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AN ARTISTIC REVOLUTION PHENOMENON: DIAGHILEV’S BALLET RUSSES

Year 2016, Issue: 5, 147 - 160, 01.01.2016

Abstract

The Ballet Russes (1909-1929) was the revolutionary Russian ballet company under the direction of Russian impresario Serge Diaghilev (1872-1929). The Ballet Russes took an important role as a new art form as rarely taking the old traditions. Before the Ballet Russes, the costumes were nearly uniformity. Not only costumes and scenery newly designed but the music was composed as a new music by commissioned composers such as Stravinsky, Debussy and Ravel. The ballet technique was limited as well. The revolutionary choreographs of Ballet Russes’, such as Fokine and Nijinsky were employed and they no longer limited body movements in dance. The choreographers extended those innovations and brought their modern spirit to large ensemble productions. Ballet Russes wasn’t just a new type and level of ballet performances that surpassed contemporary European ballet, but also a unique artistic phenomenon that shaped the development of Western European in the 20th century. The legacy left by Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes still has an influence on modern ballet companies today. 

References

  • Acocella, J. 1999. Secrets of Nijinsky, New york: The New Yorker. American Ballet Foundation, Michel Fokine, (10 June 2015). http://www.abt.org/education/archive/choreographers/fokine_m.html Anderson, J., Diaghilev’s Five Great Choreographers. http://artsmeme.com/2009/05/24/diaghilevs-five-great-choreographers/ Boyt, D. 2005. Dance as a Project of the Early Modern Avant-garde, Florida State University. Cheney, G. 1989. Basic Consepts in Modern Dance, New Jersey: Princeton Book Company. Encyclopedia of visual artists. 2015. Leon Bakst. http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/famous-artists/leon-bakst.htm Foster, S. L.1996. Choreography and Narrative: Ballet’s Staging of Story and Desire, Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. Grigoriev, S. L. 1953. The Diaghilev’s Ballet, 1909-1929, London:Constable. Garafola, L. 1998. Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, Da Capo Press. Garafola, L. 1999. The Ballets Russes and Its World, Yale University Press. Garafola, L. 2005. Legacies of Twentieth-Century Dance, Middletown, USA: Wesleyan University Press. Harvard College Library, Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, (15 May 2015). http://hcl.harvard.edu/libraries/houghton/exhibits/diaghilev/introduction.cfm Haskell, A. 2009. Conflicts behind the Stage. http://www.ecrit-coaching.com/art-and-business Hodson, M. 1987. "Nijinsky's Choreographic Method: Visual Sources from Roerich for Le Sacre du printemps", Dance Research Journal, 18( 2), Russian Folklore Abroad, Congress on Research in Dance. Jennings, L. 12 September 2010. “Sergei Diaghilev: First Lord of the Dance”, theguardian. http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2010/sep/12/sergei-diaghilev-and-the-balletsrusses) Kirk, E. 2014. The Powerhouses of Parisian Society: Female Patronage and the Ballets Russes, Wessley College. Kennedy, J. 1977. The “Mir Iskusstva” Group and Russian Art 1898-1912, New York: Garland. Lille, D. Sept/ Oct. 2009. “Diaghilev, The Ballets Russes and the 20th Century”, Art Times Journal. http://www.arttimesjournal.com/dance/Sept_Oct09_Dawn_Lille/Sergei_Diaghilev.html Lozynsky, A. 2007. “Orientalism and The Ballets Russes”, Situations, Yonsei University, 1: 82-96. Maryanski, M. 2015. Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes in America. http://blog.nyhistory.org/diaghilev-and-the-ballets-russes-in-america/ Meyer, C.1978. “The Influence of Leon Bakst on Choreography”, Dance Chronicle, 1(2), 127-142. National Gallery of Art, Diaghilev and The Ballet Russes, (2015). http://www.nga.gov/content/dam/ngaweb/exhibitions/pdfs/diaghilev-brochure.pdf sf 13 New york City Ballet, George Balanchine, (2015). http://www.nycballet.com/Explore/Our-History/George-Balanchine.aspx Potter, M. 1990. “Designed for Dance: The Costumes of Lèon Bakst and the Art of Isadora Duncan” Dance Chronicle, 13( 2):154-169. Russell, R. & Barratt, A. 1990. Russian Theatre in the Age of Modernism. NY: St. Martin’s Press. The Tcherepnin Society, Nikolai Tcherepnin, (2015). http://www.tcherepnin.com/nikolai/bio_nik.htm

AN ARTISTIC REVOLUTION PHENOMENON: DIAGHILEV’S BALLET RUSSES

Year 2016, Issue: 5, 147 - 160, 01.01.2016

Abstract

The Ballet Russes (1909-1929) was the revolutionary Russian ballet company under the direction of Russian impresario Serge Diaghilev (1872-1929). The Ballet Russes took an important role as a new art form as rarely taking the old traditions. Before the Ballet Russes, the costumes were nearly uniformity. Not only costumes and scenery newly designed but the music was composed as a new music by commissioned composers such as Stravinsky, Debussy and Ravel. The ballet technique was limited as well. The revolutionary choreographs of Ballet Russes’, such as Fokine and Nijinsky were employed and they no longer limited body movements in dance. The choreographers extended those innovations and brought their modern spirit to large ensemble productions. Ballet Russes wasn’t just a new type and level of ballet performances that surpassed contemporary European ballet, but also a unique artistic phenomenon that shaped the development of Western European in the 20th century. The legacy left by Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes still has an influence on modern ballet companies today. 

References

  • Acocella, J. 1999. Secrets of Nijinsky, New york: The New Yorker. American Ballet Foundation, Michel Fokine, (10 June 2015). http://www.abt.org/education/archive/choreographers/fokine_m.html Anderson, J., Diaghilev’s Five Great Choreographers. http://artsmeme.com/2009/05/24/diaghilevs-five-great-choreographers/ Boyt, D. 2005. Dance as a Project of the Early Modern Avant-garde, Florida State University. Cheney, G. 1989. Basic Consepts in Modern Dance, New Jersey: Princeton Book Company. Encyclopedia of visual artists. 2015. Leon Bakst. http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/famous-artists/leon-bakst.htm Foster, S. L.1996. Choreography and Narrative: Ballet’s Staging of Story and Desire, Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. Grigoriev, S. L. 1953. The Diaghilev’s Ballet, 1909-1929, London:Constable. Garafola, L. 1998. Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, Da Capo Press. Garafola, L. 1999. The Ballets Russes and Its World, Yale University Press. Garafola, L. 2005. Legacies of Twentieth-Century Dance, Middletown, USA: Wesleyan University Press. Harvard College Library, Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, (15 May 2015). http://hcl.harvard.edu/libraries/houghton/exhibits/diaghilev/introduction.cfm Haskell, A. 2009. Conflicts behind the Stage. http://www.ecrit-coaching.com/art-and-business Hodson, M. 1987. "Nijinsky's Choreographic Method: Visual Sources from Roerich for Le Sacre du printemps", Dance Research Journal, 18( 2), Russian Folklore Abroad, Congress on Research in Dance. Jennings, L. 12 September 2010. “Sergei Diaghilev: First Lord of the Dance”, theguardian. http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2010/sep/12/sergei-diaghilev-and-the-balletsrusses) Kirk, E. 2014. The Powerhouses of Parisian Society: Female Patronage and the Ballets Russes, Wessley College. Kennedy, J. 1977. The “Mir Iskusstva” Group and Russian Art 1898-1912, New York: Garland. Lille, D. Sept/ Oct. 2009. “Diaghilev, The Ballets Russes and the 20th Century”, Art Times Journal. http://www.arttimesjournal.com/dance/Sept_Oct09_Dawn_Lille/Sergei_Diaghilev.html Lozynsky, A. 2007. “Orientalism and The Ballets Russes”, Situations, Yonsei University, 1: 82-96. Maryanski, M. 2015. Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes in America. http://blog.nyhistory.org/diaghilev-and-the-ballets-russes-in-america/ Meyer, C.1978. “The Influence of Leon Bakst on Choreography”, Dance Chronicle, 1(2), 127-142. National Gallery of Art, Diaghilev and The Ballet Russes, (2015). http://www.nga.gov/content/dam/ngaweb/exhibitions/pdfs/diaghilev-brochure.pdf sf 13 New york City Ballet, George Balanchine, (2015). http://www.nycballet.com/Explore/Our-History/George-Balanchine.aspx Potter, M. 1990. “Designed for Dance: The Costumes of Lèon Bakst and the Art of Isadora Duncan” Dance Chronicle, 13( 2):154-169. Russell, R. & Barratt, A. 1990. Russian Theatre in the Age of Modernism. NY: St. Martin’s Press. The Tcherepnin Society, Nikolai Tcherepnin, (2015). http://www.tcherepnin.com/nikolai/bio_nik.htm
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Details

Primary Language English
Journal Section MAKALELER/ARTICLES
Authors

Seda Ayvazoğlu This is me

Publication Date January 1, 2016
Submission Date December 12, 2015
Published in Issue Year 2016 Issue: 5

Cite

Chicago Ayvazoğlu, Seda. “AN ARTISTIC REVOLUTION PHENOMENON: DIAGHILEV’S BALLET RUSSES”. Art - Sanat, no. 5 (January 2016): 147-60.