Our building, including our exhibition galleries, is currently closed to the public. Legal | A new exhibit … Vaslav Nijinsky’s notation for a section of L’Après-midi d’un Faune, 1912. Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes, narrated by Tilda Swinton (2013, 60 min.) Followers 2. The 1909 and 1910 seasons of the Ballets Russes consisted of a pick-up troupe of dancers on vacation from the Russian Imperial Theater. Bronislava Nijinska Collection, Music Division, Library of Congress (034.00.00) Digital ID # br0030, Bookmark this item: //www.loc.gov/exhibits/ballets-russes/exhibition-items.html#obj25, The puppet Petrouchka was one of Vaslav Nijinsky’s most famous roles, Bronislava Nijinska wrote of her brother’s performance at the end of Petrouchka: “With an agonizing pain and sadness in his eyes, he extends a trembling arm in farewell to the crowd, knowing that only they, the gray, common, Russian crowd, love and understand Petrouchka. When Diaghilev could not pay back the loan, a legal battle ensued and the sets and costumes were impounded. “Nijinsky wanted the impossible. Bronislava Nijinska Collection, Music Division, Library of Congress (009.00.00) ), Rehearsal photograph of George Balanchine's Le Chant du Rossignol, from an album compiled by Serge Grigoriev, 1925. The Ballets Russes de Serge Diaghilev company’s extraordinary group of choreographers, composers, and artists produced the first great ballet classics of the twentieth century and. (Schéhérazade: music by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov; libretto by Léon Bakst, Alexandre Benois, and Michel Fokine, after the first tale of The Thousand and One Nights; sets and costumes by Léon Bakst; choreography by Michel Fokine; premiere on June 4, 1910, Théâtre National de l’Opéra, Paris. Digital ID # br0008, Bookmark this item: //www.loc.gov/exhibits/ballets-russes/exhibition-items.html#obj6. The year 2009 was the centenary of the founding of the Ballets Russes. What can we know about ancient dance? She joined the Ballets Russes as a dancer in 1909 and was made a principal dancer the next year. These productions were rooted in France’s post-World War I fascination with bygone monarchies and court life. Digital ID # br0002, Bookmark this item: //www.loc.gov/exhibits/ballets-russes/exhibition-items.html#obj0. Bronislava Nijinska Collection, Music Division, Library of Congress (044.00.00) The Firebird was Stravinsky’s first commission from the Ballets Russes and proved to be the catalyst that began Stravinsky’s ascent to international acclaim. Digital ID # br0014, Souvenir program from the premiere of The Firebird, 1910. Léonide Massine (1896–1979) expanded ballet’s impact by integrating extensive character and ethnic inspirations into his choreographies, which resulted in highly dramatic works. Stravinsky agreed to do a revival of the ballet in 1925, and Diaghilev turned the choreography over to George Balanchine. Digital ID # br0029, Bookmark this item: //www.loc.gov/exhibits/ballets-russes/exhibition-items.html#obj24, A vehicle for Nijinsky’s brilliant dance technique, Narcisse was little performed after he left the company in 1917. 1910. Digital ID # br0017, Bookmark this item: //www.loc.gov/exhibits/ballets-russes/exhibition-items.html#obj13, Léonide Massine continued the experiments in movement initiated by Michael Fokine but integrated character and ethnic influences into his choreographies, resulting in highly dramatic ballets. One review noted that “66 years after its premiere, the ballet remains astonishingly experimental.” Another critic said: “Les Noces was deftly done, both in the rendition of Stravinsky’s pungent score and in the dancing.”, Dance Theatre of Harlem in a reconstruction of Les Noces, 1989. Bronislava Nijinska Collection, Music Division, Library of Congress (048.00.00) Page 2. Serge Diaghilev/Serge Lifar Collection, Music Division, Library of Congress (025.00.00) He convinced some of Russia’s greatest talents to … The Ballets Russes de Serge Diaghilev erupted onto the cultural scene of Paris in 1909. Digital ID # br0034, Bookmark this item: //www.loc.gov/exhibits/ballets-russes/exhibition-items.html#obj29, In 1913, Nijinsky’s assistant, Marie Rambert (1888–1982), asked Igor Stravinsky for a copy of the piano score so that she could record Nijinsky’s choreography for Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring: music by Igor Stravinsky; sets and costumes by Nikolai Roerich; choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky; first performance on May 28, 1913. The flamboyant cast of characters included gigolos, a hostess, and a pair of sapphists, who probed a multitude of forbidden themes such as castration, narcissism, and voyeurism. (Apollon Musagète: music by Igor Stravinsky; sets and costumes by André Bauchant; choreography by George Balanchine; premiere on June 12, 1928, Théâtre Sarah-Berhardt, Paris. This exhibition reveals a dialogue between the ancient and the modern. (Les Matelots: music by Georges Auric; libretto by Boris Kochno; sets, costumes, and curtain by Pedro Pruna; scene painting by Prince Alexander Schervashidze; choreography by Léonide Massine; premiere on June 17, 1925, Théâtre de la Gaïté-Lyrique, Paris. Bronislava Nijinska Collection, Music Division, Library of Congress (054.00.00)Digital ID # br0054, Marie Laurencin. In later performances Adolph Bolm (1884–1951) danced Fokine’s role of Amoun. Bronislava Nijinska Collection, Music Division, Library of Congress (010.00.00) revolutionized art, music, and dance. George Balanchine (1904–1983) joined Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes as a dancer in 1924. Serge Diaghilev (left) and Léonide Massine (right), no date. (The Firebird: music by Igor Stravinsky; libretto by Michel Fokine; sets and costumes by Aleksandr Golovin, with additional costumes by Léon Bakst; choreography by Michel Fokine; premiere on June 25, 1910, Théâtre National de l’Opéra, Paris. Alexandra Danilova Collection, Music Division, Library of Congress (026.00.00) 1926. Curtain design for Les Biches, ca. Poulenc composed one ballet for Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, Les Biches, with choreography by Bronislava Nijinska. More than a simple story of the reception of antiquity by artists in the twentieth century, Hymn to Apollo shows how artists returned to the past not as benighted traditionalists but as radical revolutionaries, intent on creating something new. Two of his greatest works, Apollo and Prodigal Son, were created during the last years of the company’s existence. Through 140 costumes from 34 productions from 1909 to 1939, the vivid and innovative dance design of the early 20th century will be brought to life on the 100th anniversary of the Ballets Russes. Jane Pritchard, Curator of Dance, and V&A conservation specialists take us behind the scenes as they prepare key objects, costumes and a giant stage cloth for display in the major 2010 exhibition 'Diaghilev and the Golden Age of the Ballets Russes, 1909 – 1929'. Receipt for Vaslav Nijinsky’s performances in Rio de Janeiro, August 18, 1917. (Le Spectre de la Rose: music by Carl Maria von Weber, orchestrated by Hector Berlioz; sets and costumes by Léon Bakst; choreography by Michel Fokine; premiere on April 19, 1911, Théâtre de Monte-Carlo, Monte Carlo. Bronislava Nijinska Collection, Music Division, Library of Congress (040.00.00)Digital ID# br0040, Bronislava Nijinska’s choreographic notes for The Sleeping Princess, 1921. By 1913, Vaslav Nijinsky was a household name throughout Europe, and many publications were created to mark his celebrity status. . The heavy wooden head hangs to one side, and the tragic eyes stare out of the grotesque, still mask of the doll’s face.”, Vaslav Nijinsky as Petrouchka, 1911. The exhibit features 100 year old programs of Diaghilev's Ballets Russes performance on May 19, 1909 in Paris. During her tenure with the company she choreographed nine ballets and numerous operas for Diaghilev. Trans. landmark exhibition Ballets Russes: the Art of Costume, which was held in Australia in 2010, will be shown at the National Art Center, Tokyo from 18 June to 1 Septem-ber, 2014. Bronislava Nijinska Collection, Music Division, Library of Congress (059.00.00)Digital ID # br0059, Bookmark this item: //www.loc.gov/exhibits/ballets-russes/exhibition-items.html#obj42. He created the costumes or scenery for nineteen Ballets Russes productions—more than any other artist—including Le Festin, Le Carnaval, Le Spectre de la Rose, L’Après-Midi d’un Faune, Jeux, and The Sleeping Princess. Serge Grigoriev/Ballets Russes Archive, Music Division, Library of Congress (020.02.00) Bronislava Nijinska Collection, Music Division, Library of Congress (011.00.00) Digital ID # br0044p1, br0044p2, Bookmark this item: //www.loc.gov/exhibits/ballets-russes/exhibition-items.html#obj38, Les Fâcheux (The Unfortunate) was one of several ballets and operas produced by the Ballets Russes during the 1920s that focused on themes related to eighteenth-century France. He described the intimate stage setting as “a tiny room, the two walls of which meet together in an upstage corner, leaving but little room for dancing. ), Vaslav Nijinsky as the Rose in Le Spectre de la Rose, 1911. The exhibit tells you the story of Diaghilev's Ballets Russes form 1909-1929, at … ), Members of the Ballets Russes de Serge Diaghilev, August 28, 1913. Featuring 144 costumes and accessories from 33 Ballets Russes productions, as well as costume and set design drawings, photography and original programs, this exhibition brings to life the Ballets Russes’ avant-garde performances that electrified audiences in Europe, the Americas and Australia from 1909 to 1940. Digital ID # br0033, Bookmark this item: //www.loc.gov/exhibits/ballets-russes/exhibition-items.html#obj28. Many of his works continue to be performed today, including Les Sylphides, Schéhérazade, The Firebird, Le Spectre de la Rose, and Petrouchka. A Paris-based company led by Sergei Diaghilev, the Ballets Russes revolutionized ballet by bringing together some of the generation’s most exciting choreographers, dancers, artists, and composers. Digital ID # br0006, Bookmark this item: //www.loc.gov/exhibits/ballets-russes/exhibition-items.html#obj3. Vaslav Nijinsky’s stark and erotic choreography for the ballet L’Après-midi d’un Faune (The Afternoon of a Faun) was criticized by the Parisian press as obscene. Bronia dans le Faune, 1912. Beaumont. Spivacke Fund Collection, Music Division, Library of Congress. In her diary, Bronislava Nijinska speaks about the first rehearsal of Petrouchka: “The musicians refused to play Stravinsky’s music, saying they considered it an insult to perform such a piece of music where each note was in discord with the laws of harmony. Bronislava Nijinska Collection, Music Division, Library of Congress (043.00.00)Digital ID # br0043, Bookmark this item: //www.loc.gov/exhibits/ballets-russes/exhibition-items.html#obj35, For Diaghilev’s production of Les Noces (The Wedding), Nijinska insisted on simple scenery and dark colors for the costumes to emphasize the seriousness of the theme, which centers on a young peasant girl who leaves her family for the unknown world of marriage.