UMS in the Classroom: American Ballet Theater

By UMS

Interested in using a UMS performance in your university classroom? For each performance on the season, we provide suggested curricular connections, links to contextual material online, citations for scholarly material, and prompts for classroom discussion. For additional resources and individualized curricular support, please contact Shannon Fitzsimons Moen, UMS Campus Engagement Specialist, at skfitz@umich.edu or (734) 764-3903.

UMS is also committed to making our performances an affordable part of the academic experience. Our Classroom Ticket Program provides $15 tickets to students and faculty for performances that are a course requirement. Please email umsclasstickets@umich.edu to set up a group order.

Connect:

This performance may connect meaningfully with courses in the following schools and disciplines:

• Afroamerican and African Studies
• American Culture
• Comparative Literature
• English Language and Literature
• Global and Intercultural Studies
• History
• History of Art
• Political Science
• Romance Languages and Literatures
• Sociology
• Women’s Studies
• Composition
• Dance
• Theatre & Drama
• Business
• Education
• Kinesiology

Explore:

• Read about choreographer Kenneth MacMillan’s creative process and the performance history of Romeo and Juliet on his estate’s official site.
• Explore the storied traditions of ballet, from its roots in French court dance to the present, in Jennifer Homan’s Apollo’s Angels: A History of Ballet (Random House, 2010).

Reflect:

• How did MacMillan adapt the narrative of Shakespeare’s play for his ballet? How are meaning and story revealed differently in dance than in text-based theatre? What are some of the limitations and opportunities in each art form?
• How was character expressed, both musically and through movement, in the work? What were some defining elements of the principal characters?