Art p.81-88Samantha Taylor

Russian Ballet: Anna Pavlova

Dance was seen as an escape from poverty for women in the 19th century.

Anna Pavlova was one of the most famous Russian dancers.

Anna Pavlova cont’d

Pavlova tried out for the Imperial Ballet School at the age of 8 but was not accepted immediately. She was not accepted till the age of 10.

Pavlova was did not have the standard body of a dancer. She was very petite.

Anna Pavlova cont’d

After graduating in 1899, Pavlova had her debut in the ballet Les Deyades Pretendues which means the False Dryad.

Pavlova was lucky to travel all over the world to places such as Moscow, the U.S., Brazil, Japan, China, India, Egypt, South Africa, and England.

Pavlova traveled when she was still apart of the Imperial Ballet as well as when she created her own ballet company.

Anna Pavlova cont’d

Victor Dandre was Pavlova’s manger and also seemed to be her husband.

Pavlova’s dance company had English ballerina and St. Petersburg dancers.

Anna Pavlova: The Dying Swan

Pavlova’s signature dance piece was The Dying Swan.

The Dying Swan was written specifically for Pavlova.

Anna Pavlova: The Dying Swan

Pavlova died right before her 50th birthday and her dying wish was to be buried in her costume as if she were about to perform.

Performance of the Dying Swan: http://vimeo.com/11310374

The Imperial Ballet School

The Imperial Ballet school was the first well known dance company.

The Mariinsky Ballet was linked with the Imperial Ballet School.

The Mariinsky Ballet was formerly known as the Imperial Russian Ballet

People of any class status could attend the ballets because admission was inexpensive.

The Imperial Ballet School

Designers

Leon Bakst(1866-1924) studied at the St. Petersburg Academy of Art and then continued to study in Paris.

Alexandre Benois(1870-1960) was a painter and art critic (p.83).

Bakst, Benois, and Diaghilev created a movement called Mir Iskusstva meaning the World of Art (p.83).

Designers: Leon Bakst

Bakst created sets as well as costumes. Bakst was known for his bright colors

and extreme details. Most famous designs include The

Sleeping Beauty and The Firebird.

Designers: Leon Bakst

Designers: Bakst

Bakst created the dress Anna Pavlova wore in the Dying Swan.

It is a simple dress with a traditional ballet style and its pop of color is shown in the one blue stone at the center of the dress. Its shape accentuated the expressive movements.

Literature and Art

Stories were based down orally. These stories depict the Russian identity.

The stories were foundations of many ballets.

“The Firebird” is an example of a story that was turned into a performance.

“The Firebird showed the influence of the Art Nouveau style

Literature and Art

Another written piece of work was Pushkin’s the Tale of the Golden Cockerel.

The poem was then turned into an opera ballet

The Imperial Academy of Arts

The Imperial Academy of Arts was developed by Catherine the Great(r. 1762-96).

It was modeled after Western Europe. Its teachings were conservative.

The Revolution, Art, and Architecture

The Revolution of 1917 brought a change in art.

They wanted to change art so that it would reflect the chance in society.

Constructivism was introduced after the revolution.

Constructivist believed art should relfect the new industrial order.