Ballet
George Balanchine and Serge Diaghilev were similar and yet different in various ways. For instance, both were prominent figures in the 20th century: they worked together in the Ballets Russes for five years in the latter half of the 1920s; Balanchine was the choreographer and ballet master, Diaghilev the promoter. Diaghilev had staged works, too, and is regarded as a pioneer in the field -- uniting new music and modernist styles and tactics with the traditional ballet forms to bring a new spectacle to the stage -- works like The Rite of Spring, for instance, which was so controversial that it caused a fight to break out in the theater on the evening of its first performance (Kelly 293). Balanchine, on the other hand, was devoted more towards the art of dance: he opened schools and worked in New York and in Hollywood. He lived for dance, it could be said, while Diaghilev lived for sensation and the revolution. By the time Balanchine developed Jewels for New York City Ballet, it was like he had returned to the pure form of ballet that he had spent so much time experimenting with in the early days when with the Ballets Russes.
Balanchine was creative and energetic, working with some of the greatest modern composers -- Stravinsky, Debussy, Ravel and Satie, while having sets designed by the great modernist painters like Picasso and Matisse (and, of course, this all occurred while with Diaghilev's Ballets Russes) (Fisher 25). The two shared a few years of creative outpouring, but in the big scheme, it was a small chapter in Balanchine's life and career. He went on to New York to found the School of American Ballet, took dancing to Hollywood and worked on films, and formed the Ballet Society company that -- like his time with Diaghilev -- also worked alongside modern composers on new works. At the same time, Balanchine stayed devoted to traditional works like Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker. Diaghilev also liked to do this -- but his focus was on spectacle -- both on stage and in terms of ideas and what was being expressed. Diaghilev wanted to move things forward in powerful ways; Balanchine understood the lesson of moderation to a more business-like degree -- as his success over many years shows.
One of the works that defined Balanchine's career was Apollo, which he developed with Stravinsky while in the Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. It was a minimalist piece that was heavily influenced by Stravinsky's modernist or post-modernist sounds: accompaniments from the jazz-inspired times, filled with suggestions of a break with the old dance temperament of the past. It was jazzy and fast, with twirls and movements predicated by the jazz rhythms and beats: it was like jazz dance music performed by ballerinas -- an odd pairing that jars upon viewing. It was an expression of the neoclassical movement and both Balanchine and Diaghilev were at the head of it. Thus, they were similar in this regard -- they both desired to experiment with genre...
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now