The Culture of Bowing ...

[Bruce Wall]

As a NYCB subscriber I received an interesting article (amongst an ever burgeoning number of others) on 'the culture of bowing'

 

I thought it might be of interest to some BcoF members here.

 

https://www.nycballet.com/Editorial-Content/culture-of-bowing.aspx?utm_source=wordfly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=FY20MKTRELBalletBriefing-August&utm_content=version_A&uid=1053270&promo=39494

 

I was fascinated to learn that choreographers working with NYCB give special bowing notes/guidelines upon creation of their works so that the NYCB Production Stage Managers can thereafter follow them for that work when presented in the rep. 

 

 

Edited August 24, 2019 by Bruce Wall

[Ianlond]

An interesting article Bruce. Certainly when I was dancing, mainly in the U.K., we were given guidance on how (& where, when & for how long) to bow. New choreographers generally did have something in mind.

Edited August 24, 2019 by Ianlond

[betterankles]

All choreographers and later stagers give bowing notes to the stage manager, which I are different for each ballet

[Bruce Wall]

I was just fascinated to think how these might be changed by different companies (say the Bolshoi or Mariinsky) when taking these works created at NYCB into their rep.  It's not something that happens now at the RB with much frequency.  KO'H in his last BA appearance said such was 'not a priority' for him.  

 

I remember many years ago (in what in my mind exists as a different world) having a Broadway PSM come up to me to say that my bow was 3/4 of a second too short.  I remember just looking at him in amazement and smiling.   Seemingly I corrected it as it wasn't mentioned again  

Edited August 24, 2019 by Bruce Wall

[bridiem]

There do seem to be differences though. Osipova generally shoots her right arm up straight, a bit like Mary Poppins sans umbrella (bet that's the first time they've figured in the same sentence!). As if the energy still seeping through her won't allow for a softer movement. Others are more rounded and/or serene. Even subtle differences in the bows can be reflective of the different performers' personalities.

[Lizbie1]

I always look forward in certain ballets to the curtain calls “in character”: usually they’re only done in comedy or family ballets; but - cheesy though it may be - I love the salutes at the end of Act 2 of Spartacus.

 

Are such curtain calls also initiated by the choreographer? And are there any other “serious” ballets which have something similar? (I can’t think of any.)

[DrewCo]

30 minutes ago, bridiem said:

Osipovs generally shoots her right arm up straight, a bit like Mary Poppins sans umbrella (bet that's the first time they've figured in the same sentence!). 

 

Osipova (or whoever handles her Instagram account) put Mary Poppins’ name beneath a photo of herself in Rome that was posted on Instagram this summer —apparently it was the hat she was wearing that made the connection. So who knows? Maybe they both belong to a secret sisterhood of oddly magical figures who occasionally defy gravity....

[Amelia]

1 hour ago, DrewCo said:

 

Osipova (or whoever handles her Instagram account) put Mary Poppins’ name beneath a photo of herself in Rome that was posted on Instagram this summer —apparently it was the hat she was wearing that made the connection. So who knows? Maybe they both belong to a secret sisterhood of oddly magical figures who occasionally defy gravity....

 

From Osipova’s interview:
“I have recently been pondering over who else I would love to play, and it occurred to me that I would enjoy dancing Mary Poppins!  After all,  there are very few children’s plays staged these days. I thought of my favourite Mary Poppins film with Natalia Andreichenko /in a Russian version - A./, and became very enthusiastic about the idea. This could be a fantastic staged play or a ballet for children.” 
https://www.russianartandculture.com/natalia-osipova-part-ii-so-while-i-am-carried-away-by-dancing-i-must-give-myself-to-it/
 

 

[bridiem]

4 minutes ago, Amelia said:

 

From Osipova’s interview:
“I have recently been pondering over who else I would love to play, and it occurred to me that I would enjoy dancing Mary Poppins!  After all,  there are very few children’s plays staged these days. I thought of my favourite Mary Poppins film with Natalia Andreichenko /in a Russian version - A./, and became very enthusiastic about the idea. This could be a fantastic staged play or a ballet for children.” 
https://www.russianartandculture.com/natalia-osipova-part-ii-so-while-i-am-carried-away-by-dancing-i-must-give-myself-to-it/

 

 

Actually I do now remember that interview - it must have lodged in my subconscious! (And Osipova is clearly in preparation mode in her curtain calls. )

[betterankles]

The choreographer almost always arranges the procedure for the bows.  They rarely vary in different companies because of this, although sometimes FOH (Front of Curtain bows) are not possible in a certain venue, in which case changes are made.

Some choreographers do not put in FOH bows at all.

The style of the bows of the corps de ballet and soloists - which foot, and arm for classical ballets sometimes if bows have not been choreographed, then becomes the generic one the company uses.  Principals usually left to decide on their own once the order is set.