ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book focuses on George Balanchine - the dancer, ballet master, choreographer, musician, husband, lover and mentor. It lays the groundwork for re-assesses modernism in relation to the choreographer's work. The book reveals a more complicated definition of the term in its application to Balanchine - one which includes a "quest for purity of medium" and a "neoclassical desire for a renewed connection to older choreographic traditions.". It demonstrates that George Balanchine and Doris Humphrey de-emphasis on production elements challenges the viewer to focus on choreographic "stages" which reflect the structural qualities of the chosen musical scores and, in the dances' most powerful moments, suggest architectural structures as well. The book discusses "the spatial structure and geometric patterning" of Balanchine's choreography and proposes "a link between architectural classicism and Balanchine's neoclassicism on the basis of shared forms and their meaning.".
