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Essay / The impact of the Rite of Spring on contemporary dance
In 1913, the Rite of Spring caused a riot, it was a spectacle that no one had ever seen before. It all began when Stravinsky created a piece of music called The Firebird for Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes in 1910. Nikolai Roerich was a Russian painter who designed Stravinsky's sets and costumes. Stravinsky completed the composition Adoration of the Earth and Sacrifice in 1912 and completed the instrumentation in late spring. Vaslav Nijinsky was the choreographer. The premiere of the performance took place on May 29, 1913 at the Théâtre de Champs. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essayIn 1913, The Rite of Spring shocked audiences as they were accustomed to seeing classical ballet performances. In ballet, dancers have good feet and posture. However, in The Rite of Spring, the dancers have sickle-shaped feet and are slumped. This might make the audience angry because it doesn't look attractive and it's not traditional. Looking at SwanLake, the dancers' movements are elongated and the movements flow into one another. The movement in Rite Of Spring is very repetitive and the counts are strange. This gives the dance a frenetic appearance. The costumes for the Rite of Spring are quite unusual. The dancers wear long dresses. The color of the dress is very colorful with red, green, pink and orange patterns. They wear wigs, shoes and a headband to match the dress. They have putty-colored makeup, thickened noses, waxy eyebrows, and button eyes. (2) The costumes represent different spirits and the female and male dancers wear the same ones. In relation to SwanLake, the clothing is not gender neutral. The female dancers wear a tight top with tutus while the men wear black tights with a top. In The Rite of Spring, the costumes are quite loose, whereas, as in SwanLake, the costumes are well fitted to clearly show movement. The women wear pointe shoes while, as in The Rite of Spring, they wear flat shoes. The set represents a field with hills and clouds. In the second section, you can't see the background because it's too dark. The whole thing was designed by Nicolas Roerich, a Russian painter. He called the painting Earth Kiss because he wanted people to appreciate and love the Earth. The dance begins with the Omens of Spring where an old woman enters the stage and tells the future. The woman is motionless with one clawed hand. A group of dancers form a circle and begin to trample each other. They all perform different movements, their fists clenched. This makes it look messy and chaotic. They look down when they do this. The women start jumping up and down and run towards the other dancers who are starting to move. She carries sticks and has her arm raised with tension in her hand. She raises her bent and sickled leg. The other group if the dancers repeat the same movements face to face. Dancers continue to use lots of repetition and fast, nervous movements. Contrary to this, they slowly return to their starting position when the girls enter. Compared to SwanLake, the dancers are elegant and have good technique. Their eye line is always raised and they have no tension in their hands like old women. Their feet are not crooked and their legs are straight. One similarity is that they both have to perform rapid movements, but ballet dancers do it in a more controlled manner. They give the impressionthat it requires no effort. Ballet dancers have energy in their eyes while as in the rite of spring, dancers have a blank expression. Five girls enter the stage and begin the kidnapping dance. They enter a line with their arms linked and kick the leg. During the spring rite, young girls dance Khorovod, an old Russian dance performed in a round. While they are doing this, their posture is not straight and their body slumps towards their leg, making it look unpleasant. They tilt their heads to one side in a huddled group. The head movement is exaggerated as they arch back slightly. The other three girls join them online. All the girls' heads are facing different directions. At the end, two dancers are facing the same direction, which doesn't seem right. There are a variety of formations, some dancers are in lines and others in circles. Each group performs different movements, giving them the opportunity to show off. They repeat a lot of jerky movements and face different directions, including their backs. In Swanlake, the dancers all perform the same movement. Instead of doing a lot of things, they do a duet while the other dancers stand still to the side. It's about getting the audience to focus only on them and giving the dance a clean look. The dancers rarely turn their backs on the audience. Their jumps are higher and more precise. The formations are symmetrical and in the duo the dancers mirror each other. They both have to perform the movements in exactly the same way, which could limit them. The other dancers lined up will be able to dance less. During the spring rite, the dancers divide into two groups and perform the Ritual of the Rival Tribes. They come closer then move away with repeated arm throws. All other groups separate and return to a circle on the ground. A tribe stands, arms raised, and jumps. It seems like they have power over the other tribes because they are on a higher level. They perform as a duo using contact work while one dancer stands still, looking out at the audience. In SwanLake, partner work is usually done with a woman and a man. Unlike the Rite of Spring where they are of the same sex. The dancers remain still in different positions at the back of the stage as the duet begins. These positions complement each other and do not seem random as in the Rite. The dancers leave the stage when the duo performs and they all look identical as they perform the same movements. One similarity is that they both play in a circle formation. In the next section, the ancient sages enter the stage and the sage blesses the Earth. The dancers cross their arms and hold hands as they do in the Little Swan Dance. They are all looking in the same direction, which contrasts with the beginning of the dance, where they had different points of focus. They are on demi-pointes and their palms are turned towards the audience whereas, as in Ballet, the palms are hidden. The dancers make a movement where they touch the ground. It's the opposite of ballet because dancers must be as quiet as possible while on pointe. The dancers fall to the floor then become manic and the dynamic accelerates. The second section is called sacrifice and it begins with the mystical circles of the young girls where they form a circle. They form a tight circle and continue to repeat the same movement used earlier in the piece. They put their heads on their arms and turn in a circle. They run in front of each other, as if trying to escape from something. A dancer is selected as the chosen one. She falls to the ground and..