The Shakespeare suite by Maurice Béjart: A fantasy in duke Ellington’s jazz rhythms
Abstract
Béjart produced “A Winter Night’s Dream” (1953), “The Taming of the Shrew” (1954), “The Shakespeare Suite” (1960), “Romeo and Juliet” (1966), “Hamlet” (1989) and “King Lear – Prospero” (1994).
This article will focus on Bejar’s little-known joky ballet, compiled from various Shakespearean plays, “La Suite à Shakespeare” (“The Shakespeare Suite”), 1960, Ballet-Théâtre de Paris (Ballet Theater of Paris), on Duke Ellington's suite “Such Sweet Thunder”. The ballet was studied thanks to the television version saved in the Department of Audiovisual and Information Technologies of the St. Petersburg State Museum of Theatrical and Musical Art. The choreographic idea, key directing techniques, features of the plastic language, the set design and the musical basis are considered in this article. A conclusion is drawn about the artistic merits of the production.
About the Author
N. S. Shabalina
Vaganova Ballet Academy
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Shabalina N. S. – Cand. Sci. (Art history)
Rossi St., 2, Saint Petersburg, 191023
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Review
For citations:
Shabalina N.S. The Shakespeare suite by Maurice Béjart: A fantasy in duke Ellington’s jazz rhythms. Bulletin of Vaganova Ballet Academy. 2025;(6):45-55. (In Russ.)
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