Michel Fokine Research Paper
DANC 100-6
Research Assignment
Michel Fokine
When ballet director Sergei Diaghilev ordered a young artist to “astonish” him, he was setting the tone of his own temperament as well as that of the twentieth century modern art in general. Diaghilev greatly valued imaginative, creative choreography and strongly encouraged it within his Ballets Russes to five of the biggest ballet choreographers of the century, including Michel Fokine. All of Diaghilev’s early triumphs were choreographed pieces by Fokine, as the Diaghilev company allowed him to stage any ballets he desired (Anderson). Michel Fokine, originally Mikhail Mikhaylovich Fokine, was born in April of 1880 in St. Petersburg, Russia. He was born into a prosperous middle-class family and …show more content…
joined the Imperial Ballet School when he was nine years old and made his debut on his 18th birthday. Fokine was a talented dancer, as well as a student of music and painting, and was known for his wide variety of interests. He was eager to learn about the ballet and began planning choreography early. He developed as a dancer, choreographer, and a designer (“Michel Fokine”). Unity was a focus for Fokine. To him, the idea of an all-purpose balletic style was nonexistent. All of his works were choreographed in a way unique to its own story, setting, or theme. Some of his ballets were seen as exotic, such as Schéhérazade, a story about marital infidelity that led to an orgy that the audience found so shockingly passionate that it caused a major scandal. Others were described as beautiful yet slightly cool, hot-blooded, or concerned with adult emotions. All of his ballets had parts for men and women, but he mostly used male roles (Anderson). As mentioned earlier, Fokine worked for Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes for part of his career. He left the Diaghilev ballet in 1914 after their friendship deteriorated because of Fokine’s jealousy over Diaghilev’s new choreographer, Vaslav Nijinsky, and he returned to Russia (Andros) where he created his five principles of the new ballet:
1. Each dance must use new forms of movement suitable and the most expressive towards the subject, period, and character of the nation.
2. Dance and mime must only be used to express dramatic action – not as entertainment with no connection to the ballet.
3. Mime must only be used when ballet’s style dictates. Otherwise, whole body movements to communicate must replace hand gestures.
4. Corps de ballet must be used for plot development and means of expression – from the face to the whole body and from an individual to the group.
5.
Ballet reflects an alliance of the arts involved: music, scenery, dance, costuming. Unified composition is used for the plot.
Michel Fokine stated, “These are the chief rules of the new ballet (Anderson).” After Fokine left Russia in 1918, he made his home in New York City. He worked for several companies in the United States and Europe and created new ballets, but none of them were as successful as his earlier work. Fokine was known to have clear and complete ideas. Tamara Karsavina, a Russian ballerina during Fokine’s time, called Fokine “extremely irritable and had no control of his temper.” This may be true, but she also said dancers became devoted to him (“Michel Fokine”). Michel Fokine was a strong dancer, but will be remembered mostly for his changes in ballet. Until his death in 1942, Fokine had built his reputation as the father of modern dance. He was a renaissance man, accomplished musician, painter, philosopher, an intellectual, and is seen as the finest dancer of his generation. All of these contributions to his diverse background, his focused personality, and his five principles of the new ballet are reasons Michel Fokine’s ballets are still in the repertoire of most ballet
companies.
Works Cited
"Michel Fokine". Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., 2014. Web. 28 Mar. 2014
.
Anderson, Jack. Ballet & Modern Dance: A Concise History. Hightstown: Princeton
Book Company, Publishers, 1992. Print.
Andros, Dick. “Michel Fokine.” Andros on Ballet. 1998. 28 March 2014. .
Research Assignment
Michel Fokine
When ballet director Sergei Diaghilev ordered a young artist to “astonish” him, he was setting the tone of his own temperament as well as that of the twentieth century modern art in general. Diaghilev greatly valued imaginative, creative choreography and strongly encouraged it within his Ballets Russes to five of the biggest ballet choreographers of the century, including Michel Fokine. All of Diaghilev’s early triumphs were choreographed pieces by Fokine, as the Diaghilev company allowed him to stage any ballets he desired (Anderson). Michel Fokine, originally Mikhail Mikhaylovich Fokine, was born in April of 1880 in St. Petersburg, Russia. He was born into a prosperous middle-class family and …show more content…
joined the Imperial Ballet School when he was nine years old and made his debut on his 18th birthday. Fokine was a talented dancer, as well as a student of music and painting, and was known for his wide variety of interests. He was eager to learn about the ballet and began planning choreography early. He developed as a dancer, choreographer, and a designer (“Michel Fokine”). Unity was a focus for Fokine. To him, the idea of an all-purpose balletic style was nonexistent. All of his works were choreographed in a way unique to its own story, setting, or theme. Some of his ballets were seen as exotic, such as Schéhérazade, a story about marital infidelity that led to an orgy that the audience found so shockingly passionate that it caused a major scandal. Others were described as beautiful yet slightly cool, hot-blooded, or concerned with adult emotions. All of his ballets had parts for men and women, but he mostly used male roles (Anderson). As mentioned earlier, Fokine worked for Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes for part of his career. He left the Diaghilev ballet in 1914 after their friendship deteriorated because of Fokine’s jealousy over Diaghilev’s new choreographer, Vaslav Nijinsky, and he returned to Russia (Andros) where he created his five principles of the new ballet:
1. Each dance must use new forms of movement suitable and the most expressive towards the subject, period, and character of the nation.
2. Dance and mime must only be used to express dramatic action – not as entertainment with no connection to the ballet.
3. Mime must only be used when ballet’s style dictates. Otherwise, whole body movements to communicate must replace hand gestures.
4. Corps de ballet must be used for plot development and means of expression – from the face to the whole body and from an individual to the group.
5.
Ballet reflects an alliance of the arts involved: music, scenery, dance, costuming. Unified composition is used for the plot.
Michel Fokine stated, “These are the chief rules of the new ballet (Anderson).” After Fokine left Russia in 1918, he made his home in New York City. He worked for several companies in the United States and Europe and created new ballets, but none of them were as successful as his earlier work. Fokine was known to have clear and complete ideas. Tamara Karsavina, a Russian ballerina during Fokine’s time, called Fokine “extremely irritable and had no control of his temper.” This may be true, but she also said dancers became devoted to him (“Michel Fokine”). Michel Fokine was a strong dancer, but will be remembered mostly for his changes in ballet. Until his death in 1942, Fokine had built his reputation as the father of modern dance. He was a renaissance man, accomplished musician, painter, philosopher, an intellectual, and is seen as the finest dancer of his generation. All of these contributions to his diverse background, his focused personality, and his five principles of the new ballet are reasons Michel Fokine’s ballets are still in the repertoire of most ballet
companies.
Works Cited
"Michel Fokine". Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., 2014. Web. 28 Mar. 2014
.
Anderson, Jack. Ballet & Modern Dance: A Concise History. Hightstown: Princeton
Book Company, Publishers, 1992. Print.
Andros, Dick. “Michel Fokine.” Andros on Ballet. 1998. 28 March 2014. .