Nineteenth-century theatrical ballabile and the Italian ball as social and political discourse of the Risorgimento
(Ertz, Matilda)

Italian ballets of the nineteenth century began to include more and more group dances as Italians marched toward unification. Large portions of pure dance tended to be avoided in Italian theaters at the outset of the century (such as in Viganò’s coreodramas), where audiences preferred the dramatic action over strings of danced numbers. Nonetheless, the group dances, called “ballabile,” proliferated and began to be presented in a series that encapsulated the sets of then-popular social and character dances. By embodying familiar social and national dance, these portions of the ballet capitalized on the audience’s experiences at balls. This was true especially after 1850 as the sets commonly included waltzes, polkas, mazurkas, and other national dances, and often culminated with the the high-energy galop. The dances were increasingly highlighted and advertised in the libretti for the ballets with greater frequency after the mid-century. Since the theater was one of the few places where Italians gathered in large numbers, it was essential to the spread of ideas, both political and social, as well as social dance trends. This study examines the role of the group dances within the ballets, their musical features, and choreographic features (as much as can be determined). Further, I examine the relationship between the series of the group dances found in ballets and those danced at balls during the nineteenth century. Select ballets, including especially those in which a ball was staged as a part of the dramatic action or in which overt Risorgimento themes are present, serve as case studies. By the century’s end Pallerini’s and Manzotti’s ballets (such as Excelsior) included large numbers of dancers and prolific group dances and can be seen as the culmination of the trend towards a greater number of and complexity within the group dances. This trend can also be read against the backdrop of the Risorgimento as representing staged notions of a collective, unified Italy.

Matilda Ertz, Louisville, Kentucky, USA:

Dr. Matilda Ann Butkas Ertz is a musicologist who specializes in music and dance studies, particularly ballet music from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and Italian ballets of the nineteenth century. She has a PhD in Musicology from the University of Oregon preceded by degrees in piano performance, pedagogy, and education. She is a piano instructor at the Youth Performing Arts School and lecturer in music history at the University of Louisville School of Music where she also teaches piano and harpsichord.