Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-03-25

TheMiraculous Diashileff.
Out of Whose Genius
the Ballet Sprane
By WILLIAM GUARD

ENoR six years America has been hearing
IL about the Ballet Russo. OF course there
are Russian ballets and Russian bailets
But there is only one DidOhileG Rus
sian ballet and that Is The Russian bal.
let, which, when II invaded Paris in the
spring of 1909, created sensation in the
French capital the memory OF which even
the war has not obliterated-that sensa-
tlon which New York and other large
cities In America have been longing TO ex,
perience but which so far has been denied
TO them owing to the multltudinous din
! cultles involved In bringing this wonderful
and really unique organization across the
| Atlantic.
| Attempts have been made from time to
| time to present imitation Russian baliets
| or fragments of Russian ballets In Amer
| lea of late years with more or less aua-
| cess, considering the material obtainahle.
| The real Russian ballet, however, the
Ballet Russo, which Paris and London lost
| their heads over, Is possible only when ft
| has at It's head Serge Diaghileff. That IL
why 1t is equally well known as the
Diaghileff Ballet throughout Europe,
And then who is this man Dlaghileff7
| In word, he Is the organizing, vitalizinR
spirit Of this extraordinary combination OF
artists-the oo-ordinating brain Of this
body Of dancers, composers, painters and
poets, all of whose services he has com.
cinating stage pictures which, with their
riot Of color movement and music, have
furnished new form Of entertainment to
the seekers after novelty in sensation.
Though just rounding 40, Diaghiiefrs
has been a life full of activity, an 40.
, tivity devoted chiefly to artistic pursuita.
An attache of the Russian court some
years ago as a rich amateur IL was his
habit to surround himself with and en-
courage the efforts OF younger and less
farN AL a.. at..aa
and literature. He showed fine appre-
citation Of real worth in the matter of
art. His generosity was unstinted. II he
saw young man that he thought had
something in him, Dlaghileff's purse was
at his disposal.
It was away back in 1905 that Diaghi-
leff conceived the idea of opening the
eyes of the skeptical Occident to what
might be called the Renaissance Of ar
tistic Russia, something up to then
almost totally unknown beyond the
frontiers of the Cars domain. With
out any fourishing of trumpets Diaghi-
left appeared in that year In Paris with
several dozen cases full of pictures by
his young friends of the modern school
of Russian painting He secured q
modest salon without any fuss or feathers
and personally superintended the hanging
of these canvases. When he had every
thing to his liking he invited artistic Paris
to come and see the exposition The next
day the Russian pictures were the talk Of
the town. The jaded palate OF Paris ex-
perienced a new thrill. Les Russes" at
once became the vogue and that picture
show was the advance guard OF the IA
nous Russian ballet invasion.
Diaghilefr to whom his grateful artis-
| tic associates were only too glad to .ascribe
the credit of the exposition's success, be-
came sort of hero of the hour. 1t did
not spoil him, however. In fact. II was
the limellght that sought him, not he the
limelight. His enthusiasm was further
stimulated by what he had accomplished
on behalf of the art life of his country.
and he at once saw the possibility of even
more effectively making known to the
Western world the artistic soul OF Rus
sia. The next year he organized great
series of Russian historical musical con-
certs at the Paris Grand Opera and pre-
sented for the first time with company
of Russian lyric artists Moussorgsky's
opera, Boris Godunof"
The success of the concerts and OF
Boris was really immense II was =
revelation of the possibilities OF Russian
art heretofore undreamed of by West
erners. The season following Diaghilef
made noteworthy by the presentation OF
several Russian operas and by introducing
for the first time in Paris the wonderful
ballet which he had himself organized In
every detail and which included the very
best available exponents of the poetry OF
motion on the Russian stage. the most
startling effect OF latter day Russian scene
painting and ballet music composed not
only by the Russian composers already
known outside of Russia, but by several
younger men who might be called dag
hileff's discoveries.
The successes OF the previous year were
reaffrmed with crescendo. The Russian
ballet became an annual necessity In
Paris springtime, Doubtless thousands
of pleasure-seekers came to Paris espe-
cIally to see 1t. They never went away
disappointed.