Bauhaus Ballet: A Dance of Geometry

Bauhaus Ballet: A Dance of Geometry

– [Narrator] Think of ballet:
Nutcracker maybe comes to mind or Swan Lake but, probably, not this. (manic orchestral music) In the 1920s in Germany, the Bauhaus design revolution took off, buildings like this were out, Minimalism was in. But beyond architecture,
many spheres of art were touched by the Bauhaus
school, including ballet. – Triadic ballet has been
created by Oskar Schlemmer, Oskar Schlemmer wanted to find a form for new way of dancing. Bauhaus went down to the functionality, that’s why he also created costumes, which would throw away useless decoration: the tiaras, the tutus,
the golden costumes. – [Narrator] The Avant-Garde
Ballet debuted in 1922, and it was made into a film adaptation by the Bavaria Atelier in 1970; then, in 1977, it was recreated, giving birth to the version,
which Ivan now directs. – [Ivan] So the costumes
relate to geometric forms; that’s why it’s called
Triadic, three forms: it’s a square; it’s a
circle; it’s a triangle. There are three parts in the ballet: it’s the yellow part, pink and black. Yes, that’s it. The costumes, Schlemmer wanted
them to restrict the dancer not to have the complete freedom. Oskar Schlemmer spent lots of his money investing into the costumes, went so far that his
family, when needed money, he said, “Sorry guys, I have
to work on the costumes, “you’ll have to eat a
little bit more modest.” – [Narrator] And it seems like Schlemmer’s labor of love paid off. Even today the geometric costumes combined with the robotic dance movements gets the audience’s attention. – You could hear people
giggling in the darkness because the movements, (audience laughing) it’s very successful, because
our audience can’t believe that this is 100 years old, because it looks like
it has been done today. There you see the visionary
power of Oskar Schlemmer, and the ideas of Bauhaus, and that’s what this ballet gives you. (audience applauding)

100 thoughts on “Bauhaus Ballet: A Dance of Geometry”

  1. Throw away useless things like tiaras and tutus, huh? And replacing them with what?Cylindrical corsets? Very useful.

  2. 👍 Thanks for sharing. YouTube has shown me traditional ballet with comic elements (e.g., one dancer always behind or a ballerina getting the men to do cleaning) but this is the first I've seen where the costumes take you beyond the amazement of the athleticism and grace of traditional ballet. The whole ballet must be truly something that makes you think outside the box of daily living. Thanks again.

  3. no offense I think it is creepy This is something that would give me nightmares but this is very interesting as well love the content

  4. In the early 80s Bette Milder used very similar costumes and choreography for a section of her Art or Bust tour and HBO special.

  5. Learned about it briefly in a course. Crazy, but cool. A bit sad that they didn't include the ringlet/spiral costumes or the one that David Bowie referenced for Iggy Stardust. The original photographs really give off a sense of a how old and unique it was in the 1920s

  6. oof no offence but the way he said tiaras and tutus were useless,,,, bitch you think your monstrosity of a "ballet" does any different??

  7. I remember learning this in school. The entire class thought it was weird, except for that one artsy girl xD

  8. Translating shapes into dance, beautiful, I believe a challenge for the dancers, but probably worth the see and experience. 🌷

  9. It’s crazy how everyone just thinks ballet is all soft all the time. Like no it’s not just the nutcracker and swan lake. There’s thousands of pieces all different

  10. As a dancer who performs primarily ballet and contemporary works, this is very new and innovative to me. I really enjoy the concept. The thing is, I look for technique whenever I watch others dance, and part of a good costume for anything dance, in my opinion and experiences at least, is flexibility and it not being restrictive. I feel like it’s a very very good concept, but from the looks of this I feel like the end results are subpar to my expectations. When I have more time, I’ll research this, as I know it can still beneficially influence both my technique and choreography, even though the actual dance isn’t exactly my cup of tea.

  11. It's strange, and interesting, and very creative. The only thing it needs is background. It seems all the attention is given to the costume and our eyes go there, but would be nice if they make it less circus like and more with stories and purpose behind the movements.

  12. Is this just one ballet or is it a whole style? Because the dancing itself seems to me like regular ballet (if a bit contemporary ballet), it's just the costumes that are different

  13. This just came up in my recommended and it’s one of the weirdest and most beautiful forms of art I’ve ever seen. I have been dancing classical ballet for eight years now. And though I don’t understand this video. Some people have a different opinion. That’s fine I just can’t see the beauty in this type of dance. ☹️😐

  14. The filmed version from the 70's is available to watch on Youtube if anyone is interested- Das Triadische Ballet, it runs about a half hour long. Trippy shit.

  15. The irony of intellectualism that is stupid, like so much other modern art, devoid of heart and soul in its relentless pursuit of "originality." It's cute, but don't call it "ballet."

  16. This is nothing new. 1920, 1970 and now again. People are just trying to grab the old and make it the new cool.
    This is just trash. A lot of artist search to be original, for fame. Stop your ego-centric. Use art to make the world better. 💪

    PS If you do like this, your senses are just triggered because it something new. While in fact its the same trick as 1920.
    Let your coat hang in the closet for 2 years and take it out and everyone will compliment you on your "new coat".
    See what I mean? You didn't do anything special. Your just an attention-wh*re. Trust me, I was a highly-gifted kid in art.
    Biut when I grew up and noticed most artist are looking for fame, so I left this world and used my visual creativity in the business world.
    The rest is history. Now I'm educating youngsters on bringing value to the world. I stop them getting force and taught that weird sh*t is art. It's not. Or did you forget how in primary school they told you, no your are wrong, this is art. Even you could simply re-create it. 🤷

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