Preparing a class on Diaghilev for my students in history's classical music, I'm wondering about the impact and the meaning of the russian ballets in Paris since 1913.
Dear Oujlakh,
I think both of them. Orientalism brought it into painting and Russian ballet into theatre and performance. But Russian ballet had a more serious impact on the artistic discourse of Paris those days because it was a composition of various artist's work in various fields.
Yes I agree. It brought modernity in aesthetics even though it promoted the spectacular elements of Orientalism through the costumes and designs.
I agree with both. orientalism brought some thing "new", something "exotic" and at the same time with a modern languageor like a modern language.
"Orientalism" is a complex aesthetic concept, denoting the presentation of a dreamed Oriental world. The Ballets Russes often proposed images of rural Russia, which may or may not have seemed "Oriental" in Paris; but this in any case is not the most common meaning of the term.
Have a look at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballets_Russes#Principal_productions
which shows at least one image for several of the productions. I see no reason why you should start in 1913: some of the earlier productions look much more oriental, and orientalism appears to recede in their later productions.
What is obvious, though, is that Orientalism showed mainly in the decors, the costumes and the choregraphies (you should find other images of these), while modernism resided mainly in the music. Stravinsky, in particular, was much more modern than oriental (even in the music of Petrushka, which may involve more couleur locale than other compositions).
Note also that the scandal of The Rite of Spring was caused much more by what happened on the stage than by the music, despite what may have been said later: it had seemed to confine to pornography.
The choregraphy of course also was modern -- think of the choregraphies in tutu and ballet shoes, with conventional figures and gestures, that had been the norm until then: this change also was part of the modernism (and of the scandal) for a public that was rather conventional.
[J'aurais dû vous répondre en français, évidemment. Mais c'est votre faute : vous avez posé la question en anglais ;--)) ]
Thank you all for this answers. I guess that modernity was also bring by the russian oriental style associated to the russian folklore. To me, it's still a fabulous way to create arts shows mixing visual arts, design, danse and costumes.
So, I have an other question about this class music and danse topic I teach : if we could find a new Serge Diaghilev today, who could be this person?
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