times [New
York City] 04 September 1986, n. pag. Print.
Kraus, Richard, Sarah Chapman Hilsendager, and Brenda Dixon. History of the Dance in Art and
Education. 2. Print.
Pearson, Tanner. Telephone Interview. 02 Apr 2014.