Gelsey Jian

DANC316
Napoli Act 3 and The Bournonville Method of Ballet

The Bournonville Method of ballet was first developed by the Danish dancer and

choreographer August Bournonville. He developed his ballet technique very early in the 1800s

and was heavily inspired by the early French methods. Even once ballet began to deviate from its

earliest forms, the Bournonville technique persisted in its ways. Basic technique is still very

similar to all schools of ballet, so it is still very recognizable as ballet, but there are some unique

traits that the Bournonville method entails.

This ballet technique is best characterized by careful placement of the arms, light

movement of the feet, and accentuating of the working leg with the line of the body and eyes.

The most notable characteristics are prominent in his works, from La Sylphide to Napoli, or The

Fisherman and His Bride. Watching Act 3 of Napoli has been a prime example of Bournonville’s

technique especially.

Act 3 follows a wedding, the way many ballets seem to end. There are several pairs of

dancers, two males with four females wearing long colorful skirts typical of the time period

Bournonville lived in. The length of the skirts plays a crucial part of the ballet method in fact, as

seen when the knee comes in to a low retiré. Because of this, retiré seems to be higher for the

men than for the women. The position is held at the knee for the men, but at least in the ballet

Napoli, the position is held lower than the knee for the women. All dancers hold very similar arm

positions, mostly in a demi-seconde or being presented in front of the body, even while jumping.

This means the dancers must have very stong legs and cores to sustain jumping without much

help from the arms. It is especially impressive because part of Bournonville technique is making
the dancing seem effortless. Jumps are hardly the highlight of the dance. Most of the emphasis is

on the graceful line created by the dancers. This is evident in the Pas de six of Napoli. Many

times in the croisé position, the dancers bend towards the pointed foot rather than away. The

dancers’ eyes are also rarely towards the audience, but facing towards the moving leg, probably

to draw more emphasis to it.

Bournonville Technique is a very unique style of ballet and is almost like a glimpse into

the past of early romantic ballet. Even if the moves are not simple, they are done so they seem

effortlessly. Movements are also very quick and intricate, making the feet seem very light and

easy. Unfortunately, this means dancers do not spend so much time in the air. Sometimes I enjoy

when the emphasis is on the jumps, which is something Bournonville technique does not usually

do. I also tend to prefer grander arm positions. There are arm positions that do not really exist in

the Bournonville method, such as the Cechetti third arabesque, which I think creates a beautiful

line of the body but does not really appear very often in Bournonville ballets. I think that

Bournonville ballets can be very nice to watch, especially to appreciate the early styles of

romantic ballets. I understand that it can be a very rigorous method that requires much

athleticism and physical strength but as a dancer, learning other methods such as Cechetti or

Vaganova is more fun because movements can be bigger and less restricted. Jumping, grand

allegro especially, is one of my favorite parts of ballet so I like learning methods that allow me to

emphasize those jumps, even if it may not seem effortless.