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Arts & Communication 75 years of Macedonian ballet (1949 – 2024)

the scene text. The text is weaving; its surface is smooth, types of letters on which the text is built. Some of them
creating an impression of a single smooth layer, which is have been copied or transferred, others are constructed
actually composed of interwoven threads and constituent intentionally, but both types gain their meaning through
units. Macedonian repertoire text is a piece of material their positioning in the general composition. The letter as
composed of different choreographic concepts, fixed a starting pattern in the interpretation of the Macedonian
works, and individual creative biographies. However, in repertoire ballet text has the task of determining a
this case, it is much more interesting, and more useful, to recognizable expression, with emphasized characteristics
turn to the inner layer where the connections, the different and features in relation to the other textual layers. It will
materials, and the interlacing levels are visible. Adhering be treated in the concrete discourse as a fixed lexical-
to the term that I determined on at the beginning, that formative and esthetic complex. On the other hand, the
is, “reading,” I set it as a foundation. I will be reading the detected or defined letters will be analyzed in the context
existing text. of social fluctuations and reflections that conditioned
the appearance or the actualization of the particular
To achieve an adequate reading of the text, the next choreographic and stylistic manuscript. Their textual
thing to determine is the code. What is the code really? patterns, capacity, charge, format, and meaning varies,
It is a composite of rules that mutually combine and give although they are not visible in the weaving that has been
the key for deciphering/decoding/reading the message. created these 75 years, that is, they fit and level in the
“If any element of a performance—for example, an image, general dancing composite. After a detailed analysis of
a movement, a sound—can be treated as ‘text’ then each the entire repertoire from the establishing of the ballet in
element can be ‘read’, singly or in units, through codes on Macedonia in 1949 – 2024, three layers of performances—
which it draws.” 6(p.9) It should be emphasized that because or, using the term defined in the article earlier, three letters
of the polysemy of theater signs, the actualization of certain with a certain type of dance style—can be detected. The first
meanings is conditioned by the codes used and the levels group is the classic ballet performances: they are mostly
of interpretation. 12,13 Since it is a complex phenomenon— with fixed choreography and, with some differences, they
the performance itself imposes a specific way of using, as are staged worldwide. This layer is supranational and shows
well as constructing, codes. This is confirmed by several the quality and capacity of the ensemble and performers.
semioticians who have been studying stage performance— This group encompasses classic ballets: Swan Lake, The
“we will have to use a variety of codes, changes in codes Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, Raymonda, Don Quixote,
and code levels.” 13(p.135) In this case, the code will become Giselle, La Sylphide, etc. This is the most dominant layer
a coding system that will be applied to the particular in Macedonian ballet and has already been analyzed.
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material and the particular research interest. This system The second layer of performances are the ballets with a
is implicitly related to the interpretation of the signs, and contemporary dance style. The last layer is the very specific
consequently, it is necessary to define their volume in terms genre of national performances with the presence of folk
of the performance practice. For a long time, there was a elements. Figure 1 summarizes the above-mentioned
dilemma among theorists regarding how to define the sign, points:
that is, the basic semiotic unit in a performance. The sign
was defined with parts of the performance as spoken text, 2. Innovative experimental letter
expressions of the body, actors’ external appearance, dance The second layer (type of letter) in the textual construction
body etc. dance body. A part of the scientific community is initiated by a situation in society. The political situation
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has accepted the stance of performance as meta sign. 15-17 in Yugoslavia after the break with the Informbiro in
The status and capacity of the sign in performance as it can 1948 set the country on a completely new course that
be ascertained may vary. For the concrete analysis, I will also transposed into culture. Domination of the socialist
stick to the benchmark of a mega sign that is equivalent matrix produced in the USSR was replaced by the creation
to the performance. Starting from here, the ballet works of Yugoslav “soft socialism” which enabled an extent of
regarded as signs build up an integral text. openness and independence.
Some basic elements—text, code, and reading— Unlike the rigid orientation to ballet as the only dance
were already fixed in this introductory part. Before I option in the theaters of the Eastern group of countries,
begin to apply this set of reference determinants, I will Macedonia, as part of the Yugoslav federation, accepted the
supplement this sequence with another term—letter. challenge of new forms of dance art. “New esthetic forms
Letter is understood as a way of writing that demonstrates and stylistic diverse works were born and animated.” In
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recognizable specificities, poetics of expression, formative terms of style and aesthetics, these were hybrids of ballet
characteristics, etc. The intention is to find the different and what was interpreted as a new, contemporary stylistic.

Volume 2 Issue 2 (2024) 3 doi: 10.36922/ac.2730