Michael Fokine as Lucien in Paquita, c 1905. Image: wikipedia.org

This month, a program of  Michael Fokine’s Ballets Revived is what the Mariinsky Ballet has in store for audiences. Fokine was an innovator, “a groundbreaking Russian choreographer and dancer.” His ballets Les Sylphides, The Firebird and Scheherazade were revolutionary for the early 20th century. With Fokine, modern ballet was born.

Michael Fokine’s Ballets Revived

Look closely at the works of the Russian-born Fokine, a reformer born in 1880 who is a pillar of modern ballet: In the response of bodies to music in his plotless “Les Sylphides,” in the compressed experiments with style and storytelling of his “Firebird,” and in the R-rated orgy of his “Scheherazade,” there is open revolt. These short works, created between 1907 and 1910, spit in the eye of the formulaic, static three-act ballets of the 1800s.

We can see the elements of that rebellion. But can we still feel it? Any lick of it? This will be the test of the Mariinsky Ballet when it performs an all-Fokine program Tuesday (Jan. 17) through Jan. 22 at the Kennedy Center Opera House.

On the bill is Fokine’s most famous work, the moonlit waltz of woodland spirits in white chiffon that we in the West know as “Les Sylphides,” but which the Russians call by its original title, “Chopiniana,” after the piano works that accompany it. Also featured are “Firebird,” the story of a magical bird, raging demons and a kindhearted prince, whose score heralded the young Stravinsky as a rising talent, and “Scheherazade,” with its symphonic suite by Rimsky-Korsakov.

Sarah Kaufman with The Washington Post writes in detail about the upcoming performance as she interviews Yuri Fateev, director of the Mariinsky Ballet. Click here to read original article.

We’ll have to wait for the reviews to come in, but I believe we will witness history being made with the rebirth of Fokine’s famous ballets.  Michael Fokine’s Ballets Revived promises to be an unforgettable evening.

A little known fact about Fokine is how prolific he was as a choreographer; he created over 80 ballets, most of them masterpieces. Were you aware of Fokine’s influence in the ballet world?

Personally, Les Sylphides is one of my favorite ballets; Chopin’s score runs chills up my spine. Which is yours? Share your thoughts through the comment box below.