Table of Contents

Art * The Liberating Aesthetic of Michel Fokine * The Vanguard Poetic of Vaslac Nijinsky * The Making of Ballet Modernism * The Twenties Enterprise * Russian Origins * Into the Marketplace * Underwriting Modernism: American Intermezzo * Era of the Dance Boom * Protean Identities Audience * Paris: The Cultivated Audience * London: Lords, Ladies, and Literati * The Postwar Audience * Epilogue * Appendix A: Works Created by Michel Fokine, 1905-1917 * Appendix B: Operas Produced by Serge Diaghilev * Appendix C: Ballets Produced by Serge Diaghilev

About the Author

Dance critic and historian Lynn Garafola is the editor of Rethinking the Sylph: New Perspectives on the Romantic Edition and coeditor of Andre Levinson on Dance: Writings from Paris in the Twenties. She lives in New York City.

Reviews

The Ballets Russes, in existence from 1909 to 1929, heraled modernism in ballet. The company's infamous impresario, Serge Diaghilev, had an uncommon facility for recognizing talent and fostering successful collaborations. He brought together innovative artists, dancers, composers, and choreographers in groundbreaking productions such as L'Apr es-Midi d'un Faune . Fokine, Nijinsky, Picasso, Stravinsky, Massine, Bakst, and Balanchine were just a few of the key players in the company's history. Garafola's approach to dance history is expansive, taking in the cultural and artistic influences and economic realities, and applying newer methodologies. Scholarly, yet extremely readable, this is highly recommended for most libraries, even those owning Richard Buckle's Diaghilev (LJ 10/1/79).-- Joan Stahl, Enoch Pratt Free Lib., Baltimore