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A NOTE FROM THOR STEINGRABER,
VICE PRESIDENT OF PROGRAMMING
History repeats itself. The Rite of Spring forever changed the course of music
and dance when it premiered in Paris in 1913. Seventy-five years later, the
Joffrey Ballet performed a faithful reconstruction here on the stage of the
Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, an audacious undertaking that placed Los Angeles
at the center of the dance world. And today, on the occasion of its centenary,
The Music Center launches a nine-month festival that celebrates Rite and its composer, Igor
Stravinksy—LA’s Rite: Stravinsky, Innovation, and Dance.
Stravinksy joined a large community of emigré artists in Los Angeles in 1940. Here Stravinsky
continued to compose, made forays into Hollywood, conducted at the Hollywood Bowl, conceived
many dance scores with collaborator George Balanchine, and once led the LA Philharmonic here
on the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion stage. But he rarely revisited Rite, and never as a ballet score.
Perhaps the near riots by the 1913 Parisian audiences left an irreparable scar.
LA’s Rite is produced by The Music Center to honor Stravinsky in all his many complexities.
The festival includes three international dance companies, an exhibition and symposium, and the
American premiere of RE-RITE, an innovative digital installation produced by London’s Philharmonia
Orchestra under the direction of Esa-Pekka Salonen.
As we launch LA’s Rite this weekend, I welcome back to Los Angeles Millicent Hodson and
Kenneth Archer, whose painstaking research brought the original Rite back to life in 1987. I also
welcome to The Music Center a long list of Los Angeles artists and partner organizations, such as
California Dance Institute and The Colburn School. And foremost, I thank the Lorin Johnson, the
curator and artistic advisor for the festival, for his vision and exhaustive research.
Thor Steingraber
Vice President of Programming
LA’S RITE: STRAVINSKY, INNOVATION AND DANCE
A NOTE FROM LORIN JOHNSON,
ARTISTIC ADVISOR FOR LA’S RITE
The festival LA’s Rite: Stravinsky, Innovation and Dance pays tribute to Igor
Stravinsky’s creative period in Los Angeles and the vibrancy of dance in the city,
including the legacy of Russian ballet and the atmosphere of innovation that has
prospered in LA since the early 20th century. This spirit is reflected in the Joffrey
Ballet’s reconstruction of the 1913 The Rite of Spring (celebrating its 100th year
anniversary in 2013.) Characterized by the innovative repertoire established by co-founders Robert Joffrey
and Gerald Arpino, the Joffrey Ballet is today led by Artistic Director Ashley C. Wheater. It seems entirely
fitting that for the 2013 season the Joffrey Ballet will be once again performing Rite, a production that
originally premiered at The Music Center in 1987 and which is celebrating its own 25th anniversary.
Originally choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky as Le Sacre du printemps in 1913 to Stravinsky’s
groundbreaking score and with set and costume designs by Nicholas Roerich, The Rite of Spring is
considered a watershed of modernism. The controversial premiere at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées
on May 29 by Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes shocked Parisian audiences with Nijinsky’s anti-balletic style
and Stravinsky’s audacious score, causing a near riot in the theatre. Depicting a Slavic pagan ritual of
spring sacrifice, during which a virgin maiden is chosen to dance herself to death, the inverted rhythmic
movements threw off the conventions of Russian Imperial ballet. Upon hearing the score, music critic
Louis Laloy exclaimed: “We were dumbfounded, overwhelmed by this hurricane which had come from
the depths of the ages and which had taken life by the roots.” After only a handful of performances, the
original Rite disappeared from the stage for over seventy years, by all accounts lost to history.
Research on the Joffrey Ballet reconstruction began in the late 1970s when Millicent Hodson was a
doctoral candidate in dance history at Berkeley and was working on her dissertation. Hodson and her
partner, Kenneth Archer (an English art historian researching Nicholas Roerich) worked for over
seven years researching the choreography, sets and costumes, gathering materials in five countries
and meticulously organizing their research from a variety of fragmentary sources, including
backstage photos, drawings of rehearsals by Valentine Gross, reviews, Stravinsky’s rehearsal score
and notes by Nijinsky’s assistant (Marie Rambert). Perhaps one of the most intriguing materials to
survive is a letter from Nijinsky’s sister, Bronislava Nijinska, describing in detail the death dance of
the sacrificial maiden, written nearly fifty years after the piece premiered.
The exhaustive work of Hodson and Archer on reconstructing The Rite of Spring can be
considered as bold an undertaking as the original creation, and the Joffrey’s production was the
highlight of the Joffrey Ballet’s Los Angeles season in 1987 when in the company was in residence
at The Music Center. Many Angelenos still hold the Joffrey production close to their hearts as “LA’s
Rite,” and the ballet provides a fascinating lens through which to view the unique rite of passage
for dance in Los Angeles. Since 1913, Rite has inspired artists world-wide (in fact, nearly 200
separate productions of Rite had been recorded by 2008), including such choreographers as Los
Angeles modern dance pioneer Lester Horton, who presented his unique version of Stravinsky’s
score in 1937 at the Hollywood Bowl. In this sense, The Rite of Spring offers a bridge between
past and future that is unique to Los Angeles, highlighting Stravinsky’s creative presence in Los
Angeles alongside the dance experimentation that occurred in the city. From its early history, Los Angeles offered the lure of “instant transformation,” where artists could
find a fresh creative voice within the diverse mosaic of the community. Such was the case with Igor
continued on page 2
EXHIBITION AND SYMPOSIUM 1
Stravinsky, who first moved to the city in 1940 and spent more time living in Los Angeles than in any
other city in the world. Stravinsky had already toured Los Angeles as early as 1935 and had a
network of friends and many exciting possibilities for new ventures, including prospects to work in
film with Charlie Chaplin. Stravinsky also believed the fair climate of Southern California would
remedy his poor health. He stated that “It seemed a good place to begin a new, clean-slate life.”
In Los Angeles, he was surrounded by artists, writers, and musicians, including Thomas Mann,
Arthur Rubinstein, Aldous Huxley, Christopher Isherwood, Nadia Boulanger, George Balanchine, and
Adolph Bolm. Stravinsky had known Balanchine since 1925 when they worked together on The Song
of the Nightingale in Paris, and Bolm since 1911 when he performed a solo role in Petrouchka with
the Ballets Russes. Stravinsky relied heavily on Bolm in order to adapt to the lifestyle of Los Angeles.
In fact, Stravinsky agreed to conduct Bolm’s 1940 The Firebird at the Hollywood Bowl in exchange for
a letter of reference for American citizenship.
Balanchine and Bolm were part of a Los Angeles dance scene that had been burgeoning since
1915, when Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn founded their groundbreaking school and company,
Denishawn. In the following decades, Los Angeles was a mecca of dance experimentation. Traveling
companies carried the latest European avant-garde aesthetics and a number of important Russians
immigrated to Los Angeles following tours of Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes (such as Bolm and Bronislava
Nijinska). In her book Dancing in the Sun:
Hollywood Choreographers 1915-1937,
Naima Prevots notes that by the 1930s
thousands of dancers were training and
performing in Los Angeles, and a headline
from the Los Angeles Times in 1929 even
stated “L.A. Takes Lead as Dance Center.”
Though Balanchine eventually returned
to New York City, his work in Hollywood
films during the 1930s-1940s was
significant. Against this backdrop, he
and Stravinsky visited on an almost daily
basis, with Stravinsky attending film
rehearsals and Balanchine accompanying
Stravinsky to the Disney studios for a
prerelease screening of Fantasia. Their
bi-coastal relationship featured informal
rehearsals in Stravinsky’s home, which
was also the site of important discussions about future works. In 1954 while the New York City
Ballet was performing in Los Angeles, they conceived one of their most important works, Agon.
Their creative relationship was both prolific and durable, perhaps partially due to the sense of humor
they shared, illustrated by an early conversation between the two when Ringling Brothers Circus
requested a ballet, Circus Polka. According to Balanchine, he approached Stravinsky to compose by
asking: “I wonder if you’d like to do a little ballet with me, a polka perhaps.” “For whom?” Stravinsky
asked. “For some elephants,” Balanchine replied. “How old?” inquired Stravinsky. “Very young,” was
Balanchine’s reply. After a pause, Stravinsky said: “All right. If they are very young elephants, I will do it.”
The film industry provided a goldmine of opportunity and attracted high profile Russian ballet
stars to California. Former Ballets Russes company member Theodore Kosloff, who appeared in many
From its early history, Los Angeles
offered the lure of “instant
transformation,” where artists
could find a fresh creative voice
within the diverse mosaic of the
community. Such was the case with
Igor Stravinsky, who first moved to
the city in 1940 and spent more
time living in Los Angeles than in
any other city in the world.
2 LA’S RITE: STRAVINSKY, INNOVATION AND DANCE
Hollywood films, was also a regular at the Hollywood Bowl (where Bolm was the resident ballet
master). In Los Angeles, Kosloff introduced the training and aesthetics from the Russian Imperial
School. When he opened the Kosloff School of Imperial Russian Ballet one of his students was Agnes
de Mille. Kosloff created his staging of Stravinsky’s Petrouchka in 1937, arranging rehearsals during
radio broadcasts of Stravinsky’s performances so that the correct tempo would be set!
On the centenary of The Rite of Spring, it is interesting to reflect upon an American choreographer
who was born closer to home and yet who could
not help but be influenced by Stravinsky’s score
and Russian modernism—Lester Horton. Horton is
one of LA’s great dance success stories, having
created a dance company in Los Angeles that
forged new pathways in modern dance, rivaling
companies in New York with its progressive vision.
Horton’s fascination with American Indian arts and
artifacts was later combined with his an interest
in dance that arose upon witnessing performances
Modern Ballet Advertisement (courtesy of the Los Angeles
of St. Denis and Shawn in the 1920s. Horton first
Philharmonic Archives)
came to Los Angeles in 1928 to present his work,
The Song of Hiawatha, and during the next decade Horton witnessed experimental dance in LA ranging
from German expressionism to the Russian avant-garde. Horton’s California Ballets premiered an
evening of his work at the Shrine Auditorium in 1934, and the company existed in various forms until
1960 (Horton Dance Group and then Dance Theatre of Los Angeles with Bella Lewitzky).
In 1937, Horton was commissioned by the Hollywood Bowl to choreograph Le Sacre du printemps to
Stravinsky’s score, a major launching point for Horton’s company and career. This was the sixth production
of Sacre created internationally. Visually, Horton’s Sacre was more uplifting than previous versions,
designed in bright yet earthy tones—reds, yellows, blues and browns that were offset by geometric lines,
adding a touch of abstract formality to the sensuality of exposed midriffs and the men’s bare chests. As
Prevots describes: “This was a ritual of spring that celebrated a California landscape, where flowers
bloomed all year and the sun was only intermittently broken with rain and gentle cold. The energy of
spring was not a sudden awakening but a continuance of the eternal promise of a utopian environment.”
Though Horton’s production received complimentary reviews from the press, the audience’s
reaction at the Bowl ranged from nervous giggles to outrage, bringing to mind the controversy of the
original 1913 Rite. Horton’s choreography, described as tribal and erotic, was difficult for many in
the audience to digest alongside the dissonance of Stravinsky’s music. Bella Lewitzky, who joined
Horton’s group in 1934 and performed the role of the Chosen One, stated that the “audience reaction
was violent and controversy raged pro and con. I remember the pounding rhythms and a great deal of
angularity.” However, the performance at the Hollywood Bowl heralded Horton as a major Los
Angeles based choreographer, and artists inspired and trained by Horton went on to change the face
of dance in America, including Lewitzky (whose own Los Angeles company existed for some thirty
years), Carmen de Lavallade, Alvin Ailey, James Truitte and others.
Today, countless artists continue to be inspired by Stravinsky’s score and the passage of Rite
continues around the world. Many productions of Rite have been created since Horton’s, and several
have traveled through Los Angeles, from Glen Tetley’s 1974 version for American Ballet Theatre
(danced by this author) to Shen Wei’s in 2003. Yet none resonate with LA audiences quite like the
Joffrey Ballet’s, welcomed back to LA for its 25th anniversary as we begin the 2013 festival!
SYMPOSIUM OVERVIEW
A symposium of international dance experts examine the original 1913
The Rite of Spring from numerous sides, revealing the painstaking
methods used in reconstructing a work lost to history while delving
deeply into the lives and challenges faced by its creators: Nijinsky,
Stravinsky and Roerich. Finally, the day’s talks will conclude with a
moderated discussion about the role of Rite within the context of Los
Angeles and its 1987 Joffrey Ballet reconstruction.
Speakers include: Millicent Hodson, Ph.D and Kenneth Archer, Ph.D,
widely recognized for their reconstruction of Nijinsky’s 1913 The Rite of
Spring for the Joffrey Ballet; Lynn Garafola, Ph.D, Professor of Dance at
Barnard College and leading authority on the Ballets Russes; John Bowlt,
Ph.D, Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures at USC and author of
numerous books on the Ballets Russes and the Silver Age; Nicoletta
Misler, Ph.D, Emeritus Professor of Russian and East European Art at the
Università di Napoli L’Orientale, Italy, and specialist of Russian
Modernism; and Sasha Anawalt, Professor at USC’s Annenberg School for
Communication and Journalism and author of The Joffrey Ballet: Robert
Joffrey and the Making of an American Dance Company.
SPEAKERS AND TOPICS
BIOGRAPHIES
SASHA ANAWALT
JOHN E. BOWLT
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
AT USC’S ANNENBERG
SCHOOL FOR
COMMUNICATION AND
JOURNALISM
PH.D, PROFESSOR OF
SLAVIC LANGUAGES
AND LITERATURES, USC,
DIRECTOR OF IMRC
Sasha Anawalt directs
arts journalism
programs at USC Annenberg, including
the Master degree program in Specialized
Journalism (The Arts), a partnership with
the five arts schools at USC. She is also
founding director of the USC Annenberg/
Getty Arts Journalism Fellowship, and
leads many experiments with digital
media practices, systems and tools, using
L.A. as a living laboratory. Her bestselling cultural biography, The Joffrey
Ballet: Robert Joffrey and the Making of an
American Dance Company (Scribner,
1996), influenced the direction and
content of the independent film, Joffrey:
Mavericks of American Dance.
Lynn Garafola is a
Professor of Dance at
Barnard College,
Columbia University, in New York City.
A dance historian and critic, she is the
author of Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes and
Legacies of Twentieth-Century Dance, and
the editor of several books, including The
Diaries of Marius Petipa (which she also
translated), André Levinson on Dance:
Writings from Paris in the Twenties (with
Joan Acocella); Rethinking the Sylph: New
Perspectives on the Romantic Ballet; José
Limón: An Unfinished Memoir, and The
Ballets Russes and Its World (with Nancy
Van Norman Baer).
2:00-2:15PMBreak
Lynn Garafola
Embodied Identities: Dancing “The Rite of Spring”
3:00-3:30PM
John Bowlt
Kingdom of Mystery: Nicholas Roerich and the
“Sacre du printemps”
3:30-4:00PM
Nicoletta Misler
Off Center: Nijinsky and the Instability of Dance
4:00-4:30PM
Sasha Anawalt
Ground Beneath His Feet: Joffrey’s “Rite” in Los Angeles
LYNN GARAFOLA
PH.D, PROFESSOR OF
DANCE AT BARNARD
COLLEGE, DANCE
HISTORIAN
1:00-2:00PM Kenneth Archer and Millicent Hodson
Shape Matters: Shamanic Energy Forces and Ultramodern
Forms—The 1913 “Sacre” of Roerich and Nijinsky
2:15-3:00PM
John E. Bowlt is a
professor of Slavic
Languages and
Literatures at the University of Southern
California, where he is also director of
the Institute of Modern Russian Culture.
He has written extensively on Russian
visual culture, especially on the art of
Symbolism and the avant-garde, his latest
books being Moscow, St. Petersburg. Art
and Culture during the Russian Silver Age
(New York, 2008) and the collected
writings of Léon Bakst (2012). In 2010, he
received the Order of Friendship from the
Russian Federation for his promotion of
Russian culture in the USA.
Photo by Herbert Migdoll
NICOLETTA
MISLER
PH.D, EMERITUS
PROFESSOR OF
RUSSIAN AND EAST
EUROPEAN ART,
UNIVERSITÀ DI NAPOLI
“L’ ORIENTALE”, ITALY
MILLICENT HODSON
PH.D, DANCE HISTORIAN
KENNETH ARCHER
PH.D, ART HISTORIAN
Millicent Hodson, an American
choreographer, graphic artist and dance
historian and Kenneth Archer, English
scenic consultant and art historian, reside
in London to reconstruct modern
masterpieces and create new works through
their partnership Ballets Old & New. The
companies for which they have staged
productions include the Royal Ballet,
London, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Hamburg
Ballet, Mariinsky Ballet, St Petersburg.,
Paris Opera Ballet, CCN Ballet de Lorraine,
Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo, Polish National
Ballet, Royal Swedish Ballet, Finnish
National Ballet, Zurich Ballet, Geneva
Ballet, Portuguese National Ballet, La Scala
Ballet, Rome Opera Ballet, Maggiodanza,
Florence, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens,
Montreal, and the Joffrey Ballet in the USA.
Hodson has reconstructed ballets after
three major 20th century choreographers,
including three by Vaslav Nijinsky for
Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes: Le Sacre du
Printemps (1913) Jeux (1913) and Till
Eulenspiegel (1916), as well as five ballets
by George Balanchine and five ballets by
Jean Borlin. Archer has reconstructed the
designs for these ballets after a number of
major 20th century theatrical designers:
Nicholas Roerich’s Le Sacre du Printemps
(1913); Leon Bakst’s Jeux (1913); Robert
Edmond Jones’s Till Eulenspiegel (1916),
and others for Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes,
De Basil’s Ballets Russes and for De Mare’s
Ballets Suedois.
Nicoletta Misler, a specialist in the visual
culture of Russian Modernism, has written
on avant-garde artists Kazimir Malevich,
Pavel Filonov and Vasilii Kandinsky. Dr.
Misler’s principal avenue of enquiry is the
evolution of free dance in early Soviet
Russia and she has organized major
exhibitions in Rome (“In principio era il
corpo...L’Arte del movimento a Mosca
negli anni ‘20,” Acquario Romano in
1999) and Moscow (Bakhrushin Museum,
2000). Her book on the art of movement
in Russia is entitled: V nachale bylo telo.
Ritmoplasticeskie eksperimenty nachalo XX
veka from Iskusstvo XXI vek, Moscow (In
the Beginning was the Body).
LORIN JOHNSON
ARTISTIC ADVISOR
FOR LA’S RITE
Lorin Johnson,
Associate Professor
of Dance at California
State University,
Long Beach, is a
former dancer with both the San Francisco
Ballet and American Ballet Theatre.
Johnson has an MA from the University of
Southern California (Slavic Languages and
Literatures) and has written articles on
dance history and pedagogy for academic
journals and magazines, including Dance
International and Theatre, Dance and
Performance Training.
EXHIBITION OVERVIEW
Curated by Lorin Johnson and Mark Konecny, this exhibition of photographic
prints and facsimile materials from archives, libraries and private
collections explores early dance innovation in Los Angeles (1910s-1930s)
as a synthesis of ideas from émigrés and local artists. Igor Stravinsky
assumes a central role in the exhibition, “conducting” the images that
surround him on all sides just as he steadfastly collaborated from his
home in Hollywood. Stravinsky’s groundbreaking 1913 Le Sacre du
printemps (The Rite of Spring), choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky and
with costume and set designs by Nicholas Roerich, provides the lens
through which to view dance experimentation in LA. Many Ballets Russes
dancers came to Los Angeles alongside European and American artists
to establish influential dance schools and companies. In 1937, Lester
Horton created Le Sacre du printemps for the Hollywood Bowl, the sixth
production created to Stravinsky’s score (and fourth of international
visibility). Bringing Russian modernism back full circle to Los Angeles,
Horton’s production is “bookended” in the exhibition by the Joffrey Ballet’s
1987 reconstruction of the original The Rite of Spring by Millicent Hodson
and Kenneth Archer, which premiered at the Los Angeles Music Center
and is celebrating its 25th anniversary.
ORGANIZATION OF EXHIBITION
Los Angeles
à la Russe
The Russian
influence on
dance in Los
Angeles was
profound in the
1920s and 1930s,
as dancers and choreographers flocked to
California to work in the Hollywood film
industry. Russians who created dance at the
Hollywood Bowl include: Adolph Bolm, who
choreographed and taught extensively in
Los Angeles; Mikhail and Vera Fokine, who
staged performances at the Hollywood Bowl
in 1929; Bronislava Nijinska, who came to
Hollywood in 1934 to choreograph Max
Reinhardt’s film, A Midsummer Night’s
Dream and settled and taught in Los
Angeles in 1940; Theodore Kosloff, who
created his staging of Schéhérazade in
1926; and Serge Oukrainsky and Andreas
Pavley, whose exposure to Russian ballet in
Paris influenced their choreography and
teaching in 1920s-1930s Los Angeles.
Stravinsky
Conducts LA
Igor Stravinsky at the Hollywood Bowl, July 4, 1966 (photograph by Otto Rothschild,
courtesy of The Music Center Archives/Otto Rothschild Collection)
Igor Stravinsky
lived in Los
Angeles from
1940-1969,
where he was
active as a
composer and conductor, touring
internationally and collaborating with
countless artists in dance, music, film and
literature. From his Hollywood home,
Stravinsky collaborated with artists such as
Adolph Bolm and Theodore Kosloff on LA
productions, and the composer was
reunited with George Balanchine, with
whom he had first worked in Paris in 1925.
Stravinsky attended many of Balanchine’s
film rehearsals, and Balanchine
accompanied Stravinsky to the Disney
studies for a screening of Fantasia.
Dance
Innovation
1910s-1930s
Since 1915 with
the founding of
Denishawn, Los
Angeles has
served as a
laboratory for experimental dance,
attracting artists from around the world.
Dance in Los Angeles in the 1930s was a
melting pot of the most current ideas in
contemporary dance circulating the
globe. Naima Prevots, in her book
Dancing in the Sun: Hollywood
Choreographers 1915-1937, gives a
partial list of artists who appeared at the
Hollywood Bowl during this period: Ruth
St. Denis, Ted Shawn, Norma Gould,
Agnes de Mille, Adolph Bolm, Serge
Oukrainsky, Andreas Pavley, Albertina
Rasch, Benjamin Zemach, Michio Ito,
Lester Horton, Bronislava Nijinska,
Ernest Belcher, Mikhail and Vera Fokine,
Bella Lewitzky, Maud Allan, and others.
Adolph Bolm’s
The Spirit of
the Factory
In 1931, as
resident
choreographer
of the Hollywood
Bowl, Adolph
Bolm created The Spirit of the Factory, an
innovative mechanical ballet that was
used in the film The Mad Genius, starring
John Barrymore. The designs were by
another Russian émigré, Nikolai
Remisoff, who spent many years working
in Hollywood. Later renamed Le Ballet
Mécanique, Bolm’s ballet was created to
a score by Russian avant-garde composer
Alexander Mosolov and used 60 dancers
in formations that conveyed the
machine-like movements of gears,
pistons, and flywheels.
The Hollywood
Bowl Firebird
In 1940, Adolph
Bolm and Igor
Stravinsky
collaborated on a
new production
of The Firebird at
the Hollywood Bowl, featuring Stravinsky
in his Bowl conducting debut. An up-andcoming star, Nana Gollner appeared in the
lead role, later to dance with Ballet
Theatre and Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo.
Stravinsky had known Bolm since 1911,
when Bolm performed a solo role in
Petrouchka, and after Stravinsky relocated
to Hollywood in 1940 Bolm helped the
composer adapt to Southern California
life. For this production, Nikolai Remisoff
created costumes and a set design that hid
the orchestra behind colorful screens and
brightly lit shrubbery.
Lester Horton’s
Le Sacre du
printemps
Lester Horton
created Le Sacre
du printemps at
the Hollywood
Bowl in 1937,
the sixth production created worldwide
(and fourth of international visibility,
following Nijinsky’s original 1913
production and Léonide Massine’s
1920 and 1930 productions.) Horton’s
groundbreaking version was influenced
by the choreographer’s research of Native
American ritual and influenced by the
majesty of California’s landscapes. Bella
Lewitzky, who would later establish her
own influential modern dance company
in Los Angeles, danced in the lead role
as the Chosen One.
The Joffrey
Ballet Rite
of Spring
Reconstruction
The Joffrey Ballet
was in residence
at The Music
Center in Los
Angeles when Millicent Hodson’s and
Kenneth Archer’s reconstruction of Nijinsky’s
1913 The Rite of Spring premiered. In many
ways, the Joffrey Ballet’s production reflects
the innovative landscape of Los Angeles.
With fragments of information, Hodson
and Archer worked for over seven years
on the choreography, sets and costumes,
gathering materials from around the
world and meticulously organizing their
research into the reconstruction. Materials
such as Rambert’s notes on Stravinsky’s
score, drawings by Valentine Gross and
Hodson and Archer’s sketches for their
reconstruction are displayed, revealing a
glimpse into the fascinating process of the
rediscovery of The Rite of Spring.
Vera Fokina at the Hollywood Bowl, 1929
(courtesy of The Music Center Archives/Hollywood
Bowl Collection); Igor Stravinsky, Adolph Bolm,
and Nana Gollner rehearsing The Firebird at the
Hollywood Bowl, 1940 (photograph by Otto
Rothschild, courtesy of The Music Center Archives/
Otto Rothschild Collection); the Albertina Rasch
Dancers at the Hollywood Bowl, 1930 (courtesy of
The Music Center Archives/Hollywood Bowl Collection);
Adolph Bolm’s The Spirit of the Factory at the
Hollywood Bowl, 1931 (courtesy of the Los Angeles
Philharmonic Archives); Adolph Bolm’s The Firebird
at the Hollywood Bowl, 1940 (photograph by Otto
Rothschild, (courtesy of The Music Center Archives/
Otto Rothschild Collection); Bella Lewitzky in
rehearsal for Lester Horton’s Le Sacre du printemps
at the Hollywood Bowl, 1937 (courtesy of Naima
Prevots); Reconstruction Design Document by
Kenneth Archer, reconstruction of Lost Costume
for one of the Three Maidens (courtesy of Kenneth
Archer, Ballets Old & New, London)
Los Angeles à la Russe
1.Photograph of Mikhail and
Vera Fokine
Courtesy of the Los Angeles
Examiner Collection, USC Special
Collections
12.Photograph of Adolph Bolm in
Assyrian Dance (autographed by
Bolm to Ruth Page), c1917
Courtesy of the Jerome Robbins
Dance Division, The New York Public
Library for the Performing Arts,
Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations
2.Photograph of George Balanchine
Collections
13.Photograph of Serge Oukrainsky,
1928
Courtesy of The Music Center
Archives/Hollywood Bowl Collection
3.Photograph of Vaslav Nijinsky in
Carnaval, 1916 (autographed by
Nijinsky)
Photograph by Jean de Strelecki
Courtesy of the Fabrice Herrault
Private Collection, New York
14.Photograph of Andreas Pavley
as Harlequin
4.Photograph of Vaslav Nijinsky in
Le Spectre de la Rose, 1917
Photograph by Rudolf Balogh
Courtesy of the Fabrice Herrault
5.Photograph of Mikhail Fokine
Collections
6.Photograph of Vera Fokina
Collections
7.Photograph of Vera Fokina at the
Hollywood Bowl, 1929
8.Photograph of Vera Fokina in
Tannhäuser at the Hollywood
Bowl, 1929
Courtesy of the Faulkner Collection,
Los Angeles Philharmonic Archives
9.Photograph of Vera Fokina in
Tannhäuser at the Hollywood
Bowl, 1929
Courtesy of the Faulkner Collection,
Los Angeles Philharmonic Archives
10.Photograph of Adolph Bolm
putting on make-up as Pierrot in
the Ballet Theatre production of
Carnaval, 1940-1945
15.Photograph of Andreas Pavley
Collections
16.Photograph of the PavleyOukrainsky Ballet, 1928
17.Photograph of Theodore Kosloff,
c1920
Courtesy of Naima Prevots
18.Photograph of Vera Fredova in
Schéhérazade at the Hollywood
Bowl, 1926
19.Set Design for Schéhérazade at
the Hollywood Bowl, 1926
Stravinsky Conducts LA
20.Photograph of George Balanchine,
Igor Stravinsky and Walt Disney
at the Disney Studios, 1939
Courtesy of the Walt Disney Archive
21.Photograph of Edith Jane, Nana
Gollner, Igor Stravinsky, and Adolph
Bolm rehearsing The Firebird at
the Hollywood Bowl, 1940
Photograph by Otto Rothschild
11.Photograph of Adolph Bolm
Collections
22.Photograph of Igor Stravinsky
and George Balanchine backstage
on opening night of the Ballet
Russe, December 1, 1944,
Philharmonic Auditorium (with
unidentified man and woman)
Archives/Otto Rothschild Collection
conducting at the Philharmonic
Auditorium, April 13, 1953
conducting at the Philharmonic
Auditorium, April 13, 1953
25.Photograph of Igor Stravinsky,
Philharmonic Auditorium,
November 13, 1953
conducting at the Hollywood
Bowl, September 2, 1965
27.Igor Stravinsky at the Hollywood
Bowl, July 4, 1966
28.Photograph of Igor Stravinsky on
his 75th birthday, June 3, 1957,
Los Angeles Music Festival, UCLA
29.Caricature of Igor Stravinsky
Collections
Dance Innovation:
1910s-1930s
30.Photograph of the Hollywood
Bowl, 1926
31.Photograph of Philharmonic
Auditorium
Courtesy of Los Angeles Public
Library
32.Photograph of the interior of
Philharmonic Auditorium, 1956
33.Photograph of Ted Shawn and
Ruth St. Denis
Philharmonic Archives
34.Photograph of Ted Shawn and
Norma Gould, 1912 (autographed
from Shawn to Gould)
Photograph by Mojonier
35.Photograph of male students of Ted
Shawn during the summer session
of Shawn’s Los Angeles School at
the estate of Mrs. Frank Haven
Denishawn Collection, 1919
Courtesy Jerome Robbins Dance
Division, The New York Public
36.Photograph of a music
visualization class at the Ted
Shawn Studio, Grand Avenue
Denishawn Collection, 1920
Courtesy Jerome Robbins Dance
37.Photograph of Norma Gould, 1929
38.Photograph of the Belcher Ballet in
Carmen at the Hollywood Bowl, 1922
39.Photograph of Belcher Ballet
dancers in Phantom of the Opera
at the Hollywood Bowl, 1926
40.Photograph of Carmen at the
41.Photograph of Ernest Belcher’s
Celeste School, Los Angeles
in Dawn’s Awakening,
November 14, 1922
Courtesy Billy Rose Theatre
52.Photograph of Adolph Bolm’s
The Spirit of the Factory at the
42.Photograph of Nana Gollner
Collections
53.Photograph of Igor Stravinsky,
Adolph Bolm, and Nana Gollner
rehearsing The Firebird at the
43.Photograph of Michio Ito
The Hollywood Bowl Firebird
44.Photograph of the Albertina
Rasch Dancers at the Hollywood
Bowl, 1930
The Firebird at the Hollywood
Bowl, 1940
45.Photograph of the Albertina
Rasch Dancers at the Hollywood
Bowl, 1930
55.Costume design for Adolph Bolm’s
The Firebird by Nikolai Remisoff
Courtesy of the Nikolai Remisoff
Collection, USC Special Collections
Adolph Bolm’s
The Spirit of the Factory
46.Design for Adolph Bolm’s Ballet
Intime by Nikolai Remisoff
47.Modern Ballet Advertisement
58.Set design for Adolph Bolm’s
48.Costume sketch from Adolph Bolm’s
The Spirit of the Factory, 1931
Designs by Robert Lee Eskridge
49.Costume sketch from Adolph Bolm’s
The Spirit of the Factory, 1931
Designs by Robert Lee Eskridge
59.Set design for Adolph Bolm’s
Lester Horton’s
Le Sacre du printemps
60.Photograph of Lester Horton
Courtesy of the Los Angeles Examiner
61.Photograph of Bella Lewitzky
in rehearsal for Lester Horton’s
Le Sacre du printemps at the
Courtesy of Naima Prevots
62.Costume sketch for Lester
Horton’s Le Sacre du printemps
63.Costume sketch for Lester
Horton’s Le Sacre du printemps
64.Lester Horton dancers in Le Sacre
du printemps at the Hollywood
Bowl, 1937
Photograph by Toyo Miyatake
Bowl, 1937
Bowl, 1937
Bowl, 1937
The Joffrey Ballet Rite
of Spring Reconstruction
68.Notes about Le Sacre by Kenneth
Archer and Millicent Hodson
On Roerich’s Designs for Le
Sacre and On Nijinsky’s Dance
for Le Sacre
Courtesy of Kenneth Archer and
Millicent Hodson, Ballets Old &
New, London
69.Choreographic Reconstruction
Page by Millicent Hodson
Act I Scene 3: Spring Rounds
Courtesy of Millicent Hodson,
Ballets Old & New, London
70.Chosen One Sketches by Valentine
Gross-Hugo from interview of
Stravinsky by Ricciotto
Canudo, Montjoie, May 1913
Copy courtesy of Millicent Hodson,
Ballets Old & New, London, by
permission of Mme Jean Hugo.
71.Poster from the premiere of the
Joffrey Ballet’s The Rite of Spring at
the Los Angeles Music Center, 1987
Photograph of Beatriz Rodriguez as
The Chosen One by Herbert Migdoll
Courtesy of the Los Angeles Music
Center Archives
72.Choreographic Annotations by
Marie Rambert, Nijinsky’s Assistant
Cercles Mysterieux des Adolescentes
Courtesy Rambert Dance Company
Archives, London, and facsimile
courtesy of Millicent Hodson,
73.Dance Drawing by Millicent Hodson
Three Maidens Advancing
Collection of Estelle R. Jorgensen,
Bloomington, and copy courtesy of
Millicent Hodson, Ballets Old &
New, London
74.Dance Drawing by Millicent Hodson Small Maiden in Fling to Sage
Courtesy of Millicent Hodson,
75.Reconstruction Design Document
by Kenneth Archer
Act I Backdrop Sketch with
Painter’s Grid from Finnish
National Ballet
Courtesy of Kenneth Archer, Ballets
Old & New, London
by Kenneth Archer
Act II Backdrop Sketch with
Painter’s Grid from Finnish
National Ballet
Old & New, London
by Kenneth Archer
Reconstruction of Lost Costume
for one of the Three Maidens
Old & New, London
78.Photograph of the Joffrey Ballet
in The Rite of Spring
Photograph by Herbert Migdoll
Courtesy of the Joffrey Ballet
THE MUSIC CENTER 2012-2013 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS
HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE EXHIBITION
Walt Disney Archives
Fabrice Herrault,
Karen Goodman,
Private Collection, Los Angeles
Los Angeles Friends of
the Joffrey Ballet
Los Angeles Music Center Archives
Julio Gonzalez, Archivist
Los Angeles Public Library
Institute of Modern Russian
Culture, Los Angeles
Naima Prevots, Private
Collection, Washington, D.C.
Joffrey Ballet, Chicago
New York Public Library for
the Performing Arts
Millicent Hodson and Kenneth
Archer, Ballets Old & New, London
LA Philharmonic Archives/
Hollywood Bowl Museum
Carol Merrill-Mirsky,
Museum & Archives Director;
Steve LaCoste, Archivist
Rambert Dance Company
Archives, London
University of Southern
California, Special Collections
Claude Zachary,
University Archivist &
Manuscripts Librarian
EXHIBITION CURATORS
Lorin Johnson, Artistic Advisor for LA’s Rite (biography on page 4)
Mark Konecny, Ph.D, is Associate Director and Curator of the archives
and library of the Institute of Modern Russian Culture, a unique
collection of twentieth century books, art, and cultural artifacts. His
area of expertise is the interdisciplinary study of Russian and
European culture of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.
EXHIBITION DESIGNER
Carolina Angulo, originally from Colombia, studied Industrial Design
in Bogota, and earned her MFA in Theater Design from CALARTS in
Valencia, CA. Currently, she serves as Design Manager for the Los
Angeles Opera and as Artistic Director for the LA Grand Ensemble.
THE MUSIC CENTER WOULD LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE
THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS FOR THEIR
GENEROUS ASSISTANCE WITH LA’S RITE, STRAVINSKY,
INNOVATION AND DANCE
Kenneth Archer and
Millicent Hodson
John Bowlt
Donald Bradburn
Gerald Elijah
Lynn Garafola
Laurie Garwood
Rosaline George
Julio Gonzalez
Patricia Gonzalez
Karen Goodman
Fabrice Herrault
Gordon Hollis
Graham Howe
Jane Jelenko
Mark Konecny
William Kraft
Miles Kreuger
Steve LaCoste
Debra Levine
Tatiana Massine Weinbaum
Theodor Massine
Carol Merrill-Mirsky
Oleg Minin
Cyrus Parker-Jeannette
Nancy Perloff
Naima Prevots
Fred Strickler
Claude Zachary
LA’S RITE EXHIBITION IS SPONSORED BY THE LEADERSHIP FUND FOR
NEW INITIATIVES WITH SPECIAL SUPPORT FROM NIGEL LYTHGOE.
OFFICERS
Kent Kresa
chair
SELECTED READING ON STRAVINSKY, LOS ANGELES
DANCE, BALLETS RUSSES AND THE RITE OF SPRING
Anawalt, Sasha. Robert Joffrey and the Making of an American Dance Company.
New York, Scribner: 1996.
Kenneth Archer. Nicholas Roerich, East and West. Parkstone Press, Bournemouth and Paris, 1999.
Berg, Shelley C. Le Sacre du Printemps: Seven Productions from Nijinsky to
Martha Graham. London: UMI Research Press, 1988.
Bowlt, John and Trelqulova, Zelfira. A Feast of Wonders: Sergei Diaghilev and
the Ballets Russes. New York, Skira: 2009
Buckle, Richard. George Balanchine: Ballet Master. New York, Random House: 1988.
Cross, Jonathan, editor. The Cambridge Companion to Stravinsky. Cambridge,
Cambridge University Press: 2003.
Garafola, Lynn. Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989.
Garafola, Lynn, and Nancy Van Norman Baer, eds. The Ballets Russes and Its
World. New Haven/London: Yale University Press, 1999.
George, Rosaline. “The Rite Stuff.” Los Angeles Music Center Performing Arts,
May 1990. pp. 21-31.
Hodson, Millicent. Nijinsky’s Crime against Grace: Reconstruction of the Original
Choreography for Le Sacre du Printemps. Pendragon Press, New York: 1996.
Jordan, Stephanie. Stravinsky Dances: Re-Visions across a Century. Alton,
Hampshire: Dance Books, 2007.
Stephen D. Rountree
president and chief
executive officer
Michael A. Lawson
Michael J. Pagano
Lisa Specht
vice chairs
Karen Kay Platt
secretary
Thomas R. Weinberger
treasurer
MEMBERS AT LARGE
Robert J. Abernethy
Wallis Annenberg
Colleen Bell
David C. Bohnett
Louise Henry Bryson
Fung Der
Craig A. Ellis
David Gindler
Brindell Gottlieb
William C. Hagelstein
Joyce Hameetman
Dennis Haysbert
Stephen F. Hinchliffe, Jr.
Amb. Glen A. Holden
Jane Jelenko
Carolbeth Korn
Amb. Lester B. Korn
Nigel Lythgoe
Martin Massman
Patrick S. McCabe
Bowen “Buzz” H. McCoy
Mattie McFadden-Lawson
Elizabeth Michelson
DIRECTORS EMERITI
Neal S. Millard
Cindy Miscikowski
Shelby Notkin
Kurt C. Peterson
Bennett C. Pozil
Max Ramberg
Joseph Rice
Richard K. Roeder
Thomas L. Safran
Carla Sands
Joni J. Smith
Marc I. Stern
Julia A. Stewart
Cynthia A. Telles
Franklin E. Ulf
Walter F. Ulloa
Bert Valdman
Timothy S. Wahl
Susan M. Wegleitner
Alyce Williamson
Rosalind W. Wyman
Peter K. Barker
Judith Beckmen
Eli Broad
Ronald W. Burkle
Lloyd E. Cotsen
John B. Emerson*
Lois Erburu
Richard M. Ferry
Bernard A. Greenberg
Joanne D. Hale
Stuart M. Ketchum
Robert F. Maguire, III
Edward J. McAniff
Walter M. Mirisch
Fredric M. Roberts
Claire L. Rothman
James A. Thomas
Andrea L. Van de Kamp*
Paul M. Watson
* Chairman Emeritus
Stephen G. Contopulos
general counsel
Jordan, Stephanie, and Larraine Nicholas. Stravinsky the Global Dancer: A
Chronology of Choreography to the Music of Igor Stravinsky. A project of the
Centre for Dance Research, University of Roehampton, London. http://ws1.
roehampton.ac.uk/stravinsky/
Joseph, Charles M. Stravinsky and Balanchine: a Journey of Invention. London,
Yale University Press: 2002.
Joseph, Charles M. Stravinsky Inside Out. London: Yale University Press, 2001.
Levitz, Tamara. “The Chosen One‘s Choice,” in Beyond Structural Listening:
Postmodern Modes of Hearing, ed. Andrew Dell’Antonio. Berkeley: University of
California Press, 2004. pp. 70-108.
Macdonald, Nesta. Diaghilev Observed by Critics in England and the United
States: 1911-1929. London, Dance Books Ltd: 1975.
Nijinska, Bronislava. Early Memoirs. Trans. and ed. Irina Nijinska and Jean
Rawlinson. Introd. Anna Kisselgoff. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1981.
Prevots, Naima. Dancing in the Sun: Hollywood Choreographers 1915-1937.
Ann Arbor, UMI Research Press, 1987.
Prevots, Naima. American Pageantry: A Movement for Art and Democracy.
Ann Arbor, UMI Research Press, 1990.
Stravinsky, Igor and Craft, Robert. Memories and Commentaries. London,
Faber and Faber: 2002
Taper, Bernard. Balanchine: a Biography. Berkeley, University of California
Press: 1984.
SUPPORT THE MUSIC CENTER
The Music Center Annual Fund supports world-class dance programming, nationally
recognized arts education programs and participatory arts programs that inspire
people of all ages and create opportunities for expression. It is only through
unrestricted annual support that our innovative programs continue to grow.
For more information, please call (213) 972-4349.
Taruskin, Richard. Stravinsky and the Russian Traditions, Volume I and II.
Berkeley, University of California Press, 1996.
Van den Toorn, Pieter C. Stravinsky and The Rite of Spring. Berkeley,
University of California Press: 1987.
EXECUTIVE STAFF
PRESIDENT & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Stephen D. Rountree
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT
AND CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
Howard Sherman
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
William Meyerchak
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, ADVANCEMENT
Elizabeth Kennedy
VICE PRESIDENT, PUBLIC RELATIONS &
COMMUNICATIONS
Joan Cumming
VICE PRESIDENT, EDUCATION
Mark Slavkin
VICE PRESIDENT, PROGRAMMING
Thor Steingraber
VICE PRESIDENT, GUEST RELATIONS
Carolyn Van Brunt
COORDINATOR, ANNUAL PROGRAMS
Debbie Afar
DIRECTOR, MEMBERSHIP
& STEWARDSHIP
COORDINATOR, MARKETING
& COMMUNICATIONS
AUDIENCE SERVICES MANAGER
Kimberly Price
BOX OFFICE TREASURER
DIRECTOR, MEMBERSHIP
& ANNUAL PROGRAMS
FIRST ASSISTANT, BOX OFFICE TREASURER
Tom Bucher
MAJOR GIFTS OFFICER
Cheryl Brown
DIRECTOR OF INSTITUTIONAL GIVING
Ellen Cheney
DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION
Chris Christel
ASSISTANT MANAGER, DONOR EVENTS
& STEWARDSHIP
Amanda Hallman
MANAGER, PROGRAMMING &
NEW INITIATIVES
THE MUSIC CENTER
ENGAGEMENT STAFF
Melissa Joseph
DIRECTOR, PROGRAMMING
INTERIM DIRECTOR, SCHEDULING & EVENTS
SENIOR MAJOR GIFTS OFFICER
Jeanie Kim
Renae Williams Niles
Sharon Stewart
PROGRAM MANAGER
ASSISTANT MANAGER, MEMBERSHIP
& ANNUAL PROGRAMS
Rebecca Baillie
Todd Prepsky
Katharine Ballas
Jim Bell
Veronica Meza
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES
Laura Recchi
MAJOR GIFTS OFFICER
Michael Ryan
DEVELOPMENT WRITER
Eveleen Samayoa
ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT,
DEVELOPMENT
Jennifer Samsel
Through the support of the Board of Supervisors, the County
of Los Angeles plays an invaluable role in the successful
operation of The Music Center.
ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT,
DEVELOPMENT
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
Judy Rapp Smith
MANAGING DIRECTOR, EDUCATION
Michael Solomon
MANAGER, MARKETING
& COMMUNICATIONS
Melissa Tan
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Patrice Thomas
ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT,
CONTROLLER
Lisa Whitney
THE MUSIC CENTER
CONTACT US
A leader at the cultural heart of Los Angeles County, The Music Center brings to life
one of the world’s premier arts destinations by creating opportunities for arts
participation, enabling compelling programming and providing first-class venues and
services. The Music Center is one of the largest and most highly regarded performing
arts centers in the country, creating a cultural hub that is central to L.A.’s status as
“the creative capital” of the world. Celebrated for its illustrious dance programming
Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center and home to four world-class
resident companies—Centre Theatre Group, LA Opera, LA Phil, and Los Angeles Master
Chorale—The Music Center is the place to experience the most innovative and
critically-acclaimed performing arts in the nation. In its effort to extend the reach and
accessibility of the performing arts, The Music Center is a national model for
experiences in which people participate directly through its Active Arts® at The Music
Center. As well, The Music Center presents special productions, events and festivals
for children and families, including World City™ at The Music Center. Each year, over
one million audience members delight in the excitement of live performances on The
Music Center’s stages and enjoy free community arts events all year long across its
outdoor campus. The Music Center is also on the forefront of arts education in Los
Angeles, providing arts resources to students and teachers in schools and community
centers throughout the region. For more information, visit musiccenter.org.
General Information
(213) 972-7211
Theatre Rentals
(213) 972-3600
Filming
(213) 972-7334
Patina Restaurant Group/
Catered Events
(213) 972-3331
Audio Description/
Project D.A.T.E.
(Direct Audience Theatre Experience)
(213) 680-4017
Lost and Found
(213) 972-2600
Gloria Molina
Zev Yaroslavsky
Michael D. Antonovich
first district
third district
fifth district
Don Knabe
William T Fujioka
fourth district
chief executive officer
Mark Ridley-Thomas
second district,
chairman of the board
Join us as we celebrate
the legacy of Stravinsky’s
influence and the spirit of
artistic innovation cultivated
in Los Angeles.
The festival brings together three
international dance companies,
an exhibition and symposium and the
American premiere of RE-RITE, an
innovative digital installation produced
by London’s Philharmonia Orchestra under
the direction of Esa-Pekka Salonen.
The Joffrey Ballet:
The Rite of Spring
LA’s Rite
Symposium
LA’s Rite
Exhibition
American Ballet
Theatre: Apollo
FEBRUARY 1-3
FEBRUARY 2
FEBRUARY 1-17
JULY 11
RE-RITE
AUGUST 1-11
Nederlands Dans
Theater: Chamber
OCTOBER 18-20
For tickets, information and schedule of all LA’s Rite events, visit musiccenter.org/rite.

PDF version - Lorin Johnson

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