The Ballet

In the 1930s, the original play was adapted into a ballet. Here is how it affects the message:

Ballet

Romeo & Juliet by Sergei Prokofiev

Synopsis

In the 1930s, a Russian composer adapted Shakespeare’s play into a ballet. Sergei Prokofiev took the foundation of Shakespeare’s work and brought it to life through the sound of music and the movements of dance. This adaptation, although based on the same story, plays a big role in the interpretation of the story of the audience as the medium is entirely different, but the story remains the same.

This version of telling the story focuses on visual storytelling over oral because there is typically no talking during a ballet.

Audience

Primary audience: Ballet & Music Enthusiasts

The primary audience for the ballet version is more than likely ballet enthusiasts (e.g. ballet dancers, avid ballet watchers, etc.) and those with experience with music (e.g. musicians, composers, etc.) since the ballet version, as the name implies, focuses on the dancing to tell the story and the music is also vital to guiding the plot.

Secondary audience: Fans of the original play

The secondary audience may include those who are particular fans of the original play. It would be understandable for an individual who is especially intrigued by the story of Romeo and Juliet, the Renaissance era, and Shakespeare, himself, to want to explore different variations of the original storyline.

If this is the case, this group of people would be able to analyze how the medium alters the interpretation of the original tale exactly as we are in this presentation.

Point of Views

Romanticism

The ballet version of Romeo and Juliet emphasizes the perspective of romanticism as the dances are loaded with emotion. Ballet is typically known for its romance because of its uproar during the Romantic era in the 19th century. The Romantic era is known for its intense focus on passion and emotion amid the French Revolution and because of this, many different versions of art were being introduced including music and dancing, like ballet.

The graceful movements, orchestral music, and detailed costumes of ballet all follow romantic ideals, making it essentially the embodiment of romance.

Furthermore, ballet has also been used to tell love stories through performances like Romeo and Juliet, such as Swan Lake, which is why it is very known for its romance and romantic portrayals.

As a result, the ballet version of Romeo and Juliet emphasizes the romantic perspective of the story as it focuses more on the unconditional love between the protagonists than the ongoing conflicts around them that it expressed through the play. This is because it is much harder to convey deep conflicts and feudalism without words to describe the context.

Liberalism & Individuality

The ballet version also opens up the story through a liberal and individual point of view. This is because the ballet plays with the number of dancers on the stage during each scene. For example, in a scene of the original play where Juliet is talking to herself about how attracted she is to Romeo; in the ballet, Juliet is seen dancing a solo and filling up the entire stage with her presence. This shows the audience a freeing and liberating feeling as they watch Juliet dance across the stage for her scenes.

The big leaps and long spins that span across the stage emphasize the individuality of Juliet and her feelings in the story. Therefore, the way the ballet concentrates on liberalism makes this adaptation more focused on emotions and the exploration of said emotions than the original play does.

Here is an example of one Juliet's solos in the ballet.

Codes & Conventions

Dance & Choreography

Evidently, the ballet version of Romeo and Juliet uses dance as the main outstanding feature that distinguishes this version from the others. Even though ballet is known for being a gentle and calm form of dance, it is also possible to vary the movements to create a harsh tone and overall scene, as well. This version of Romeo and Juliet concentrates on the choreography and movements of the dancers in order to portray a certain scene.

Music

Prokofiev’s choice of music is, along with the dancing portion, an extremely vital part of this version of Romeo and Juliet. This ballet version used different pieces and elements of music in order to convey the message and story to the audience. Like most ballets, a lot of the music used was classical. With instruments such as strings, percussion, woodwinds, and more, the music used in this version varied in tempo (the speed of the pieces), dynamics (the volume levels), and articulation (e.g slurs that connect the notes, staccatos that shorten the notes, etc.) in order to adapt to the scene being recreated.

Costumes

Although the play also uses costumes as an aspect of the portrayal of the story, the costumes of the ballet are a lot more elaborate as it has to be appropriate for the dancers to dance in. This means that the costumes are a lot lighter and simple in the sense that it was made with significantly less fabric than they would have been in the play since the actors were simply standing and talking throughout most of the performance.

Furthermore, the costumes for Juliet, in particular, contained a lot more flowy skirts and dresses to emphasize the dancer’s movements and the character itself.

It is also important to take into consideration that the ballet version was created in a completely different time period than the original play. As a result, the costumes are a lot more intricate and detailed (e.g. embroidery) as there were more methods to do so than during the late 16th century.

Change in Message

By comparing the original medium of the story, which is the play, to an adaptation of the story, through ballet, it is evident that the interpretation of the message can vary, even though the storyline physically remains the same. Plays revolve around language and words whereas ballets are based on choreography and music; this is the biggest difference between the two mediums. If we reconsider the ‘point of views’ section of both mediums, we can acknowledge that the ballet version focuses a lot more on the emotion and love of the story, and the play focuses more on the tragedy and feud between the Capulets and Montagues.

It is also important to acknowledge that the gentleness of ballet limits the amount of action that can be presented in the ballet. For example, it would be difficult to convey a fierce duel while also maintaining the gracefulness of this style of dance. As a result, this can also impact the audience's interpretation of the more action-filled scenes in the ballet compared to the ones in the play.

Balcony Scene

Here is a video of the duet of the ballet dancers who play Romeo and Juliet in the ballet. Notice how the scene takes away the main balcony prop and focuses on the emotional connection between the two characters?

As a result, it is understandable why the message perceived by the ballet version would hold more emotional depth than simply reading the original scene in the play.

Here is the ballet's version of the balcony scene.

Here is a video on the full ballet performance of Romeo and Juliet

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