John Cranko
By Akiah Fagan In association with DAN 302
Biography John Cranko was born on August 15, 1927 in the town of Rustenburg, South Africa. During his early teens, he studied ballet in Johannesburg. He mainly received his dance education from the University of Cape Town, where he created his first work, The Soldier’s Tale in 1945. In 1946, Cranko continued his studies at the Sadler’s Wells School in London where he became a member of the Sadler’s Wells Ballet (aka The Royal Ballet) as both a dancer and choreographer. He danced for the Sadler’s Wells Ballet’s 1947-1948 season, and created his first major piece, Sea Change, in 1949. By the age of 23, Cranko had retired as a dancer and devoted himself to choreography as resident choreographer of Sadler’s Wells Theatre Ballet. He went on to create La Belle Hélène (1955) for the Paris Opera Ballet. In 1957, he created his first full-length ballet, The Prince of Pagodas, for the Royal Ballet. In 1961 he was appointed ballet director of Stuttgart Ballet, which became one of Europe’s finest ballet companies under his leadership. During this time period, he created many short ballets and assembled a group of dancers. His breakthrough came with the premiere of Romeo and Juliet in 1962, which was highly praised by critics. His dramatic story ballets such as Onegin, The Taming of the Shrew, Carmen, Poéme de l’Extase and Traces made him prominent among other great choreographers. Cranko was known for his gift of storytelling, dramatic structure, and his mastery of the art of pas de deux won over New York audiences during a season at the Metropolitan Opera in 1969. He and his young company became world-renowned as they toured the globe. John Cranko died at the age of 45 on June 26, 1973.
Romeo and Juliet (2018)
Romeo and Juliet Romeo and Juliet first premiered in 1962 with Stuttgart Ballet. Versions included humor, such as fruit throwing scenes when a tragedy was unfolding. Men would dramatically carry around pillows and fall to their knees on top of them in front of women. The choreography served the story well. The scenery and costumes generally represented the Opulent period. John Cranko’s rendition of Romeo and Juliet represents him extremely well because Cranko was known for his dramatic antics and story-telling.
Variation ● ●
Link: Prokofieff: Romeo und Julia/ John Cranko Stuttgart 1973 Marcia Hardée, Richard Cragun, and Egon Madsen are the main dancers. This video was performed in 1973 with Stuttgart Ballet.
Critic Reviews ●
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Carmel: John Cranko was known for his dramatic structure, storytelling, and mastery of the art of pas de deux. Morgan described his review of Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet to be rather satisfying, but it was missing few components that he yearned for. He had an appreciation of the elegance of the dancers, the musicians, and the production antics; however, he was very picking with aspects of costumes, scenery, etc. He noted that Crank “endowed the role of Mercutio with a ton of personality,” and that Mercutio delivered the best performance of the cast that evening. Wang: Cranko gets the intimacy, the small-scaleness, even the myopia of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. He admires the dancers’ technique and abilities, but he says they do not live up to expectations (“they too dance with remarkable abandon”). The ballet failed to move the way Romeo and Juliet is supposed to. There is love, romance, drama, but there isn’t quite a universe.
Thank You John Cranko I enjoyed the time that I spent researching the choreographer that is John Cranko. I admired the fact that he was able to accel at very quickly and at a young age. He began as a dancer and when he had the opportunity, he transitioned to full time choreographer because that was his ultimate endeavor. He made a name for himself and left a mark wherever he went, and that is admirable.
References Morgan, Carmel. (2018). “The Washington Ballet: John Cranko’s Romeo & Juliet.” https://criticaldance.org/washington-ballet-john-crankos-romeo-juliet/. John Cranko. (n.d.). The Stuttgart Ballet. Retrieved from https://www.stuttgart-ballet.de/company/john-cranko/ Vine, Hannah. (2018). First look at John Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet at the Boston Ballet. Retrieved at https://www.playbill.com/article/first-look-at-john-crankos-romeo-juliet-at-the-boston-ballet
X.Y., Joy Wang. (2017). Stuttgart Ballet’s Romeo and Juliet in Singapore. Retrieved at http://www.seeingdance.com/stuttgart-romeo-juliet-18102017/.