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European Modernism and Australian Performance Art

Leon Woizikowsky as the golden slave and Nina Raievska as Zoebeide in Scheherazade, Ballet Russes de Monte Carlo

The Australian tours of the the Ballet Russes Companies, established by Wassily de Basil and René Blum in 1931, introduced a creative vision to the Australian cultural and performing arts scene that speaks to the modernist innovation of impresario Sergei Diaghilev (1872-1929). The tours were made up of three interconnected companies, the Ballet Russes de Monte-Carlo, the Covent Garden Russian Ballet and the Original Ballet Russe, under the artistic control of Basil. Companies whose choreography, collaborative traditions and artistic aesthetic derived from Diaghilev's Ballet Russes, the ballet company that was dissolved after his death, its presence in Australia at a time of economic hardship and colonial ethnocentrism sparked significant developments in the arena of collaborative performance art and musical composition.

The 20th Century saw a revolution of ballet as not simply a classical form of training and performance, but an experimental genre of art. Diaghilev thought ballet could be used to express stories, ideas and perspectives through a modernist, collaborative process of choreography, musical composition, design and art, invigorating ballet with colourful spectacle.. The legacy of Diaghilev's tradition of creative nurturing and innovation was carved into the Australian ballet program by European immigration, Russes dancers who stayed after the tours to establish dance schools and companies of their own .

The last tour of the de Basil's Ballet Russes, 1939-1940, would see the outbreak of World War II in Europe and encouraged dancers such as Helene Kirsova and Edourard Borovansky to immigrate to the Australian continent, having a trans-formative, long-lasting impact on the country's dance culture. The ballet renaissance occurred at the "highpoint of Australia's nationalism and isolationism", encouraging a cross-cultural space of collaboration that would open Australia up to the world as a centre of artistic innovation and professional training. Ballet's such as Terra Australis (1946) and The Black Swan (1951) are examples of how European modernism and classical traditions of technical excellence worked to catalyse a localised culture of social commentary and environmental reflection.

History of Ballet Russes and the Australian Tours

Establishing a year-round touring group of Russian ballet in 1911, Diaghilev's Ballet Russes (1909-1929) was born from a desire to move beyond 19th century classicism. The company become infamous for its collaborative ethos, featuring the work of many promising and already established artists, such as Vaslav Nijinsky, Igor Stravinsky and Pablo Picasso. The melding of ballet with other artistic fields encouraged innovated perspectives on movement and featured the unique choreographic skills of Michel Fokine, Vaslav Nijinsky, Leonide Massine, Bronislava Nijinska and George Balanchine. A well known symbol of the company was Anna Pavlova, a Russia ballet dancer who was a prima ballerina at the company for the first few years of its conception. She was apart of famous productions, including Les Sylphides (1909) and Cléopâtra. The commissioning of composers to write for the company, was a practice that saw Igor Stravinsky become synonymous with the "vivid revolutions" of the music scene in the 20th century. Composing scores for ballet's such as Firebird (1910) and Petrouchka (1911), Stravinsky's legacy at the Ballet Russes is mostly defined by The Rite of Spring (1913). The piece challenged the audience and made them question "whether its rhythmic irregulatarites and apparent disregard for melody provided exciting new musical possibilities or stretched the discipline to the brink of collapse."The Ballet Russes traveled extensively throughout Europe and the America's, sharing an experimental form of artistic expression that "would ultimately redefine the boundaries of music" and plant European modernist roots in dance schools and dance company's throughout the Western world.

Basil and Blum sought to continue the innovative tradition of Russian ballet after the death of Diaghilev, by founding a new company in France, the Ballet Russes de Monte Carlo in 1932. Made up of sixty-two ballet dancers and George Balanchine as their ballet master, the company carried out a legacy that would shape contemporary and modern dance around the world. Basil brought the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo to Australia on three occasions, between 1936 and 1940. Undertaking a different form in the wake of a relationship breakdown between Basil and Blum after the first tour, the second and third tour would see the company transform into what Basil renamed, the Original Ballet Russe. The Ballet Russes Companies brought to Australia on its three tours a suite of performances that not only reminisced the Diaghilev era of productions, with ballets such as Les Presages (1933) and Cotillon (1932), but also premiered a range of newly developed performance productions such as Graduation Ball.

The Australian ballet scene has its origins in the First Australian Ballet that was established in Sydney in 1931, built from aspirations that were developed from other touring ballet dancers such as Adeline Genee and Maud Allan, prior to the Ballet Russes. However, the company and its classical traditions were pushed out of the spotlight by the touring Ballet Russes Companies and their modernist interpretation of the ballet genre. An enthusiastic embrace of modern performance by Australian audiences saw an evening with the Ballet Russes Companies become a sought after experience. The tours introduced a culture that transcended the Australian tradition of colonial isolation and Anglo-centricity, showcasing that "culture is an evolving process across time". The company gave a total of 650 performances across the three tours, a testament to their popularity, drawing interest from many social groups however most particularly with middle and upper lass women.This was due to the economic hardships of the Great Depression that made the tours most accessible to those who were wealthy and a luxury for the working class.

The public response to the first tour set a precedent for what followed in the next four years. A ten-week tour became nine months of performances, formal and informal engagements and commercial opportunities, leading to a celebration of the dancers as exotic and inspiring figures.The Ballet Russes exposed the population to artistic difference and escape at a time when the frightening events of World War II were looming. The Original Ballet Russe became "apart of the war effort, by representing a world different" to sadness and fear the encroached on the spirit of Australian people.

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The Australian Ballet Renaissance

Helene Kirsova and Edouard Borovansky were two influential Russes legacies who chose to remain in Australia after the end of the third tour of the Ballet Russes Companies. Both of Eastern European descent, World War II presented a threat to their lives and artistic freedom if they were to return home. Both dancers were central to laying a foundation for the growth and development of Australian ballet and are credited with the establishment of a professional ballet tradition. At a time of significant cultural conservatism, Kirsova and Borovansky's work as teachers and company directors had an outstanding impact on the unfolding of the artistic community and its modernist roots. Diaghilev's traditions migrated to Australia with both dancers and can be traced throughout 20th century performance art.

Borovansky defined his career as the director of the Borovansky Ballet (1939-1961), a company that would lay the foundations for the establishment of the current Australian Ballet Company (1962-). A dancer of the Diaghilev era, Borovansky and his wife built a company that would perform historic traditional ballet's, such as Giselle, whilst also producing a suite of home-grown Australian productions that would reflect the ideology and experience of the 'Australian Way of Life'.

The modernist tradition of collaborative artistic effort and visual spectacle were also matched with ideologically challenging performances that questioned audience understandings and experiences.[13]The company's rendition of the world renowned ballet Nutcracker (1955), was re imagined by Borovansky as not simply a nod to post-world war optimism but rather "the culture of outpost Australia, where the strains of European civilisation mingled with possibilities of reconciliation". A story of the migrant experience, Borovansky explored the "violence and loss"[13] experienced by those who had moved to Australia during and after the war, speaking of inter-dependency and support as pivotal to being successful in Australia. [13](cite another one).

The ‘Black Swan’ is one of the many Australian themed ballet's choreographed and directed by Borovansky. The ballet metaphorically explores the issue of colonisation and the invasion of the Australian land.[14] Following Borovansky's Terra Australis (1946), Black Swan is based on a historical event in 1697, when Dutch explorers lead by Captain Vlaming explored and named Rottnest Island off the coast of Western Australia and the river that runs through the city of Perth. Black swans engulfed the river and the explorers perceived it to be a symbol of newness, a place that hadn't been seen or known before them.[14] The story of Australia and its people became empowered by collaborative artistic expression, ballet exploring themes of vulnerability and interdependence, feelings associated with a legacy of immigration and cross-cultural impact in Australia. [14]

Having come to Australia with the Ballet Russes de Monte Carlo in 1936, Helene Kirsova's technical excellence built her a reputation that supported the establishment of a dance school at Macquarie Place in Circular Quay named, the Helene Kirsova School of Russian Ballet Tradition.[15] Introducing a training regime of ballet that introduced the Diaghilev traditions, she became known for a highly demanding program that emphasised speed, endurance and footwork.[15]