Le Théàtre

Beginnings• In France, began in the Middle Ages (12th

century)• Dramatizations of rituals – Christmas and

Easter• Plays transferred from church hall

open air• Latin was substituted for vernacular

12th-15th centuries: The Middle Ages

• Farce (humorous satire of human failings)• Sottie (conversation among idiots)• Mystery play (Christian mysteries/Saints’

lives)• Morality play (educate through entertainment

– choose a Godly life over one of evil)• Physical humor and deliberate absurdity• Miracle play (re-enactments of real-life

miracles in ordinary lives)• Passion play (re-enactment of Passion of Jesus

Christ)

12th-15th centuries: The Middle Ages

• Farce (humorous satire of human failings)• Sottie (conversation among idiots)• Mystery play (Christian mysteries/Saints’

lives)• Morality play (educate through entertainment

– choose a Godly life over one of evil)• Physical humor and deliberate absurdity• Miracle play (re-enactments of real-life

miracles in ordinary lives)• Passion play (re-enactment of Passion of Jesus

Christ)

16th century:Renaissance Theatre

• Biblical tragedy (stories taken from the Bible)

• Ancient tragedy (stories taken from mythology or history)

• Contemporary tragedy (stories taken from recent events)

17th century: Baroque theatre

•  Royal court had gotten tired of tragedies• Molière (1622-1673) – a favorite of the

king• Satire – ridicules individuals and society

for its shortcomings with a goal of improvement

• Tartuffe ou L’Imposteur• Le Maladie Imaginaire• Bourgeois Gentilhomme

Le Maladie Imaginaire

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igh_D0t2SOE

18th century: Classicism

• Three Unities• Unity of place (the setting should not

change)• Unity of time (the entire play should take

place in 24 hours)• Unity of action (one central story, all

secondary plots linked to it)

Late 18th century: French Revolution

• Theater served as a forum for political expression and debate

20th century

• Theatrical experiments• Influenced by Dada and Surrealism• “Theatre of the Absurd” – refused simple

explanations, abandoned traditional characters, plots, and staging

• Eugène Ionesco – Rhinoceros• Berenger (protagonist) watches all his

friends turn into rhinoceroses one by one until he is left alone

• Horror of ideological conformism

Rhinocéros

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9F1WE8qlsU

La Danse

La Danse

Ballet: Beginnings• Began in Italian Renaissance courts of

15th and 16th centuries• Quickly spread to French court• Creation of classical ballet – Louis XIV• Académie Royale de Danse• 1672 Paris Opera Ballet – first

professional ballet company

Types of Ballet

• Classical ballet (traditional ballet technique)

• Neoclassical ballet (more extreme tempos and more technical feats, less rigid, focus on structure)

• Contemporary ballet (influenced by ballet and modern dance – abdominal strength from classical ballet + greater range of movement)

Classical Ballet

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWStlaBdxcg

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjDYW46PjA8&feature=related

Neoclassical Ballet

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5UWI9NZOEk&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PLB18F9005C5B833B8

Contemporary Ballet

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mF2k4RRfBb0

The Can-Can• First appeared in working-class ballrooms in

Paris• Originally a dance for couples and individuals• “Can-can” – “tittle-tattle” or “scandal”• Many attempts to repress it (groups of men

were arrested at public dance halls)• Highly paid women performers at Moulin

Rouge• Now performed on stage in a chorus line• French Can-Can: choreographed routine with

opportunities for individuals to display their “specialties”

The Can-Can

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lK0gYi1YEZ8