Telling Giselle: Reworking the Ideologies of a Canonical Ballet

This paper outlines the process from conception to analysis of Telling Giselle which was performed February 7-9 2019 in the McLean Studio as the performance component of Patricia Allisons MFA thesis at York University. This paper starts by contextualizing Thophile Gautiers Giselle, the original ballet that this production was based on, and outlines the ideological elements of the storyline that would be addressed in this reworking. This paper then summarizes the theoretical framework that informed the creation of this work included key concepts from Linda Hutcheon, Vida L. Midgelow, and Darko Suvin. It summarizes the core methodology used and how the theoretical framework influenced its creation. Finally, this paper includes a scene by scene analysis of the performance and a conclusion which points towards the potential for future research on this.