Ballets by Michel Fokine
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Michael Fokine, ''Mikhail Mikhaylovich Fokin'', group=lower-alpha ( – 22 August 1942) was a groundbreaking Imperial Russian
choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...
and
dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
r.


Career


Early years

Fokine was born in Saint Petersburg to a prosperous
merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...
and at the age of 9 was accepted into the Saint Petersburg Imperial Ballet School. That same year, he made his performing debut in ''
The Talisman A talisman is an object which is purported to possess certain magical properties. Talisman may also refer to: Art and entertainment Fictional characters * Talisman (comics), a superhero from Marvel Comics who was a member of Alpha Flight * Tali ...
'' under the direction of
Marius Petipa Marius Ivanovich Petipa (russian: Мариус Иванович Петипа), born Victor Marius Alphonse Petipa (11 March 1818), was a French ballet dancer, pedagogue and choreographer. Petipa is one of the most influential ballet masters an ...
. In 1898, on his 18th birthday, he debuted on the stage of the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre in '' Paquita'', with the Imperial Russian Ballet. In addition to being a talented dancer, Fokine was also passionate about painting and displayed talent in this area as well. He also played musical instruments, including
mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...
(played on stage in ensemble led by
Ginislao Paris Ginislao Paris (1852-after 1917) was an Italian composer and musician in Tsarist Russia who played trombone with the Russian Imperial Opera Orchestra in St. Petersburg. He also played mandolin, founding the first mandolin orchestra in Russia, '' ...
), domra, and balalaika (played in
Vasily Andreyev Vasily Vasilievich Andreyev (russian: Василий Васильевич Андреев; 26 December 1918)
article on the city ...
's Great Russian Orchestra).


Transition to choreographer

He became frustrated with the life of a dancer and began considering other paths, including painting. In 1902, he was offered a teaching position at the Imperial Ballet School and was able to explore the artistic possibilities of
choreography Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design ...
. In 1905, he created his first full-length ballet, ''Acis et Galatée'', which was performed by his students and based on a Sicilian legend. Among his students were
Desha Delteil Desha Delteil (March 18, 1899 – July 17, 1980) was a Slovenia-born dancer and artists' model. Biography She was born Desha Eva Podgoršek in Ljubljana, Austria-Hungary (present-day Ljubljana, Slovenia), emigrated to the US with her sister ...
and Bronislava Nijinska. Some of Fokine's early works include the ballet ''Acis and Galatea'' (1905) and ''
The Dying Swan ''The Dying Swan'' (originally ''The Swan'') is a solo dance choreographed by Mikhail Fokine to Camille Saint-Saëns's ''Le Cygne'' from ''Le Carnaval des animaux'' as a '' pièce d'occasion'' for the ballerina Anna Pavlova, who performed it abo ...
'' (1907), which was a solo dance for Anna Pavlova choreographed to the music of ''Le Cygne''. ''Acis and Galetea'' included an acrobatic dance with young boys playing
fauns The faun (, grc, φαῦνος, ''phaunos'', ) is a half-human and half-goat mythological creature appearing in Greek and Roman mythology. Originally fauns of Roman mythology were spirits (genii) of rustic places, lesser versions of their c ...
, one of whom was Vaslav Nijinsky. Fokine later featured Nijinsky in ballets including '' Chopiniana'' (1907), which was renamed '' Les Sylphides'' in 1909.


Ballets Russes

In 1909, Sergei Diaghilev invited Fokine to become the resident choreographer of the first season of the
Ballets Russes The Ballets Russes () was an itinerant ballet company begun in Paris that performed between 1909 and 1929 throughout Europe and on tours to North and South America. The company never performed in Russia, where the Revolution disrupted society. A ...
in Paris. At Ballets Russes, he collaborated with other artists to create a ballet of
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov . At the time, his name was spelled Николай Андреевичъ Римскій-Корсаковъ. la, Nicolaus Andreae filius Rimskij-Korsakov. The composer romanized his name as ''Nicolas Rimsk ...
's '' Scheherazade'', which premiered in 1910. The ballet was inspired by
symphonic poems A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music, usually in a single continuous movement, which illustrates or evokes the content of a poem, short story, novel, painting, landscape, or other (non-musical) source. The German term ''T ...
composed by Rimsky-Korsakov and the tale of the
1001 Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...
. The sets designed by
Léon Bakst Léon Bakst (russian: Леон (Лев) Николаевич Бакст, Leon (Lev) Nikolaevich Bakst) – born as Leyb-Khaim Izrailevich (later Samoylovich) Rosenberg, Лейб-Хаим Израилевич (Самойлович) Розенбе ...
matched the sexualized choreography. Despite the lack of
historical accuracy Historicity is the historical actuality of persons and events, meaning the quality of being part of history instead of being a historical myth, legend, or fiction. The historicity of a claim about the past is its factual status. Historicity denot ...
, the ballet was successful due to its brilliant colors,
exoticism Exoticism (from "exotic") is a trend in European art and design, whereby artists became fascinated with ideas and styles from distant regions and drew inspiration from them. This often involved surrounding foreign cultures with mystique and fantas ...
, and sexual overtones. The 1910 production featured Nijinsky in the role of the Golden Slave. '' The Firebird'' (1910), with music composed by
Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...
was also created by a "committee," a process inspired by the
Wagnerian Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...
notion of '' Gesamtkunstwerk'', which is the synthesis of elements such as music, drama, spectacle, and dance to create a more cohesive artwork. '' Petrushka'' (1912), with music also composed by Stravinsky and set design by Alexandre Benois Petrouchka, was inspired by the Russian puppet which traditionally appeared at the Butter Week ( Shrovetide) Fairs. In this ballet, Fokine included street dancers, peddlers, nursemaids, a performing bear, and a large ensemble of characters to complement the plot. The story was centered on the sinister Magician ( Enrico Cecchetti) and his three puppets: Petrouchka (Nijinsky), the Ballerina ( Tamara Karsavina) and the savage Moor (Alexander Orlov). Fokine's ballet '' Le Spectre de la Rose'' (1911) showcased Nijinsky as the spirit of the rose given to a young girl. Nijinsky's exit featured a grand jeté out of the young girl's bedroom window, timed so the audience would last see him suspended in mid-air. In 1912, Fokine created an adaptation of '' Daphnis et Chloé''. He left Ballets Russes in 1912. In 1914, Diaghilev convinced Fokine to return to Ballet Russes, where he then created the ballets ''Midas'', ''The Legend of Joseph'', and ''
Le Coq d'Or ''The Golden Cockerel'' ( rus, Золотой петушок, Zolotoy petushok ) is an opera in three acts, with short prologue and even shorter epilogue, composed by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, his last opera he completed before his death in 1908. ...
''. The Paris premiere of '' The Golden Cockerel'' by Ballets Russes in 1914 was an opéra-ballet, guided by Fokine with set design by Natalia Goncharova.


American Ballet Company

The outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, disrupted the established touring circuit, which included countries now on opposing sides. Many dancers, including Fokine, returned to their home countries. He moved to
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with his family in 1918, and later established his home in New York City, where he founded a ballet school in 1921, and continued to appear with his wife, Vera Fokina. One of his pupils was
Patricia Bowman Patricia Bowman (December 12, 1908 – March 18, 1999) was an American ballerina, ballroom dancer, musical theatre actress, television personality, and dance teacher. Dance critic Jack Anderson (dance critic), Jack Anderson described her as "th ...
. By 1924, he organized the American Ballet Company, which performed regularly at the Metropolitan Opera House and toured the United States. His first piece for the company was the comedy ''Bluebeard'', set to a score by Jacques Offenbach. His ballet '' Les Sylphides'' was the first production at the
American Ballet Theatre American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant, it is recognized as one of the world's leading classical ballet companies. Through 2019, it had an annual ei ...
on 11 January 1940. In 1937, Fokine joined Wassily de Basil's offshoot of the Ballets Russes, which was eventually named the
Original Ballet Russe The Original Ballet Russe (originally named Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo) was a ballet company established in 1931 by René Blum and Colonel Wassily de Basil as a successor to the Ballets Russes, founded in 1909 by Sergei Diaghilev. The company ...
. Among the new works Fokine created during this period were ''
Cendrillon ''Cendrillon'' (''Cinderella'') is an opera—described as a "fairy tale"—in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Caïn based on Perrault's 1698 version of the Cinderella fairy tale. It had its premiere performance on 24 ...
'' (1938) and ''Paganini'' (1939). His choreography was featured with the company until 1941. Fokine staged more than eighty ballets in Europe and the United States. His best-known works were '' Chopiniana'', ''Le Carnaval'' (1910), and ''
Le Pavillon d'Armide ''Le Pavillon d'Armide'' is a ballet in one act and three scenes choreographed by Michel Fokine with music by Nikolai Tcherepnin to a libretto by Alexandre Benois. It was inspired by the novella ''Omphale'' by Théophile Gautier. History The wo ...
'' (1907). His pieces are still performed internationally. The
Mariinsky Ballet The Mariinsky Ballet (russian: Балет Мариинского театра) is the resident classical ballet company of the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in the 18th century and originally known as the Imperial Russ ...
performed a retrospective of Fokine's work at London's
Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...
in July 2011.


Death

Fokine died in New York on 22 August 1942, aged 62. In tribute to his passing, seventeen ballet companies around the world performed '' Les Sylphides'' simultaneously.


Teaching methods and style

Fokine aspired to move beyond traditional ballet, toward a method of utilizing ballet to communicate the natural beauty of Man. He did not believe virtuoso ballet techniques to symbolize anything, and thought they could be substituted with forms that better expressed emotions and themes. Fokine was a strong believer in the communicative power of dance and pushed for creativity that broke tradition, believing that tradition is often distinct from reality and fails to capture the entire spectrum of human emotions. He believed that unless movements are expressive, they are irrational and neither delightful nor tolerable. Fokine also sought to strip ballets of their artificial technicality and outdated costumes. He believed that many of the ballets of his time used costumes and techniques that did not reflect the themes of the ballets. Fokine studied Greek and
Egyptian Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...
art, including vase painting and sculpture, and incorporated these into his ballets. As a choreographer, he took ballerinas out of their pointe shoes when pointe did not serve any "artistic purpose". He believed that ''pointe'' should be used when the dancing body desires to express a soaring and upward theme, rather than to flaunt the strength of dancers' feet. He presented this new idea to the Imperial Mariinsky Theater's management, but did not win their support. One of Fokine's requests was to have his dancers perform barefoot in his 1907 ballet ''Eunice''. His request was denied, and Fokine had toes painted on the dancers' tights so they would appear to be barefoot. He also experimented with shifting the emphasis of movement away from the lower body and towards the whole body, with freer use of the arms and torso and using each muscle with clear intention. In doing so, Fokine sought to unify motion with emotion and the body with the soul, bringing new life to the ballet as a language and an art. In 1923, he choreographed the ballet ''Ajanta Frescoes'' for Anna Pavlova after she had been inspired by her visit to the
Ajanta Caves The Ajanta Caves are approximately thirty rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments dating from the second century BCE to about 480 CE in the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra state in India. The caves include paintings and rock-cut sculptures des ...
.Lakshmi Shreeram, "The Pavlova Project: A unique exhibition presents the life and work of legendary ballerina through her costumes", Firstpost, 21 Jan 2020.. https://www.firstpost.com/living/the-pavlova-project-a-unique-exhibition-presents-the-life-and-work-of-legendary-ballerina-through-her-costumes-7928291.html. Retrieved 21 March 2021.


Cultural depiction

*'' Nijinsky (film)'', film by Herbert Ross - portrayed by Jeremy Irons (1980) *'' Anna Pavlova'', film by Emil Loteanu - portrayed by Sergey Shakurov (1983) Tribute To Ballet, with Prefatory poem To M. Michel Fokine, by John Masefield (1938)


See also

* List of Russian ballet dancers


References


Notes


References

*Beaumont, C. W., ''Michel Fokine and His Ballets'', * Anderson, Jack. *"Michel Fokine, Russian Dancer and Choreographer." Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica. Web. 21 February 2016.


External links


Fokine, Michel, 1880–1942. "Papers: Guide". in the Harvard Theatre Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard College Library.
*
Fokine on Britannica.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fokine, Michel 1880 births 1942 deaths Ballet choreographers Ballets Russes choreographers Burials at Ferncliff Cemetery Ballets Russes dancers Male ballet dancers from the Russian Empire People from Yonkers, New York Dance in New York City Choreographers of American Ballet Theatre White Russian emigrants to the United States Choreographers of Mariinsky Theatre Mariinsky Ballet dancers Mandolinists from the Russian Empire Choreographers from the Russian Empire