Hutton Honors College

HHC at the Fall Ballet: Diaghilev Tribute

With Choreography by George Balanchine, Bronislava Nijinska, and IU's Own Michael Vernon

Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009 * 7 p.m. To the Pointe Pre-performance Talk * 8 p.m. Performance
Musical Arts Center * Refreshments Provided * SIGN-UP REQUIRED * Balcony Tickets: $10

This diverse evening at the ballet celebrates the 100th anniversary of the influential Ballet Russes, the traveling dance company of Russian art critic and ballet impresario Sergei Diaghilev that drew on some of the most important artistic, choreographic, and musical artists of its time. Diaghilev's productions featured set designs and costumes by Coco Chanel, Salvador Dalí, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, and Nicholas Roerich; choreography by George Balanchine, Michel Fokine, Leonide Massine, Bronislava Nijinska, and Vaslav Nijinsky; and music by Claude Debussy, Francis Poulenc, Sergei Prokofiev, Maurice Ravel, Erik Satie, Richard Strauss, and Igor Stravinsky.

On the program will be two performances of Valse Fantasie, written by early 19th-century Russian composer Mikhail Glinka, that showcase two choreographies by Ballet Russes dancer and renowned choreographer George Balanchine for the New York City Ballet; Jeux ("Games"), Claude Debussy's last work for orchestra, a piece originally commissioned by the Ballet Russes and newly choreographed by Michael Vernon, chair of the IU Department of Ballet and a renowned choreographer and ballet master; and Igor Stravinsky's Les Noces ("The Wedding"), a ballet set to a relatively sparse musical accompaniment of voice, piano, and percussion. The program will start with To the Pointe, a pre-performance talk by Michael Vernon and other choreographers.

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