Ruben, Mel (1998) Grace under pressure : re-reading Giselle. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

'Grace Under Pressure: Re-reading Giselle' is a close reading
of the Romantic ballet Giselle (1841) , focusing on the Birmingham
Royal Ballet production of 3 March 1992. The Preface provides a
personal introduction, and notes the status of ballet within dance
studies and the academy. It also observes that in choosing Giselle
as a text one is required to reassess the historical treatment of
emotion and beauty within academic feminism. Chapter One gives
an historical background to Giselle, a literature review and a
methodological overview. Ballet has received relatively little
attention from the academy in comparison with other performing
arts. Whilst dance scholarship is a growth area in the university,
ballet remains neglected. Hence, in order to bring theory across
from areas of greater academic activity, this thesis is structured
around textual juxtaposition. Thus Chapter Two compares the plot
of Giselle with that of the film Blade Runner, and Chapter Three
compares the movement of Giselle with that in the book SEX by
Madonna. These comparative texts were also first viewed in 1992:
whilst Giselle is usually categorized as 'High' art, however, they
belong in the popular domain. This thesis demonstrates that the
comparative texts differ from their own genres, dystopian fiction
and pornography. Consequently, Giselle is shown to be materially
different from other Romantic ballets, particularly in its selfreflexive
critical framework. Chapter Four concludes the
discussion of the 1841 and the 1992 Giselles, and focuses on the
repercussions of this study for the academy and the production
and reception of ballet. Throughout this thesis runs the
assumption, common in dance studies but less overt in English
Literature, that academic activity is a personal and political
activity, and that a study such as this requires that one engage
with the status of academic enquiry both within and without the
academy.

Item Type:	Thesis or Dissertation (PhD)
Subjects:	N Fine Arts > NX Arts in general P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN0080 Criticism
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Giselle (Choreographic work)
Official Date:	September 1998
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of English and Comparative Literary Studies
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Wright, Martin ; Webster, Duncan ; Chillington-Rutter, Carol
Extent:	336 leaves
Language:	eng

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