Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-11-28
ADJUSTMENTS
RUSSIAN BALLET rnI:SE:NTED
ON MAGNIFICENT seal

4 that little need bc said now of I'll.
qualities that make it stand apart
/ from, and above. all other dancing
/ known to uS. The Russian ballet has
Z come IL mean, not only dancing TO
musical accompaniment. but music it
I self. and actinS--not to speak Of set
/ tlngE that cnhanc. tn" value of all
/ thr"". ~ its best. these are indivisiblc
/ parts of the whole. and where any one
/ * lacking; the whole is TO that extent
| Incomplete.
All this has bccon" so familiar ;ha,
/ IL is possible to consider even such Il
/ performance as that given last night
( at the Academy OF Music Ivy the -.
( Diarhilcn Ballet itusSc, after weeks
I ana months OF hcraidng, with some
| thing like appreciation of its compare
tive merits. judged 10y the standards
/ already set for us. Those standards
hay. compelled The realization that amy
/ good performance by opponents of the
/ Russian ballet school is II wonderful
/ thing. They have made clear that tho
/ dancers must not only 10" schoolcd 10
I tho point where every muscle il Obe-
/ dent. both TO .XtraordinaIy effort and
, TO enduring strain, and must retain "A
grace and smoothncss which. in turn,
! must doubtless be born, but that the:A,
/ dancers must b. pantommis'S and
I practical musicians, able TO begin tho
count of a Chopin mazurka page be-
fore it's finale. in order to swirl and
SINK 10 the floor on the last sixteenth
I note.
The music, too, must nc or such Il
I character, in composition and perform
auCe as TO foster and forward tho
movement Of the dance. and TO aid In
f. the expression Of the thought. Ana
then an. settings must contribute their
part :" tn" atmosphere Of the moment,
whether that moment mark the stately
/ movement Of - niuuct Of other days.
or III" mad whirl Of a savage tribe en-
tertaining Il pu.st--with appropriately
savage symbolism.
OF tho settings of the four ballots
presented last night. nothing but
praise may b" voiced. They were not
heavy" as til. Snowman has it: they
w"r" rot massive or solid. but they
wcrc Tin. examples OF the startling
and extravaganza school Of art fol-
lowed by Bakst and his fcllow-b be-
levers. Their form was simple aud
severe. their drawing whimsical. but
after defined design. ANA their col
oring exotic. Oriental cr scmi-Driental
at least Tn. music was-weil enough
in itself. Under, In" direction ~ Pierre
. MonteauX. some iifty and odd men
played Chopin. Scnuu'ann. Weber. l.alo.
and tho TWO Russians, Rimsky- * or
/ sakoff ana I3orodinc as il had not been
played IN tina, house since Mr.. Dam
roschs orchestra occupied the stage
a lumber cf years ago. Nor has "A
q
more superbly on An orchestra than
did MIR. Mont.aLX.
considered. it is understood. the
foremost man dancer In the world.
Was!av Niiinsky was featured ~ the
n neaqeG If in me na dnneer and lie 3r
was devoted TO what may be called
pure dancing. !; was Impossible to
Judge of his pautomi:ic ability. In
Les S:lphides." he danced several
times. and with the sam. exquisite
grace that distinguishes. all the mas
tiers OF ;ha' school. But the ballet it,
self charming as IL was, inevitably
recalled the "chopiniana." with which
Ne wcr" already familiar End as in
evitably recalled Alexandra Nollnine-
and not in the least TO Nolinine's dis
arrangement. /; would be futile TO at
tempt dissertation on the compare
;ivc equipment .: the two; let it
suffice TO say that Nolinine is the
liner figure OF the TWO. and If Nijinsky
has The higher tcchnic. ii wasn't dis
ccruihlc last night.
Lydia l.opokova danced in two of the
numbers. and Justified her great rep
uiation. which is next. perhaps 10 Paw
IOWA 5. She - young, 1.-THE and spirit
ed ana has AT her command all the
resources Of her art. AS "A matter of
straight reporting. ii is to be said that
sh" Was the star Of the evening and
with which her floating nuttering,
sprIte-!ikc dancing was rewarded. Next
- her performance is 10 be mentioned
that Of olga Spcsiwtzcwa. whose dane
ing and pantomimc in The Spccter OF
III. Rose together with the equally
artistic and convincing performance of
Alexandra GaVrilow in the same bal
let. made that fanciful and rather
tragic little tale most real in its un-
reality. Indeed. Mr.. Gavrilow-~eport
ing again--aiso quite outshone Mr. Nj
linskE, certainly in popular favor. And
so also did Adolf Bolm. The artist who
virtually headed the organization dur
ing NIjinsky's absence. and whose Har.
!eIuin, in Carnival" and Chief War
ri"r in Prince Igor" were notable
Doth for dancing and Characterization
y number OF others had moments Of
opportunity, in solo duet. trio or on
scmblc. and all werc--as wonderful as
they all are. And in addition, there
was Il large chorus of men and women
who helped to make it 4 memorable
performances
None OF the sensational ballets was
given. Les Sylphdes." as has been
said. was pure" dancing. not inter
pretative of anything. but very lovely
in its classcism. Like .Chopiniana. :"
II was costumed In white. old shioned
ballet skirts-eXccpt for Nijinsky, who
wore white tights over his muscular
legs and black jacket with white
slceves-and was danced to n number
OF Chopin pieces. "Carnaval' had a
bit Of a story, into which many mean
ingS might be read. though the piti-
full loneliness or Picrrot was readily
apparent. THE Spectcr of the Rose"
was pantomime with dancing and in
tense in its dream tragedy. and the
, prince Igor" was a wild. barharic
stamping. Sabine interlude from Boro-
dimes opera. supplying stirring eli
max. as the curtain fell on n StaCcful
OF vivid. blazing fiEurcs--Russians In
whom the Tartar seemed uppcrmost.
ON til" whole, the performance given
hN Do DiHrh lief Ballet Eunsn Uas In