Dancer and choreographer, Michel Fokine,
is credited with revitalising classical
ballet in the early 20th century. Fokine
was an advocate of natural and expressive
choreography, believing that the whole
body should express meaning and emotion
through the integration of mime, gesture
and dance movement. He also believed
in the artistic unity of dance, music,
drama and design. Fokine's progressive
ideas brought him into Serge Diaghilev's
circle of artists, writers and musicians
and he was invited to become chief choreographer
of Diaghilev's Ballet Russe in 1909.
With the Ballet Russe, Fokine was able
to put his ideas into practice and he
created some of his most famous and enduring
works, such as
Les Sylphides (1909), which
was a reworking of his earlier choreography
Chopiniana,
The Firebird and
Scheherazade (1910),
Le Spectre de la rose (1911)
and
Le Coq d'or (1914). Fokine
ended his collaboration with Diaghilev
in 1914 and worked as a freelance choreographer
and performer in Europe and the United
States for many years, eventually settling
in New York.
Australian audiences had their first
view of Fokine's choreography in 1913,
when the visiting Imperial Russian Ballet
performed
Les Sylphides. It was performed
again in Australia by Anna Pavlova's
company in 1926 and 1929, under the title
Chopiniana. The Dandre-Levitoff
Russian Ballet toured Australia in 1934-35,
staging Fokine's
Prince Igor and
Le Carnaval. During their
1936-37 Australian tour, Colonel de Basil's
Monte Carlo Russian Ballet staged
Les Sylphides,
Prince Igor and
Carnaval, along with Australian
premieres of Fokine's
The Firebird,
Petrouchka,
Scheherazade,
Le Spectre de la rose and
Thamar.
Fokine noted the success of his works
overseas and took legal action against
de Basil. The law suit was settled amicably
and Fokine joined de Basil's Ballets
Russes in 1937. Both he and his wife,
dancer Vera Fokina, accompanied the Covent
Garden Russian Ballet on its tour of
Australia and New Zealand from September
1938 to April 1939. Many of Fokine's
works were restaged alongside Australian
premieres of
Cendrillon,
Le Coq d'or and
Papillons, but this time
all of Fokine's choreographic works were
staged under his personal supervision.
The presence of Fokine created a buzz
in Australia and many sought opportunities
to watch company rehearsals. Newspaper
critic Geoffrey Hutton made the following
comments after watching Fokine at work:
'Fokine in conversation is affable,
witty and approachable; Fokine conducting
a rehearsal is a despot working with
the intense energy of a sculptor in quick-drying
clay ... This concentration gives to
his ballets a precision and sparkle which
they often lack in other hands.'
The dancer Algeranoff worked with Fokine
during the tour to Australia and later
commented that 'It was very inspiring
to work for such a master whose constant
demand was perfection, and whose commands
one could obey without hesitation. His
presence in the audience always gave
that added excitement to the atmosphere,
and although nobody ever thought of giving
less than their best, when he was there
we seemed to have more strength, and
were empowered to perform even better'.
While in Australia, Fokine choreographed
and rehearsed the ballet
Paganini, set to music by
Rachmaninov. Theatrical entrepreneurs,
the Taits, arranged a stage rehearsal
in Melbourne and hoped to also stage
the world premiere. Fokine, however,
declined to stage the ballet without
costumes and scenery and
Paganini premiered at Covent
Garden Opera House in London a few months
later. The work was first performed in
Australia the following year by the Original
Ballet Russe.
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