Apollo Final Essay

Submitted By Sonika-Rathi
Words: 375
Pages: 2

Apollo
Apollo is type of dance that includes mime, acting, story-telling, and is set to music. It is a ballet in two descriptions composed between 1927 and 1928 by Igor Stravinsky. It was choreographed by the ballet master, George Balanchine. It was presented for the first time on 12 June 1928 by Diaghilev's Ballets Russes at the Theatre Sarah Bernhardt in Paris.

Story
The story centers on Apollo, the Greek god of music, who is visited by three muses: Terpsichore, muse of dance and song; Polyhymnia, muse of mime; and Calliope, muse of poetry. The ballet plainly takes Classical antiquity as its subject, though its plot suggests a contemporary situation. It is concerned with the reinvention of tradition, since its inspiration is "classique", or even post-baroque; nevertheless, it uses a simplified orchestra, with only 34 string instruments. There are total numbers of four main dancers and might have background dancers.

George Balanchine
George Balanchine was born in January 22, 1904, in St. Petersburg. His mother was a ballet dancer so he was inspired by his mother. "Apollo" is George Balanchine's oldest surviving ballet and it was a star turn for Boal. He guesses he danced the role 100 times in a 22-year dance career. Apollo was his one of most important achievement of his life. He also wrote a book called 101 stories of the great ballets. Furthermore, he opened The School of American Ballet (SAB) on January 2, 1934. For his work he got award of Kennedy Center Honor. Eventually he died in April 30, 1983 at the age of 79 in New York City, USA