Maina Gielgud returned to Australia earlier this year to coach the Australian Ballet for its season of Giselle. Dance Australia asked her why the thinks the ballet is so enduring.
There is nothing mysterious or bizarre about the longevity of the ballet Giselle. Now, some 174 years after its first performance, it retains its appeal to audiences of all nationalities, of all ages, whether knowledgable balletomanes or not.
The characters depicted, and the story told, are relevant at any time to all human beings. Who has not loved but felt betrayed by the person they love at some stage of their lives?
Who has not, consciously or not, hurt someone and felt a guilt which has changed them and made them grow more sensitive?
And who has not hoped and perhaps prayed for forgiveness -- for a love that is so strong that it will accept them despite their faults and sins? And many, on losing a loved one, wish and perhaps believe that the love and spirit of their beloved will be with them for ever, giving them strength for the rest of their lives…
Even so, believable characters and stories do not alone explain Giselle's appeal. They have to be presented in such a way that members of the audience identify, sympathise, empathise with them.
So how does Giselle manage this? . . .
Read the full article by Maina Gielgud in the April/May edition of Dance Australia. Download Dance Australia to your tablet via the Dance Australia app, available from iTunes or purchase the mag from your selected retail outlets. You can also subscribe here.