ballet russes

Behind the Scenes: Ballet Russes Images and Stories

ballet russes, Nijinsky's Warriors

(or the Ballet Russes photos I took from places)

Recently my friend or rather a personal hero of mine named Millicent messaged me a photo of the Ballet Russes that included Massine and Stravinsky: who are the others.

I should really let people know not to ask questions like that because down the rabbit hole I went and my idea of a rabbit hole is like the 2nd floor of a kappa alfa house: it all ends up shoved in a drawer and never spoken of again on top of it. But rabbit hole sweet rabbit hole…without you there would be no This Is Not Swan Lake, no Sacre collections, no fried hard drive from an old Samsung lap top circa 2009.

Of course, there are so many Ballet Russes photos which I managed to get somewhat in order over the years many of which are taken at train stations, airports ships and an occasional car. Also I have about 40 performance shots but lets start with 3 “scowling Stravinsky” images. Have a look and keep scrolling away for more likely mislabeled photos of the best thing France ever did to Russia. Amusez-vous.

“scowling Igor”

And these are just the posed photos. There are so many more but I must close here for now so that it will be half finished. Far be it for me to anything correctly.

Your favorite f*ckup,

Fatova

YOU ARE MARIA PLITZ

Chosen Ones

Here are the only photographed female dancers of the Ballet Russes’ first staging of Nijinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps from 1913.After 4 hours of trying to tease out the real names even with Lynn Garafola and Millicent Hodson’s publications, I could not determine the actual names.  Here is the best I could do.

Julitska (nope) Zhulitska?  nope

Marie Rambert  ding!

Jadwiga Jezierska  (close enough/ semi ding!)

Boni (nope)Janina Boniecka (ding!)

Doris Faithful (ding!)


And then of course is the terrible foreshadowing of the Chosen One, Maria Plitz. 

This is the only known photograph of Maria Plitz, the first girl to dance herself to death but while people were hurling rotting vegetables at her and real Russian Pagans showed up and shot arrows at her and then the other girls laughed and didn’t include her in anything anymore.  Ok, that is a lie I think.  But they were booing and disrupting and Nijinsky was going shithouse in the wings.  Don’t believe me?

Ladies, Chosen Ones who I have championed, fought for, searched for tirelessly… Maria Plitz was your destiny.

You are all Maria Plitz.

Marjo, Susanna, Kirsi, Katja, Asta, no photos at all:
you are Maria Plitz.

Paula Passos, Renata Versiani, same:
you are Maria Plitz.

Patrizia Manieri,
you are Maria Plitz.

Heather

Heather Aagard:   you are more than that. –>

You started this whole archive project, you! And were it not for you, no one would be documented at all.

Your recollection of that one night in the circle is a poem as is Paula Passos’ and Kirsi Tiiliharju and more I am sure. 

You are the inheritance of Maria Plitz.

You should both be fucking pissed.

Yours for the price of a cocktail,

Fatova