Fokine favorites on tour.The Kirov Ballet Kirov Ballet, one of the two major ballet companies of Russia, the other being the Bolshoi Ballet. In 1991 it was officially renamed the St. Petersburg Maryinsky Ballet; however, on its frequent tours abroad it is still called the Kirov Ballet. (the company on which Michel Fokine Michel Fokine or Mikhail Mikhailovich Fokin (Михаил Михайлович Фокин) (April 23 O.S. cut his choreographic teeth, then known as the Maryinsky) is making a U.S. tour in October and November with a program of the famous choreographer's early works, all choreographed before he left Russia (see Fall Preview and Calendar, DANCE MAGAZINE, September, page 45). Audiences in Detroit, Cleveland, Boston, and three California locations will see Chopiniana (better known in the West as Les Sylphides Les Sylphides is often confused with La Sylphide, another ballet of similar name, also involving the mythical sylph, or forest sprite. In every other respect, however, the two ballets are unrelated. ), The Firebird, and Scheherazade; in Boston, the opening night performance will include Le Spectre de la rose Le Spectre de la Rose is a ballet of the Ballets Russes based on a choreographic poem by Théophile Gautier. The music, by Carl Maria von Weber, was taken from his short piece Invitation to the Dance. and The Dying Swan. Chopiniana is set to waltzes, mazurkas, and preludes by Frederic Chopin; although it was Fokine's attempt to evoke the atmosphere of Romantic ballets such as Giselle and La Sylphide La Sylphide is one of the world's best-known ballets. La Sylphide is often confused with Les Sylphides, another ballet of similar name, also involving the mythical sylph, or forest sprite. In every other respect however, the two ballets are unrelated. , to many, it is a remarkable expression of the soul of the music. Its first production was a charity performance at the Maryinsky Theater, in St. Petersburg, Russia, on February 10, 1907, with Anna Pavlova Noun 1. Anna Pavlova - Russian ballerina (1882-1931) Pavlova , Mikhail Oboukhov, Alexis Bulgakov, Julie Sedova, and Vera Fokine. Renamed Les Sylphides in 1909, it is a demanding classical work that depends on perfection of line and musicality. The Firebird was a career-making ballet for Igor Stravinsky, whose haunting score became the talk of Paris. Tamara Karsavina created the role of the mythical creature, wearing an exotic costume designed by Leon Bakst. The decor by Alexander Golovin served as inspiration for the Kirov's current production. Isadora Duncan's influence on Fokine is evident here, particularly in the princesses' dance; other portions drew on Russian folk dances, and Fokine used mime to outline the fairy-tale-based story. Diaghilev's Ballets Russes premiered the work on June 25, 1910, at the Paris Opera. Le Spectre de la rose premiered at the Theatre de Monte Carlo on April 19, 1911. Vaslav Nijinsky danced the title role--his legendary leap out the window made the work instantly memorable--and Karsavina was the dreaming young maiden. The immensely popular ballet was unique: Instead of the man pursuing the ideal woman, here the woman dreams of her perfect suitor SUITOR. One who is a party to a suit or action in court. One who is a party to an action. In its ancient sense, suitor meant one Who was bound to attend the county court, also, one who formed part of the secta. (q.v.) . Spectre remained in tire Ballets Pusses repertoire until Diaghilev's death in 1929 and is still performed in classical repertoire as a divertissement di·ver·tisse·ment n. 1. A short performance, typically a ballet, that is presented as an interlude in an opera or play. 2. Music See divertimento. 3. A diversion; an amusement. . The exotic spectacle of Scheherazade is a prime example of Fokine's commitment to theater in his move away from what he considered to be the constraints of Russian classicism classicism, a term that, when applied generally, means clearness, elegance, symmetry, and repose produced by attention to traditional forms. It is sometimes synonymous with excellence or artistic quality of high distinction. . Here, dance is but one element, along with the sumptuous designs of Bakst and the music of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Nijinsky, Rubenstein, and Sophie Fedorova danced the premiere at the Paris Opera on June 4, 1910. In the minds of many ballet lovers, Anna Pavlova is forever linked with The Dying Swan, which Fokine created for her in St. Petersburg in 1907. The solo has become a symbol of pure, ephemeral classical ballet. Handed down from ballerina to ballerina, the loosely structured ballet leaves room for interpretation. Perhaps Fokine wouldn't have minded; the ballet aimed, he said, "not so much at the eyes of the spectator, but at his soul, at his emotions." |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion