BALLET— GARDEL TO DIAGHILEFF

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 13, 30 January 1937, Page 13

BALLET— GARDEL TO DIAGHILEFF

The tradition of ballet really begins with Catherine de Medici, who imported it into France from Italy, where it had been in existence for about 200 years. In 1772 the male danseur Gordel discarded the custom of wearing masks and Noverre invented the "Ballet d'Action" — a blend of mimetic art and dancing, with which we are familiar to-day. The next important date is 1861 when the composer Lulli introduced female dancing and La. Belle Camargo created the vogue of the short ballet skirt. "Les Sylphides."

It is a strange fact that among all the existing and exotic ballets presented to us by the Russians, not one has created such continued enthusiasm as "Les Sylphides," which is almost a hymn to Taglioni. The dancing of this great artiste changed the whole trend of ballet, which was at that time strongly under the influence of Vestris. The suggestive and indecorous poses of his danseuses were a direct- contrast to those of Taglioni, who prided herself on the fact tha't she never made an immodest gesture. She ushered in an entirely new type of ballet, based no longer on the pagan mythology of the south, but oxx the fantastic fairy tales of the north. Russian ballet as we know it to-day is a survival of the successive dancers who migrated from Paris and Milan to found a school ajt the invitation of the ltussian Court. It was not until well on in the eighteenth century that the Russians began to rely on their own native talent in preference to the stars imported from France and Italy. This change was due entirely to the famous Maestro, Marius Petipa, to whose work in the 50's and 60' s so much of the present supremacy of the llussian ballet is due. Petipa5 s ballets, of wfyeh the most famous are "Le Lac des Cygnes" and "The Sleeping Beauty,5' still conformed to the traditional type— three or four acts taking a whole evening ; but Petipa did work of enormous importance by assisting in the emergemce of a stroixg nationai feeling and by encouraging native talent to take its place in the highest grades of operatic ballet. Under his guidance Russian dancing began to achieve self-sufficiency and to realise for the first time that it Was not only equal but superior to that of any other country. Although he has never been such a spectaeular figure as "Big Serge" Diayliileff, Alexandre Benois did more to t'urther the initial stages of the revoIution of Russian ballet than anyone else, and dnring the first decade of the present century practicall^ the whole of its artistic direction remained in his hands. and it was he who first discovered the possibilities ' of Fokine as a choreographer. The Power of Diaghileff. It may surprise many people to know that Diaghileff was in no way creative, but he had a'most extraordxnary and stimulating effect on the minds of people who were ; and it is very certain that the dreams of such men as Benois, Baskt, and Fokine would never have matured in tbe way they did without him. The ballet which was to result in such a distinct cleavage between the old classic school and the new was "Le Favillon d'Armide," a long ballet in tive acts for which Tclierepin had composed a preliminary 6core in a more or less modern manner. The idea of producing "Armide5' had been in Benois5 s raind since 1902, but xt was not until the spring of 1907 that the directors of the Imperial Ballet decided to admit it to their repertoire. During the whole of that summer Benois worked hard on the scenery and costumes and Tcherepin re-orchestrated the score. It was during this period that Benois first made the acquaintance of Michael Fokine, the nian whose darjngly original ideas were so soon to change the whole trend of ballet. Even at that- time Fokine was regarded as a most promising if somewhat eccentric choreographer. , Benois was in need of just such a man to carry out certain reforms, and he engaged Fokine to produce "Armide.,5' One day during rehearsal Fokine came to Benois and said: "I know of a very talented young male danseur who is just leaving the school. His name is Nijinsky, and I know he would be an asset. Do you think you eould create a part for him?" "Do you think it would be worth my while to make a part for him?" asked Bendis. «.yes"

.. Anua Pavlova. The role of Armide5s slave was invented and Tcherepin hastily composed a variation and a Pas de trois. This was the famous "Pas de Trois5' which brouglit down the house wlien Fokine, Pavlova, and Nijinsky danced it 011 tbe opening night in Paris. It was in "Armide" that Anna Pavlova als> received her first big cliance. Mathilde Refiessinskaia, ihe principal ballerina of the Imperial company, became piqued at the number of rehearsals for what she considered to be a quite unimportant ballet, and suddenly refused to dance the part of Armide. The position was desperate. Botli Benois and Fokine knew that ever.vfching as far as they were conc-ernerl lepended on the success of this new venture, and the role of Armide was jxceedingly difficult. Benois, running into Pavlova, who had been watcliing from the wings. told her what had kappened. "How many days before the perforoiance?" aslted Pavlova. > "Six," said Benois. "Very well ; I shall practise the part and dance it," replied Pavlova. And so it happened that Pavlova saved Pavillon. d'Armide and made at the same time a tremendous personal

success. Although Armide was by no ineans the most outstanding of tbe Diaghileff ballets, it is historically speaking, the most important, and its story, with its curious mingling of fantasy and reality thrown into such sharp relief against a sinister back ground, is typical of the atmosphere of Russian ballet in general and the genius of Benois in particular. Produced in Paris. "Pavillon d5Armide," which was first produced in Paris in 1909, forms a most important link between the milder reiovms of Petipa and the Imperial Ballet and the much more drastic ones nf Diaghileff and his followers. It paved the way for such ballets as "Schelierazade,'' "Tliamar and Cleapatre," just as "Les Sylphides," which is really the original of all the romantic Diaghileff ballets, was the forerunner of such future productions as "Carnaval," "Petrouchka," and "Le Spectre de la Rose." — Sheila Wbytock, in the "Syduey Woming Herald.5'