Music by Adolphe Adam in the ballet production of 'Giselle' and the contemporary production of 'Giselle'

Mats Ek
Music by Adolphe Adam

Swedish choreographer Mats Ek ranks world-wide as a specialist for telling old ballet stories in new forms. Giselle, one of the great ballets of the 19th century, tells of the unrequited love of the country girl Giselle. Duke Albrecht, disguised as a peasant, wheedles his way into her affections until she is forced to realize that he is in fact in love with Bathilde. Giselle loses her mind and dies of a broken heart.

To the traditional music by Adolphe Adam, Mats Ek has created a completely new choreography in his own, modern idiom. He transferred the plot to the present day. The betrayed Giselle does not awaken to a spectral existence as a wili, but rather finds herself in a mental institution. But even in this radically contemporary version, the essence of the work is retained, and the spectator becomes a witness to the shattering

Bayerisches Staatsballett, Giselle Mats Ek, available from http://www.bayerische.staatsoper.de/922-ZG9tPWRvbTImaWQ9MTgzMyZsPWVuJnRlcm1pbj03OTAw-~spielplan~ballett~veranstaltungen~vorstellung.html , [Accessed 17th March 2012]

How the production was modernised from the ballet production

Mats Ek's 'Giselle' was modernised for a new audience and dance world from the ballet production due to the:

plot and theme of both productions having different contextual influences from the day in age in which they were created; the contemporary production of 'Giselle' shows Giselle being sent to a mental institution instead of death by her killing herself because of the political influence from Sweden in the 1980's. At which point the health care system was under Margaret Thatcher and had changed from being focused on the patient to it just being about productivity, efficiency, competition and privatisation; patients began to feel negative and less important. However, in the ballet production of 'Giselle' the theme of the supernatural and sprits was enhanced through the flying characters, ghosts and supernatural trap doors; this is what the audience wanted to see in the era the production was created and it was influenced by this. This is how the plot and theme had been modernised for a new audience and dance world from the ballet production.

The costumes in the ballet production of ‘Giselle’ was influenced by the fashion of men and women in the 1960s: women wore dresses or skirts which came to ankle length so all you can see is the feet. In ‘Giselle’ ankle length belle tutus are worn so that you can see the foot work in which the ballerinas perform. This was the fashion in the 1960s. Whereas, in the 1980's modern clothes were worn, for example what Giselle was wearing; the pink skirt and jumper and then the head bandage which also links back to the political influence of the mental health system in the 1980's. Also linking to this is the white costume which some of the characters wear meaning they are clinical, clean and pure. At this point in time, if you wore white it showed that you did not do much work. All the dancers had bare feet and Mats Ek made this decision because of the influences of these key pioneers of the time: Loie Fuller, Isodora Duncan, Ruth St.Denis, Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey and Ted Shaw; all of these key pioneers rebelled against the tradition of ballet so made a new dance style called modern dance. They rebelled against wearing shoes to dance in and it was seen as disgusting, they did it anyway and so this influenced Mats Ek in his choreography of the production.

Giselle's Costume

Available from http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1495&bih=612&tbm=isch&tbnid=-SfacfqLz6UXeM:&imgrefurl=http://www.altamusica.com/danse/document.php%3Faction%3DMoreDocument%26DocRef%3D2090%26DossierRef%3D1831&docid=KCM7E5Y8Zg3iAM&imgurl=http://www.altamusica.com/wpic/giselle_ek_gillot.jpg&w=320&h=480&ei=9CJlT-WYIpPs8QOWkqXrBw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=354&vpy=224&dur=3046&hovh=275&hovw=183&tx=105&ty=138&sig=100212938104557897994&page=1&tbnh=143&tbnw=128&start=0&ndsp=26&ved=1t:429,r:10,s:0  , [Accessed 17th March 2012]

      Backdrop and the white costumes

Available from http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1495&bih=612&tbm=isch&tbnid=98xNLOAsPgllxM:&imgrefurl=http://www.opera-lyon.com/spectacles/danse/fiche-danse/fichespectacle/mats-ek-giselle-ballet-de-lopera-de-lyon/&docid=sPtlRfAfYo9GLM&imgurl=http://www.opera-lyon.com/uploads/tx_eopera/Giselle_3.gif%253Fwidth%253D600%2526height%253D903&w=600&h=903&ei=9CJlT-WYIpPs8QOWkqXrBw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=112&vpy=223&dur=185&hovh=276&hovw=183&tx=97&ty=140&sig=100212938104557897994&page=1&tbnh=130&tbnw=86&start=0&ndsp=26&ved=1t:429,r:17,s:0 , [Accessed 17th March 2012]

The staging in the ballet production of 'Giselle' shows the time period; gas lamps creating the moonlight effect. Using wires and trap doors create the style of the performance and enhance the theme of the supernatural. There is an old thatched house and some beer barrels at the beginning of the production, whereas in Mats Ek's production of 'Giselle' shows a modern backdrop of the hilltops and then in the second act, linking back to the mental health care in Britain at that point in time, the backdrop was full of dismended body parts possibly symbolising broken women and making the audience feel very uncomfortable. 


These points are all how Mats Ek's 'Giselle' has been modernised for a new audience and dance world from the ballet production.