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"Astonish
me!"
were the famous words with which Diaghilev issued a challenge of
sorts to Jean Cocteau (who designed the poster above, and was most
famously director of the wonderful La
Belle et la Bête).
The result was the ballet Parade (1917), produced by
Diaghilev, designed by Pablo Picasso, composed by Erik Satie, and
set to a scenario by Cocteau.
The
founder of the famed Ballets Russes, Sergei Diaghilev (1872
- 1929) understood
that ballet had to constantly evolve in order to stay relevant;
lessons perhaps for CEOs today, or Detroit! He transformed
the world of ballet, ushering it into the modern age. Change
and collaboration were the hallmarks of his style. A
particularly fascinating interplay between tradition and
innovation then, since ballet is by definition a rather rigid,
codified art. Diaghilev was an impresario, a unique
combination of connoisseur, producer, agent, financier, protector,
and artistic visionary. He surrounded himself with the best
young dancers (Pavlova, Karsavina, Spessivsteva), choreographers (Fokine,
Massine, Nijinsky), composers (Satie, Stravinsky, Ravel,
Prokofiev), and artists (Picasso, Leon Bakst, Juan Gris).
The resulting
ballets were stunning productions that meshed the different arts
seamlessly, extravagantly.
To
mark the centennial of the Ballets Russes the New York
Public Library has organized a sumptuous exhibit of costumes,
posters, pictures and films: Diaghilev's
Theater of Marvels: The Ballets Russes and Its Aftermath.
Most of the costumes on display are sophisticated reproductions of
the originals, many of them made by the Joffrey Ballet in the 70s
and 80s. Also on display are a pair of
Pavlova's ballet slippers and remarkable outsized reproductions of
Picasso's cubist-inspired costumes for Parade.
Affectionately
known as Chinchilla to many of his dancers for the dramatic streak
of white hair, Diaghilev was possessed of unerring taste.
One of the last choreographers that Diaghilev mentored at the Ballets
Russes was a young Georgian by the name of George Balanchine.
Balanchine took ballet on the next evolutionary step forward,
speeding it up and making it even more physical, and later went on
to found the New York City Ballet with Lincoln Kirstein.
Continuity, collaboration, innovation, evolution -- all legacies
that Diaghilev left the dance world, ideas that are relevant in so very many
other
areas.... The
exhibit at the NYPL will be followed by several performances of
Ballet Russes works by different companies at
City
Center's Fall for Dance Festival
(Sept 22 to October 3). See:
La
Belle et la Bête
Visit:
Diaghilev's
Theater of Marvels: The Ballets Russes and Its Aftermath See:
City
Center's Fall for Dance Festival
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Sergei
Diaghilev
 Felia
Doubrovska,
Ballets Russes
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