Diaghilev Symposium: The Ballets Russes and Russia, Part 4

July 2013 - Tim Scholl, professor of Russian and comparative literature, Oberlin College, and docent, department of theatre research, Helsinki University. This symposium and panel discussion recorded on June 1, 2013 at the National Gallery of Art honored the exhibit Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes, 1909–1929: When Art Danced with Music, on view from May 12 to September 2, 2013. Adapted from the exhibition conceived by and first shown at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 2010, the presentation in Washington draws upon that rich survey, including some 80 works from the Victoria and Albert's renowned collection of dance artifacts, and adds about 50 objects generously offered by more than 20 lenders, private and public. The Ballets Russes combined Russian and Western traditions with a healthy dose of modernism, thrilling and shocking audiences with its powerful fusion of choreography, music, and design. In this fourth lecture, Tim Scholl, professor of Russian and comparative literature at Oberlin College and docent in the department of theatre research at Helsinki University, discusses the Ballets Russes and Russia.