NYC Arts: The Complete Guide to Art and Culture

Lesson

In this lesson, students will become familiar with the story ballet “Giselle,” by exploring the synopsis and watching video segments.

The lesson will focus on elements of the Romantic Age in the story and the performance. Students will compare and contrast romantic and present-day trends and as they connect to their own lives.

Teacher Information

Equipment
A television, a VCR and a computer with internet access

Supplies
A video of “Giselle”, American Ballet Theatre's synopsis of “Giselle,” a physical space to move across, a flip chart and a marker

Handouts
Synopsis of “Giselle” and handouts explaining ballet connections to The Romantic Age (see Teacher Internet Resources)

Textbook
Augustyn, Frank, and Shelley Tanaka. “Giselle: Synopsis.” Footnotes: Dancing the World’s Best-Loved Ballets. Connecticut: The Millbrook Press, 2001: 30-35.
Cohen, Selma Jean. International Encyclopedia of Dance: A Project of Dance Perspective. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.
Dorfman, Stanley, P.P. 1979. Rudolf Nureyev in "Giselle" (Video). U.S.A.: ATV Networking, Ltd. and Kultur.
McCaughrean, Geraldine. "Giselle” The Random House Book of Stories from the Ballet. New York: Random House, 1994.
Newman, Barbara. The Illustrated Book of Ballet Stories. New York: DK Publishing, Inc. 1997.

Internet Resources
Ballet Notes Web site:
http://www.balletmet.org/Notes/Giselle.html#anchor69993

Student Information

Internet Resources
Ballet Notes Web site:
http://www.balletmet.org/Notes/Giselle.html#anchor69993

Additional Information

Instructional Objectives
Students will:
-Learn about ballet as an element of historical significance and social movements
-Explore themes of the Romantic Movement in the arts and its historical context
-Study the ballet "Giselle" and its Romantic elements
-Read the American Ballet Theatre synopsis of "Giselle" as they search for romantic elements in the story
-View video segments of the ballet performance of "Giselle," searching for romantic elements
-Rewrite the synopsis, turning the story into a modern version of "Giselle"
-Perform their version of the story as a movement expression

Background
Students should have had some basic exposure to the Romantic Age, or at least understand that one way that we explore our history is by looking at the events of major time periods or ages.

Discussion Starters
How do you think that your life would be different if you lived during the Romantic Age? What things would be the same? Think about your family, social life, school, daily activities, clothes, music, etc.

Instructional Plan/Process

Session 1:
Students should have completed homework and be ready to discuss it as the session begins Previous day's homework: Read the synopsis of "Giselle" from the American Ballet Theatre Web site. Answer the questions as a brief journal entry: What is Romanticism and how did the movement evolve? What do you think were some important elements of the age?

For this activity, the teacher can provide informational handouts from the Internet (please see "Teacher Internet Resources") for the students if Romanticism is a new concept. These resources provide some basic information on ballet during the Romantic Age. When the class begins, introduce the following questions for class discussion to review the homework: What is "romanticism"? Record answers on the flip chart in a word web.

Giselle is often referred to as the ballet piece that reflects a Romantic perspective. Based on your reading of the synopsis, would you agree with this? Why or why not? How would you compare the values and trends of the Romantic Age with those of today? What Romantic elements do you find in the story of Giselle? Record answers on the flip chart in one column. How do you think that story would be written today, from a modern-day perspective? Record the ideas on the flip chart in another column.

Video viewing: Before viewing, inform the students that they are going to watch a video of a ballet performance of "Giselle," that they should look for the qualities of romanticism that they pointed out earlier in the lesson. Play the video.(Any portion of the video can be played. The decision is up to the teacher or can be left up to the students). After viewing the ballet segment, ask: what elements of romanticism did you observe in the performance? (nature, etc).

Students should record answers in their writing journals. The segment should be played as many times as necessary for students to complete the task. Instruct students to pay attention to movement elements. For example, are shapes linear, angular, or rounded? How does this reflect the age of romanticism? After viewing, answer the following question for discussion: How do you think we could change the piece so that it takes on a present-day mood? Consider our comparison to the present age, how do you think the story would be told today? What would change? What would stay the same?

Homework: In your writing journals, rewrite the synopsis of Giselle, turning it into a modern tale. Refer to your notes from our work today.

Session 2:
The class gathers at the start of the session to discuss how they rewrote the synopsis. In what ways do the revised versions of the story reflect modern values? How do you think you could express this through movement? How would the video that we watched in our last class look different? Replay a short segment of the video from the previous class, and allow students to comment on and record their ideas in their writing journals to answer this question.

Students work in groups of four to create movement sentences for their modern tales of "Giselle." Instructions (modeled by teacher and/or student volunteer(s): Each student creates a movement phrase that expresses one of his/her ideas for a modern "Giselle." (A movement phrase is a complete movement with a beginning, middle and end. This can follow a verbal expression of an idea or story.) The group puts their four phrases together to create a group movement series. Students should practice their movement series several times, then agree upon three elements to vary for a performance for the class. Manipulating and controlling these elements should help to express their ideas of a modern Giselle. (For example, practice variations of shape, locomotor movement, speed, gesture, axial movement, etc. Then decide that a modern Giselle would include abstract shapes, rushed movement, axial movements that parallel movements in the technological world). Students perform their versions of "A Modern Giselle" for the rest of the class.

Homework: Answer the following questions in your writing journal: What values are important to you? How do you think your values are shaped by the times that you live in? Do you think you would value the same things if you lived in the Age of Romanticism? If you lived in the Romantic Age, how do you think your life would be different?

Assessment
Assessment of the lesson can be based on student journal entries, and participation in performance and discussion activities.

Extensions
- Play the entire video of “Giselle”
-Attend a ballet performance of “Giselle,” focusing on romantic elements in the performance
-View video segments that reflect modern ideas and compare it to “Giselle.”
-Explore the music from “Giselle,” making comparisons to music that students listen to.
- Look for elements of Romanticism in other subject areas. What was happening in the world of architecture, math, world history, science, literature, etc. that were reflective of the age? -Videotape the students’ performances and replay the video to give students an opportunity to observe the elements of romanticism.