**Fanfare for the Common Man, a work by Benjamin Britten, 1953, set for the stage, becomes a Ballet:** As a ballet dancer, I've spent my life dedicated to the beauty and power of movement. But in my late twenties, I am now turning to sharing my perspective of ballet and music with others. This, of course, comes naturally for a dancer, given our intrinsic understanding of the language of movement. In fact, my mind cannot but dance in step with the melody, rhythm, and emotional undercurrent that is music.
And so I present to you my take on the ballet, "Fanfare" - it has no name - no choreographer is associated with it! The composer himself, Benjamin Britten, has set this 1953 piece for the ballet stage.
**The Music:** Britten, with his brilliance and bold artistry, gave the world a musical piece with the aptly titled "Fanfare for the Common Man." Britten took this orchestral work from its inception, with a single short fanfare movement, and adapted it into three separate and increasingly powerful movements: **"Prologue, "The Ballad,"** and **"Epilogue."** From the opening fanfare's rousing brilliance, the ballet surges with intensity.
The musical fabric itself speaks to us - a clear understanding of what the choreographer must portray on the stage: **the "Prologue"** establishes an austere, quiet, and powerful base - it gives birth to the energy of the dancers' portrayal. **"The Ballad,"** with its rich lyrical quality, presents a story that needs to unfold through movement; and lastly, **the "Epilogue"**, takes this story - our hearts - and leaves us uplifted.
This Britten piece was the "call" that led to a choreography response. However, with no particular choreographer's name attached to "Fanfare", one must look to a collective "response" to the composer's music. One may also perceive how the work evolved on its own.
My Imaginary Choreography:** What comes to mind as I listen to Britten's score, are the dancers, all dressed in simple black attire - simple but evocative of elegance and grace, in motion, on the bare, stark, minimalist stage. No elaborate sets, just an empty space for the dance to breathe.
And then the dance begins... **The Prologue**
- A lone dancer, almost like an embodiment of the human spirit, appears on stage, moving to the stark yet powerful opening fanfare. A quiet but intensely poignant movement piece that captivates.
- Slowly, one by one, more dancers join, -each bringing their own interpretation - creating a layered human landscape of a "common man's" existence - joy, sorrow, struggle, hope. As the dancers embrace this collective "common man" presence - their moves flow seamlessly through the space, as if their movements have always been here.
- The dancers become the "common man", a single unified being who embodies both the grandeur of this "human existence" and its simple human beauty. Each dancer contributes to this narrative, sharing the pain, and celebrating life, a single unit - in full accord with the beautiful music that takes on its own rich story.
- We experience their dance - each gesture, every shift, tells a tale of a journey from vulnerability, to resilience, to sheer triumph. And all is delivered within the context of their united movement.
- Itās almost as if these "common man" dancers have always existed in the very fabric of this choreography itself, an exquisite ballet woven in Brittenās masterful tapestry.
The "ballad" stage - its evocative music speaks with a deeply human feel, its emotion runs deep - and each dance gesture captures it.
As a ballet dancer, this kind of movement, these nuances - are like "speaking in our dance tongue"
- Each move in the āBalladā feels personal, yet collectively shared - It's like looking into the human heart.
- The "Ballad" evolves, from moments of quiet contemplation, to bursts of pure emotion.
- Then the dancers shift, turning in upon themselves. There's a palpable, internal battle happening on stage. Britten's musical composition heightens the feeling
- A shift, a sudden turn... and suddenly "Ballad" reaches a fevered pitch of raw human expression. Their bodies become tools that translate this experience in motion. And, we feel it deeply.
And then we find ourselves at "The Epilogue." It's like dawn - a sudden, bright light pierces through the darkness that has gripped this narrative. A new dawn for the common man. It feels both personal and collective.
**Epilogue**- Britten's powerful ending in this "Fanfare" piece lifts us all in an orchestra of uplifting notes.
- With each beat - every dancer - turns towards the audience.
- Each of them shares a moment - Their "common man" story, their joy and struggle, is given a voice.
- These dance pieces weave together beautifully to culminate in a glorious moment, a unified response, - it gives us "Fanfare" for all. The feeling is immense, joyful, triumphant, with the ending notes of the Epilogue, weāre left awestruck, speechless.
The āFanfareā ballet doesnāt need a grand, lavish set or costume designs, to bring the emotion, to bring the tale to life. In fact, simplicity heightens the performance.
The dancer's own bodies, become their costumes - they bring Brittenās magnificent musical vision to life, in motion.
For me as a dancer, thereās so much room for expression, so much passion - so much thatās "left unsaid", to be discovered in the movement, to make the connection to the emotional world of the music.
āFanfareā offers dancers a blank canvas and it is through our art that it is filled in. Britten has left us a brilliant and powerful "invitation". And this, to me, is where the art of ballet and musical composition meets, to reach for our full expression.
Conclusion: As a dancer, this piece is simply breathtaking - Britten's "Fanfare for the Common Man" is, without a doubt, a musical masterpiece.
And while "Fanfare" has not been attached to a choreographer, the piece remains, a tribute to the inherent power of music and its innate connection to the soul of movement.
When I, and other ballet dancers across the world, see this powerful score on the page, or hear it - a sense of inspiration and desire for movement to come alive is inevitably present.
Perhaps itās this that has led the way, in some small part, to this āchoreographyā, not one, but thousands, born from this beautiful Britten composition. It is musicās language - balletās dance tongue, all meeting to create this magic.