The Google doodle for the day informed me that today was the 145th birthday of Diaghilev. This man, trained in pre-Bolshevik Russia, coordinated art shows and music extravaganzas before moving to Paris. There he became integral to the local arts scene. He began the Ballets Russes to bring Russian trained dancers, choreographers, and composers to the French people. His connections saw sets designed by Matisse and Cocteau and costumes designed by Picasso. While many ballet artists were trained in the Russian tradition, they moved into a more modernist format with Diaghilev. Pavlova and Nijinsky danced with choreography being done by many including Balanchine (Georgi Melantonovitch Balenchevadze), to the music of Igor Stravinsky. The Ballets Russes were a proving ground for many famous folk during its 20 year existence (1909-1929).
I learned to love ballet through many of the traditional Russian productions. Some of the early modern dances were introduced to me later in life, but made an impact. While not the same as many Russian fairy tale ballets in terms of story telling, many were based on aspects of the tales. The one I chose to share tonight is from a full length ballet. It is the finale -- a short piece. The video contains photos of stage productions and interesting phoenix artwork. Enjoy!
Firebird Finale -- Stravinsky
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