The Rite of Spring

On May 29, 1913, spectators filled every sit in the theatre des Champs-Elysees in Paris. They sat in anticipation of celebrated dancer and choreographer Vaslav Nijinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps, in English, The Rite of Spring, a ballet set on the dancers of the critically-acclaimed Russian company, Ballets Russes. Ever since its inception in French courts in the 15th century, ballet has remained a pastime reserved for those with class. When one envisions a ballet, they imagine an evening of grace—an art form that gives off an air of elegance. However, as these highly civilized theatergoers soon found out, Nijinsky’s ballet strayed quite far from the virtues of grace and class—so far so that this dignified group of people found themselves rapidly devolving into primitive entities filled with rage. They had expected to attend a ballet that reinforced their civilized status. The title, The Rite of Spring, gives implications of a performance brimming with spring-themes of new life and rebirth. With this in mind, they hoped to see beautiful tutu-clad ballerinas en pointe, and maybe a few men in tights to accompany them. Instead, Nijinsky’s ballet presented them with two primitive pagan tribes dressed in “holiday peasant wear—bloused tunics in heavy white or red felt” who believed that in order to protect the earth,…

One of the greatest and most infamous success scandals of the modern art is “The Rite of Spring”. In Paris, on May 29, 1913, a hundred and three years ago, the Ballets Russes debuted “Le Sacre du Printemps” which its traduction to English is “The Rite of Spring”. With the opening notes of the musician and composer Igor Stravinsky, the main dancer and choreographer Vaslav Nijinsky, with Marie Rambert helping him to assist the choreographies, and Nicholas Roerich the costume designer a…

Performance art is a form of art that's been around arguably since the beginning of time. From ancient tribal rituals to the first plays of shakespeare, performance art has taken on many different appearances over a millinia. There is a reason that performance art is still a main staple of all cultures all around the world, its because we as humans love this medium. Performance art is a unique medium in that it can utilize more of our senses than most other forms of art. For example in the…

Raven Ellis 2/23/18 Who was stravinsky? Igor Stravinsky was a talented Russian composer. He was born in Lomonosov, Russia on June 17th, 1882 and died in New York city, New York, on April 6th, 1971. Some of his most known pieces are Firebird, Petrushka, and The Rite of Spring. Stravinsky is most known for playing piano, but he also played other instruments. Stravinsky was raised in a household of musicians and had a very good influence to be one. My third favorite piece My third favorite…

Jonah Lehrer describes how artists of the past foretold the neuroscience discoveries of the future. The composer Igor Stravinsky deconstructed classical music, introducing dissonance with his ballet The Rite of Spring. Stravinsky was a modernist before his time; and, like its creator, The Rite did not conform to the audiences’ expectations, rather it pushed the boundaries of music. He realized music had never been a creation of nature, it had always been made by a/the human mind, and the human…

Just like Little Red Riding Hood and The Rite of Spring, the red fabric represents Aya’s identity in our devised piece. At the start of the performance, the red fabric was worn as if it was a hijab, implying that the red fabric was Aya’s identity. Her identity and her nationality are what bring her the menacing fate, shown through the versatile use of the fabric. It was served to display a flag, bloody sky, bloody road, and clothing, etc. It was also used as a jail. When Aya talked about the…

(Radiolab, 2010). To illustrate, before the first performance of the Rite of Spring, Stravinsky described it as a “concert about springtime”, when in reality, it was about “radical change and ritual murder” (Radiolab, 2010). The audience’s perception was contradicted from their physical memory of reading about the ballet, thus provoking a riot. The following year, the Rite of Spring was presented a second time, and the audience was aware of the nature of the performance, and thus, a riot never…

Comparison Between The Rite of Spring and Appalachian Spring The Rite of Spring (1913), composed by Igor Stravinsky, and Appalachian Spring (1944), by Aaron Copland, are ballets that center around folk culture. The Rite of Spring suggests a story of human sacrifice and has an overall a harsh and almost disturbing mood. Appalachian Spring tells the story of a new couple celebrating their new house and is lively and happy. The two ballets stem from a common base of folk culture, yet the mood of…

trench warfare on the west, constant moving warfare in eastern Europe, propaganda, and the effects the war had on the world through its many fronts. The thesis of rites of spring says a crucial movement in modern history and consciousness. Eksteins main argument consist of new war techniques, cultural change, and death. World War One is explained by Eksteins as war that brings us into modern age changing the world and the way we think about war forever. Eksteins states some gruesome…

Kristy Wittig 8th Grade Orchestra 2/23/18 February Composer of the Week: Igor Stravinsky Stravinsky was born from June 17, 1882 to April 6, 1971 (88 when died) in Oranienbaum. He was a Russian-born composer, pianist, and conductor. He was known as one of the most important and influential composers in the 20th century. His father, Fyodor Stravinsky (1843-1902) was a well known bass player and his mother Anna (1854-1939) was a native Kiev. Stravinsky had two wives. The first one was his first…