Scuola di ballo

The significance of the sixteen ballets composed by Jean Françaix between 1933 and 1980 is demonstrated by the illustrious list of choreographers with whom he collaborated: Serge Lifar (Le roi nu), Roland Petit (Les demoiselles de la nuit), George Balanchine (À la Françaix) to name a few.

Françaix was only 21 when he composed his first ballet Scuola di ballo for Léonide Massine and the Ballets Russes, who gave the first performance in Monte Carlo in 1933. The music is based on works by Luigi Boccherini arranged with a neoclassical slant, and is characterised by a rhythmic and yet elegantly melodic tonal language. Massine’s libretto is based on the eponymous comedy by Carlo Goldoni depicting amusing episodes from the everyday life of a strict ballet master. He attempts to teach his pupils the secrets of dance, but they are far more interested in amorous adventures and petty arguments. The individuals are presented in ten scenes with programmatic titles all set in a dance class. The exuberant 25-minute work, with its highly varied sequences of solos, pas de deux, pas de trois and ensembles and a light-hearted plot, is ideal for inclusion in a ballet programme aimed at young audiences.