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Want to avoid standing in line? Get a ticket at the box office and a playbill in advance when announced for program one, two, three or four and five. The tribute to the Diaghilev (1872-1929) centennial will send whiffs of nostalgia throughout the Festival in programs everywhere since the Ballets Russes under his guidance created a superb legacy in dance, music, scenery design and costuming. Less known is the contribution his dancers made, through Lincoln Kirsten, to the beginnings of classical dance in New York. Stranded in Europe because of approaching WWII and turmoil in Russia, many of the Diaghilev dancers became teachers in NY. There were no companies they could join. The alternative was teaching. They occupied small studios around City Center (there was no Lincoln Center), and taught us how to dance. Balanchine hired several of them to staff his newly formed School of American Ballet. They were a tough lot, insulting, strict, brooking no deviation from the pedagogy of the Bolshoi and St. Petersburg schools. They fractured French ballet terms, had no patience for bad taste no matter how famous a dancer, who came to their classes. One instance: a European "star" ended a combination (sequence of steps) in class with a grand flourish. "Pigeon born in stable make him horse?" was the unforgettable comment to the dancer. Suppressed laughter ran throughout the class. The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center as a great deal of memorabilia from the era that will soon be on display. Regrettably, diabetic Serge Diaghilev's early demise ended the possible visits of the company to our country, except for one or two inadequate forays. (Diaghilev would not travel by boat to America.) The monumental exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art: "Stage Pictures: Drawing for Performance," continues at the museum until August 25. |
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