ARTS ET DÉBATS D’IDÉES

Annales

• Le sujet porte sur la thématique « Arts et débats d’idées ».

   

  1^re partie - Synthèse

  Prenez connaissance de la thématique ci-dessus et du dossier composé des documents A, B et C et traitez en anglais la consigne suivante (500 mots environ) :

  Taking into account the specificities of the documents, analyse the ways dance is presented and the reactions it triggers in the various audiences.

   

  2^e partie - Traduction :

  Translate the following passage from Document C into French. L’usage du dictionnaire unilingue non encyclopédique est autorisé.

  "‘I have known Lee almost all my adult life and he sent me something called Dancer which was actually set in a village near Sheffield¹,’ recalled Stephen.

  From there, the movie of Billy Elliot was born. Set against the background of the miners’ strike, it follows the story of the lead character who starts boxing training. Billy’s ability within the ring is not great and when he decides to attend a ballet class instead, he discovers he has a natural ability."

  1 Sheffield, like Sunderland and Bradford, is a poor industrial city in the North East of England.

   

  Document A

  The scene takes place at a ball. Elizabeth and Darcy, who are the main characters, are going to dance together even though they are not on good terms.

  The first two dances, however, brought a return of distress; they were dances of mortification. Mr. Collins, awkward and solemn, apologising instead of attending, and often moving wrong without being aware of it, gave [Elizabeth] all the shame and misery which a disagreeable partner for a couple of dances can give. The moment of her release from him was ecstasy.

  She danced next with an officer, and had the refreshment of talking of Wickham, and of hearing that he was universally liked. When those dances were over, she returned to Charlotte Lucas, and was in conversation with her, when she found herself suddenly addressed by Mr. Darcy who took her so much by surprise in his application¹ for her hand , that, without knowing what she did, she accepted him. [...]

  [Elizabeth] took her place in the set, amazed at the dignity to which she was arrived in being allowed to stand opposite to Mr. Darcy, and reading in her neighbours’ looks, their equal amazement in beholding it. They stood for some time without speaking a word; and she began to imagine that their silence was to last through the two dances, and at first was resolved not to break it; till suddenly fancying that it would be the greater punishment to her partner to oblige him to talk, she made some slight observation on the dance. He replied, and was again silent. After a pause of some minutes, she addressed him a second time with:—“It is your turn to say something now, Mr. Darcy. I talked about the dance, and you ought to make some sort of remark on the size of the room, or the number of couples.”

  He smiled, and assured her that whatever she wished him to say should be said. “Very well. That reply will do for the present. Perhaps by and by I may observe that private balls are much pleasanter than public ones. But now we may be silent.”

  “Do you talk by rule, then, while you are dancing?”

  “Sometimes. One must speak a little, you know. It would look odd to be entirely silent for half an hour together; and yet for the advantage of some, conversation ought to be so arranged, as that they may have the trouble of saying as little as possible.”

  “Are you consulting your own feelings in the present case, or do you imagine that you are gratifying mine?”

  “Both,” replied Elizabeth archly².

   

  1 in his application for her hand: when he asked her for a dance
  2 archly: in an amused way

  Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, 1813

   

  Document B - Still from the film West Side Story, Steven Spielberg, 2021

  

   

  Document C

  It all began back in the mid-80s when writer Lee Hall (who is probably best known for the likes of stage hit The Pitmen Painters and the films of War Horse and Toast) sent Stephen¹ a script. “I have known Lee almost all my adult life and he sent me something called Dancer which was actually set in a village near Sheffield²,” recalled Stephen.

  From there, the movie of Billy Elliot was born. Set against the background of the miners’ strike, it follows the story of the lead character who starts boxing training. Billy’s ability within the ring is not great and when he decides to attend a ballet class instead, he discovers he has a natural ability.

  Unfortunately, a boy doing ballet is not the done thing. It is not an aspiration for a lad growing up in a tough North East mining village particularly as his family are dealing with the upheaval of their community’s future in a conflict between the pits³ and the authorities.

  But this life-affirming film became a huge hit worldwide winning around 12 awards and dozens more nominations.

  Enter music legend Elton John and his partner David Furnish who thought the story would be perfect for a stage musical and it was time for Stephen to return to the story of the boy whose determination to succeed and make his dreams come true unites both his family and his community. [...]

  And [the] dream of taking [the show] around Britain has now also come to fruition with things going incredibly well at the first three venues on its UK tour. Stephen said: “The audiences that we have played to in Sunderland have been incredible. In Bradford, lots of people came to see it. We have been playing to audiences that understand the story.”

  And that is the crux of taking the production out there. As he explains: “Taking it out on tour means it will connect with a lot of people and many communities will have a close association to the story. This idea of an entire area not only struggling for their jobs but having to change their whole way of life is very powerful.”

   

  1 Stephen Daldry: English film director, famous for Billy Elliot
  2 Sheffield, like Sunderland and Bradford, is an industrial city in the North East of England.
  3 the pits: here, the miners

  Interview with Stephen Daldry, www.atthetheatre.co.uk, April 27, 2017

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