Words into Movement: the Ballet as Intersemiotic Translation

Roman Jakobson, in his 1959 article “On Linguistic Aspects of Translation”, extended the concept of translation to include transfer between different sign systems. On the basis of this definition, many ballets may be perceived as a form of intersemiotic translation, since their aesthetic structure and narrative content is largely derived from some preceding text, which may be either verbal or musical or both. This paper looks at the mechanisms involved in the transfer of meaning from the verbal into the kinesthetic code, with reference to the work of classic dance theorists such as Rudolf Laban, Doris Humphries, Merce Cunningham, etc., and to contemporary culturalist approaches. Examples are drawn from 4 different versions of Romeo and Juliet