Reporter-
Hello Pierre! I will be interviewing you today on things from your childhood
and career since I have heard your dancing career was very successful. I am
very excited to hear these answers from “the Pierre Rameau!”
Pierre- Yes,
I’m very excited for this interview. I rarely do any greetings anymore so I’m
happy to be back in this environment!
Reporter-Well
let’s get started! Ok, so tell me where you grew up and the time period u grew
up in?
Pierre- Well
I was born on January 1, 1674 in France. I lived during the enlightenment era
which was right when dance had been developed and a lot had been changing.
Dance had first occurred in Europe especially
France which is right where I grew up in the 17th-18th
century. Popular dance styles that had been revealed were bourree, gavotte, and
passepied. Yet I preferred the classical ballet and ballroom style.
Reporter- Very
interesting! Ballet is very technical which I hear is why u wrote a book on the
positions in ballet?
Pierre-Yes I’ve
written 2 books in my time. On the side from dancing I was an author.
Reporter-We
will get into yours books soon but next question, what events in your early
life made you get interested in the arts like dance?
Pierre- Well
I think the things that got me so interested in dance was when Moliere and
Lully had been collaborating and they had asked me to choreograph they’re
piece. I was eventually called the “superintendent of the king’s ballet.” Then I
got a lot of credit for standardizing the five foot positions of ballet which was
outstanding for my career!
Reporter-Next
question, what role did mentors play in helping you develop the interests and
talents you have as an artist?
Pierre- I really
didn’t have that many mentors except my parents. They have given me a lot with
dance. They always tell me that dance is a poem and I’ve gone by that moto for
a good portion of my life. That moto has kept me going in choreographing and writing.
I think I had one role model in my life
and that was the queen of Spain which I had the pleasure of partnering with in
my life. She was very strict and focused but she was a very nice lady and
worked hard in her dance career especially when it came to us dancing together.
Reporter-
She was a very successful queen in ruling and in dancing. Question 4, what was
the world of art like in your particular art field when you entered it?
Pierre- The
art of dance was just starting to develop when my career was just starting to
take off. In 1672 Louis XIV had established the first dance academy within the
Academie Royale de Musique. And to this day it’s known as the Paris Opera.
Reporter- I someday
want to visit the Paris Opera since it’s the oldest running ballet company. We are
half way through the questions! Ok next, how did the major cultural, economic
and political situations of the time impact your work?
Pierre- I
think with the enlightenment just now coming into place as my career started it
changed how people viewed dance until it changed completely.
Our society at the
time wasn’t the same as it was before the enlightenment. The culture of dance
was always changing whether that was people improving and becoming better or people
doing too much dance to continue their career.
Reporter- Question
6, what were your major accomplishments and the methods you used in your art?
Pierre- My
major accomplishments that I think I’ve achieved were my two books that I had
published about dance. My first book was titled, “Le Maitre a Danser” which was
a manual giving the basic instructions on ballroom dancing but in the French style.
The majority of the book was based on posture, reverences, steps, and ballroom
minuet. But the other part is only about the arms.
And my second book was
titles, “Abbrege de la Nouvelle Methode,” which includes many choreographed pieces
by Pecour in new notation. Yet it wasn’t the best information, it provided
dance historians clarifications on how to execute dance steps. I think this got
my work out there.
Reporter- These
books are still used today so I think you were very successful! Question 7,
what were the key opportunities you had that led to turning points in your life
and art?
Pierre- I think
when I partnered with Elisabeth Farnese was an opportunity that led to a
turning point in my love for dance because she was the queen of Spain and she
had led me into the right path for dance. The ballroom dancing we performed was
my strongest which led me to writing my 2 books.
Another turning
point in my life was when I was the first director that had a huge influence in
the development of professional dance throughout all of Europe.
Reporter- She
was very successful and I think u had turned out the same. Question 8, what
hardships or roadblocks did you have to overcome in order to be an artist?
Pierre- I think
when everybody was publishing books at the same time, it was hard to get
noticed when everybody was publishing about dance. But I think my books had
stood out more because no one thought to publish a book on the executions of
steps and the arm placements.
Reporter- I think
you’re books were more helpful to dancers today that’s why so many people remember
and use your books. Question 9, what personal stories best illustrate how u became
successful in the arts?
Pierre- I think
when I started studying baroque dance, I had tried very hard to be as authentic
as possible. It was hard for me to shoe my inner artist in dancing and writing.
I loved my personal style and my technique as I trained in the early 1700s.
The costumes we always wore were so handsome and very in style
from head to toe. All the dances that were taught were well but not perfected
when it came to performing them on stage. My peers I danced with showed such livelihood
when they danced which made me want to dance!
Reporter- Okay Pierre, last question that I have for you! How did your work impact the world
of dance?
Pierre- my
work as a dancer and author I think has changed many artists back when I had
danced because I had shown my passion threw my movement of dancing and maybe
not always out loud so id put it all on paper and that is how my books had been
established!
My love for dance really had carried my life
on when I wanted to stop. Sometimes I wanted to give up on dance if I couldn’t accomplish
something or if I had hit a roadblock in life that I felt I couldn’t get
through, that’s when dance came into place because it had really set my life up
and made me push through and I think in my eyes that I have become a very
special person to all my peers in the dance industry and all the people that
read my books J
Reporter- Wow! Very nice from you! I hope to do this again,
thank you so much for taking the time to sit down and answer my questions.
Pierre-your very welcome my lady, I enjoyed
it!
Sites:
- http://www.britannica.com/biography/Pierre-Rameau
-http://michaelminn.net/andros/biographies/rameaupierre/
-http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100402984
-http://www.biographies.net/people//en/pierre_rameau
-www.encyclopedia.com/article-1G2-342700821/enlightenment-and-ballet.html
-danceinhistory.com/cateory/dancing-at-court/
-http://memory.Ioc.gov/cgi-bin/query/h?ammem/musdibib:@field
-http://ballet.utah.edu/ballet4410/chapter9.html
-http://searchingformodernworld.blogspot.com
-http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/books
