Le Sacre du printemps, L’Oiseau de feu (review)

This is a wonderful DVD but do not expect to experience the same performance that upset Paris audiences in 1913. Though the music is by Igor Stravinsky and the sets and costumes are faithful reproductions of Nicholas Roerich’s original work, the choreography is not by Vaslav Nijinsky, despite the words “Choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky” displayed prominently in the DVD title. Nijinsky never notated his Le Sacre du printemps choreography. The choreography we see on this DVD is not the original but an attempted restoration of the original.

In the 1980s, almost 70 years after the last public performance of the Nijinsky-choreographed Rite of Spring, the Joffrey Ballet commissioned a reconstruction of it from dance scholar Millicent Hodson and art historian Kenneth Archer. Hodson and Archer spent years of thorough, exhaustive research piecing together what they could of the original work. As marvelous as the end result is, it is still their best guess that we see, not Nijinsky’s authentic choreography. That simple but crucial fact should be stated prominently on the packaging and on the DVD itself. (Buried in the DVD booklet is the line, “Reconstructed and Staged by Millicent Hodson.”)

Is this nitpicking? Do the credits really matter that much? In this case, they absolutely do. Nijinsky is a legendary artist, the father of modern dance. His influence on dance has been compared to Picasso’s influence on painting. He went mad in his later years! Great stuff. We absolutely want to see his work in all its intense glory. It’s not here though. So, while the credits may not be intentionally misleading, they are misleading nonetheless. That said, the Hodson restoration of The Rite of Spring is a thrill to watch.

The Rite of Spring is the story of a group of ancient Slavs and their yearly ritual to appease the god of spring, during which they choose a sacrificial maiden and she dances herself to death as an offering. The dancers represent our primitive ancestors, in direct contact with the energies of the natural world, trying to satisfy the gods so that life can flourish once again in the spring. The dance and music follow a clear narrative; the story is easy to follow, especially given the episode titles such as “Ritual of Abduction” and “Procession of the Sage.” Groups of dancers interact with other groups in a ritual call-and-response. There is no centralized action; it is spread all over the stage. At times, the dance is jarring. There are many “What the … ?” moments. Rigid dancers pound their feet on the floor, they hop, they stutter-step, they thud, their turned-in toes “rooting” them to the earth. They punch the air and flail their arms. Bodies quake and spasm with spiritual possession. The frenzy peaks in “The Dance of the Earth” when all hell breaks loose – harmonically and rhythmically – and every dancer becomes a frantic soloist, simultaneously going berserk.

The DVD was recorded in 2008 at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, where Nijinsky studied. The dancers are the Corps de Ballets de Theater Mariinsky and the conductor is the Mariinsky’s artistic director, Valery Gergiev.

The camera mainly shows a stationary wide shot of the whole stage, the better for choosing which action you want to follow. An occasional overheard camera shots shows the corps dancing a patterned motion, Busby Berkeley style. The camera also shoots close ups of the Chosen One’s face, but since her expressions are Noh-play slow to the point of being frozen, I am not sure the close-ups added any value.

After being pounded by The Rite of Spring, the other ballet on this DVD — Stravinsky’s The Firebird with choreography by Michel Fokine – seems more like a lush, traditional ballet. It is a treat to be able to savor more of Stravinsky’s distinctive character-rich musical language from this period (The Firebird – 1910, Petrushka – 1911 and The Rite of Spring – 1913...