Rite Art

Directed by Vincent Rommelaere – www.wallabyway.com

Taken from both the BBC’s “Riot at the Rite” and Janos Darvas’ 2001 Documentary on Igor Stravinsky, an interesting accuracy as to what transpired between Sergei Diaghilev, owner of The Ballet Russes who would be dancing to the piece, and the composer who would, with this composition, change the direction of classical music at the first playing of the piece. This was 1913 and these men were in their 20′s. Diaghilev’s company of course went on to perform Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring) to this shocking music which was exacerbated further by the incredibly advanced choreography of Vaslav Nijinsky, the Ballet Russes star who would from then on be considered out of his mind when he was merely years ahead of his time. Stravinsky, conversely, emerged a genius. Fatova Mingus.