Ballets Russes Conference in Boston

Laura Diffenderfer | Apr 07, 2009 | 0

BALLETS RUSSES 2009 ACADEMIC CONFERENCE

A conference on the Ballets Russes, "The Spirit of Diaghilev," will take place on May 18-21, 2009 in Boston to celebrate the centenary of Diaghilev's first ballet performances in Paris.

"In the history of twentieth-century ballet, no company has had so profound and far-reaching an influence as the Ballets Russes." -Lynn Garafola

More info from the press release after the jump!

Commencing on May 18, 2009, the eve of the 100th Anniversary of the first performance of Diaghilev's Ballets Russes at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris - Ballets Russes 2009 will be hosting a four-day conference - The Spirit of Diaghilev - to explore the enormous cultural impact of Diaghilev and his Ballets Russes on the world. The conference, organized by noted dance writer and scholar Lynn Garafola, features an impressive roster of international speakers known for their research and writings on 20th century culture. Part of a weeklong festival in Boston celebrating the centenary of the Ballets Russes, The Spirit of Diaghilev conference will be held at Boston University's George Sherman Union.

  The Ballets Russes (Russian Ballet) was established in 1909 by the Russian impresario Sergei Diaghilev. It became one of the most influential performing companies of the 20th century, and was renowned for its groundbreaking artistic collaborations among choreographers, composers, artists, and designers.

  The BR2009 Conference will examine Diaghilev's impact on artists in the fields of music, visual arts and dance; examine the process and challenges of restaging Ballet Russes works; and, finally, unveil new research about "Diaghilev the Man." Diaghilev's relationships with an astounding array of 20th century artists - Igor Stravinsky, Sergei Prokofiev, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Natalia Goncharova, Giorgio de Chirico, Enrico Cecchetti, Alexandre Benois, Juan Gris, Léon Bakst, Michel Fokine, Vaslav Nijinsky, Leonide Massine, Bronislava Nijinska and George Balanchine will be discussed.

  Presenters include an international roster of more than twenty-five esteemed academics, critics and authors - Joan Acocella, Jack Anderson, Juliet Bellow, John Bowlt, Maureen Carr, Lynn Garafola, Beth Genné, Millicent Hodson, Jack Anderson, Janet Kennedy, Robert Johnson, Andris Liepa, Bob Lockyer, Alastair Macaulay, John E. Malmstad, Nicoletta Misler, Simon Morrison, Linda Nochlin, Giannandrea Poesio, Peter Rand, Nancy Reynolds, Harlow Robinson, Jane Sharp, Stephanie Jordan, Tim Scholl, Marcia B. Siegel, Anna Winestein and Sara Woodcock.

  On Monday, May 18 at 6pm, the conference begins with the screening of the two-part BBC documentary Diaghilev, directed by John Drummond.   The 1968 film is a fascinating portrait of Diaghilev through interviews with many of his former dancers and artistic collaborators.   Internationally acclaimed dance film producer Robert Lockyer, who assisted Drummond in 1967, will introduce the evening.

  Presentations over the next three days range from theater expert Sara Woodcock's talk on "Diaghilev's Costumes" to Harvard University Professor John E. Malmstad's exploration of Diaghilev's "Russianness;" and from dance writer Giannandrea Poesio on "Enrico Cecchetti and the Ballets Russes" to Dutch independent scholar Sjeng Scheijen's groundbreaking research on "The Queer World of Sergei Diaghilev" (the English edition of his major new biography Diaghilev will be available in October 2009).

  Ballets Russes 2009 Director Peter Rand and Associate Director Anna Winestein will also be making presentations. Peter Rand is an author of novels as well as non-fiction books and a Boston University professor. Anna Winestein is an art historian and curator of several international exhibitions, as well as a doctoral candidate at Oxford University.

  Conference organizer and keynote speaker Lynn Garafola is Professor of Dance at Barnard College, Columbia University; the author of Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, the editor of The Ballets Russes and Its World, and several other books; and the curator of exhibitions about the New York City Ballet and Jerome Robbins.

  Ballet patrons, students, teachers, aficionados and anyone interested in the evolution of the arts in the 20th Century will not want to miss this fascinating conference, part of a week-long Boston-wide festival, Ballets Russes 2009, running from May 16-23, 2009.  Highlights of the festival are a concert by The Boston Pops of music composed for the Ballets Russes, the exhibitions Etonne-Moi: the Ballets Russes and the Art of the New at Boston University's 808 Gallery and The Ballets Russes: Celebrating the Centennial at the Wadsworth Athenaeum, film screenings at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, concerts of Russian opera and song, as well as Russian piano music at the Boston University Concert Hall, and a special Ballets Russes program by Boston Ballet (The Prodigal Son, Afternoon of a Faun, Le Spectre de la Rose, and a new Sacre du Printemps by Jorma Elo).   For a complete schedule visit www.ballets-russes.com.

  Conference fees are $120 for the entire conference, or $45 per day.  Students, with a valid ID, can attend the entire conference for $45 ($30 for BU students).  Online registration and schedule at: www.ballets-russes.com/conferencefr.html.  For more information, please contact conference@ballets-russes.com
"I, personally, can be of no interest to anyone: it is not my life that is interesting, but my work." - Sergei Diaghilev

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