Abstract
In order to determine which viewers preferred - a narrative ballet or an abstract ballet - a survey was taken of viewers as they watched two ballets by Balanchine: "Allegro Brillante" (abstract) and "Apollo" (narrative). Osgood's semantic differential survey was the instrument used. Findings reveal chat viewers found "Allegro Brillante" faster, lighter, softer and kinder, while "Apollo" was slower, stronger, more honest, and only slightly more enjoyable. The free-form section of the survey revealed that viewers were looking for "relationships" in both types of dances. This study has important consequences for dance programming and education, for it shows that, contrary to conventional wisdom, audiences are capable of enjoying dance even when no explicit plot is present. The burden may fall on the dance educator, however, to "teach" the audience how to appreciate abstract ballet.
Journal Title
Iowa Journal of Communication
Volume
30
Issue
1
First Page
21
Last Page
36
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Drumond, Kent
(1998)
"Narrative Dance vs. Abstract Dance: Teaching Both Sides of Balanchine,"
Iowa Journal of Communication: Vol. 30:
No.
1, Article 4.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/ijc/vol30/iss1/4
Copyright
©1998 Iowa Communication Association
