Ballet of the Elephants (review)

In 1942, in a most unusual confluence of talent, a ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to music composed by Igor Stravinsky was performed by Balanchine's dancers—and fifty of John Ringling North's circus elephants. Streamlined, gently lyrical text gives an overview of the ballet's genesis and performance, including brief accounts of the careers of Balanchine, Stravinsky, and North as well as descriptions of the rehearsal process and the interaction between the ballet's prima ballerinas, Vera Zorina and Modoc the elephant (apparently the same Modoc as in Helfer's The World's Greatest Elephant, BCCB 4/06). It's a quirky and surreal story, treated with a grave wonderment that seems appropriate to such an event. Parker's loose-limbed, loose-lined watercolors make Circus Polka's reality accessible yet slightly otherworldly, perfectly suiting the experience; the high-speed lines capture the movement of the ballet, while the frostings of pink in the tutus and streams of white lighting recall traditional ballet images going back to Degas. It's certainly an appealing real-life animal story, and it will make a startling entry in any discussion of original art and artists (it could, for instance, pair well with Gerstein's What Charlie Heard, BCCB 4/06), with its resonant yet simple text suitable for reading aloud as well as alone. While the author's note is more personally chatty than usefully informative, it provides a little more documentation and explanation as well as a few photographs of the actual performance; a list of print works and websites for further information on various aspects of the story is appended.