Ballet’s Magic Kingdom Ballet’s Magic Kingdom Selected Writings on Dance in Russia, 1911–1925 Akim Volynsky Translated, Edited, and with an Introduction and Notes by StanleyQ J. Rabinowitz Yale University Press New Haven and London Frontispiece: Yury Annenkov, Akim Volynsky, 1921 (From Yury Annenkov, Portrety [Petrograd: Petropolis, 1922], 41). Disclaimer: Some images in the printed version of this book are not available for inclusion in the eBook. Published with assistance from the foundation established in memory of William McKean Brown. Copyright ∫ 2008 by Yale University. All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public press), without written permission from the publishers. Portions of this book originally appeared in slightly altered form as ‘‘Against the Grain: Akim Volynskii and the Russian Ballet,’’ Dance Research 14, no. 1 (Summer 1996): 3–41, and ‘‘The House That Petipa Built: Visions and Villains of Akim Volynskii,’’ Dance Research 16, no. 1 (Summer 1998): 26–66, and are reprinted by permission of the journal, the Society for Dance Research, and Edinburgh University Press. Set in Adobe Garamond type by Keystone Typesetting, Inc. Printed in the United States of America by Sheridan Books, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Volynskii, A. L., 1863–1926. [Selections. English 2008] Ballet’s magic kingdom : selected writings on dance in Russia, 1911–1925 / Akim Volynsky ; translated, edited, and with an introduction and notes by Stanley J. Rabinowitz. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-300-12462-0 (alk. paper) 1. Ballet—Russia (Federation)—History and criticism. 2. Ballet—Russia (Federation)—History— 20th century. 3. Ballet dancers—Russia (Federation)—History. I. Rabinowitz, Stanley J. II. Title. GV1663.V65 2008 792.80947—dc22 2008020365 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48–1992 (Permanence of Paper). It contains 30 percent postconsumer waste (PCW) and is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). 10987654321 For Evelyne Tiersky Pini, whose elegance and joie de vivre are what so much of this book is about, and for Mark Canner, whose remarkable literary sweep and critical insight inspired me through every stage of this book from beginning to end The ecstasy that lifts us to the sky dominates over all canons of beauty. —Akim Volynsky, 1924 QContents Illustrations follow page 86 Acknowledgments xi A Note on the Text xv Introduction: Akim Volynsky and His Writings on Dance xvii Part 1. Reviews and Articles Dance as a Solemn Ritual (1911) 3 Coppélia (1911) 9 Tamara Karsavina: The Trial of Damis; The Nutcracker (1911) 12 Mathilda Kshesinskaya: Swan Lake (1911) 16 Schumann, Ballet, and Fokine (1912) 20 Eunice and Chopiniana (1912) 24 Errors of Creation: On Papillons and Islamey (1912) 26 The Little Dove: Harlequinade (1912) 29 The Russian Dance: Die Puppenfee (1912) 32 Raymonda (1912) 33 Coppélia (1912) 35 Vaganova’s Variation (1912) 37 viii Contents The Tsar Maiden: A New Production of The Little Humpbacked Horse (1912) 39 A Circle of Immovable Stars: Alexander Gorsky and Mikhail Fokine (1913) 43 Isadora Duncan: The Last Word (1913) 45 Anna Pavlova (1913) 46 Pavlova’s Farewell Performance: La Bayadère (1913) 48 A Kaleidoscope of Attire: Still More on Konstantin Korovin (1914) 51 Elegy (1915) 53 Mikhail Fokine: Some Lines Toward a Polemic (1915) 58 La Jota Aragonese (1916) 60 My Miniatures: Swan Lake (1920) 62 Marius Petipa’s La Bayadère (1922) 64 The End of the Season: Lida Ivanova (1922) 69 Two Schools of Classical Dance: Sleeping Beauty (1922) 70 Stravinsky’s Ballets (1922) 74 The Birth of Apollo (1923) 77 What Will Ballet Live By? (1923) 84 A Wretched Housepainter: The Nutcracker (1923) 87 The Weeping Spirit (1923) 90 The Innovator: Mikhail Fokine (1923) 95 Don Quixote (1923) 98 Classical Attire (1923) 102 Naked, Barefoot, and Beltless (1923) 104 Swan Lake: The Swan in Music (1923) 107 Sleeping Beauty (1923) 110 Swan Lake: The Swan in Motion (1924) 115 Lida Ivanova (1924) 119 Adrienne Lecouvreur (1924) 121 Tamara Karsavina (1924) 124 Part 2. The Book of Exaltations: The ABCs of Classical Dance (1925) Principles of Classical Dance 131 Choreography•Ballet•Verticality•The Toes•Turnout•Exposing the Essence•Croisé and E√acé•Elevation•The Nature of Classical Dance• The Arms•Music Contents ix Features and Forms 160 Positions•Plié•Battements•Rond de Jambe•The Exercise’s Finale In the Center 171 Coupé•Gliding Movements•Fouetté•Straight and Crooked Lines•Attitude and Arabesque•Pirouette•En Tournant•The Clock’s Chimes•Postscript Allegro 199 Leap, Jump, Flight•Earth and Sky•Beats•Sissonne (Sisol)•Entrechat•The Line Upward•Technique•Pas de Basque•Summa summarum A Bird’s-Eye View 219 Male Dancing: A Synthesis•Acrobatism•The Ballet Master•Myth and Fairy Tale•The Soul’s Reserves•The Ballet Libretto•The Danseur•The Corps de Ballet•Mime•Vis medicatrix (Strength, the Healer) Glossary of Names 263 Index 273 This page intentionally left blank AcknowledgmentsQ The longer the gestation period, the greater the debts, and for a project that has been over a dozen years in the making, the gratitude runs deep. This book’s o≈cial inception and protracted execution coincide with the final stages and gradual termination of my parents’ long lives, so it seems fitting to begin my acknowledgments by thanking them, sadly in absentia, for the unflinching support they perennially provided me with both in good times and bad. My decision in 1998 to turn into a book my initial and modest forays into Volyn- sky’s dance writings and the vibrant world of Saint Petersburg ballet that he chronicled for fourteen years preceded by only a few weeks my father’s mental decline and entry into the nursing home, where he died seventeen months later; Yale’s interest in publishing my manuscript (news of which my mother celebrated by having a second cigarette that day) came five weeks before she died at age ninety-seven in the summer of 2006. The date of the beginning of this labor of love is exactly traceable to a letter I received in 1993 from the then, and current, editor of the lovely publication Dance Research, Richard Ralph. Having read my earlier work on the life and achievements of Akim Volynsky, in which relatively little was said about his career as a ballet critic, Dr. Ralph inquired about whether I might like to extend my research and do something on that topic for his journal: the rest—as the saying goes—is history. If the initiator of a journey deserves unique pride of place in its outcome, as I believe should be the case, then I am happy to say that my debt to Richard Ralph is substantial indeed. The author of a second letter xii Acknowledgments of inquiry about my involvement with Volynsky’s ballet writings warrants special mention and profound gratitude—the venerable Arlene Croce, former dance critic for the New Yorker. Her curiosity about any possible further plans I had to expand my work in this field and, subsequently, in what is now a fateful phone conversation, her encouragement to forge ahead with it, led to my conviction that the subject warranted a full-length study and that I (bless her!) was the one to do it. And, by the grace of God, do it I did, but not without the wisdom and generosity of a group of people whom it is my genuine pleasure (and relief ) to thank publicly at long last. My Russian-born colleagues and friends Viktoria Alexandrovna Schweitzer, Tatyana Yurevna, and Inna Petrovna Babyonyshev endured with patience and tact my numerous questions, occasionally accom- panied by odd bodily demonstrations, on matters of meaning and style in their native language, though in a highly technical area that tested the limits of even their vast knowledge (they passed with flying colors). The admirably bilingual Irina Klyagin, whose special area of expertise is Russian ballet, laboriously examined rough drafts of my translations, particularly of The Book of Exalta- tions, and provided invaluable advice on how to handle in English scores of tricky, at times seemingly incomprehensible, patches of Volynsky’s notoriously dense prose. Harry Haskell examined my manuscript and made valuable sug- gestions as to how I might improve it. I gratefully acknowledge other Amherst College colleagues who helped me in various ways: Stephanie Sandler (now of Harvard University) early on shared with me her knowledge of ballet; the writer Carl Vigeland (now of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst) made available to me during many lunches his expertise in the world of pub- lishing; Rebecca Sinos provided useful information for several references to ancient Greek civilization; Helen von Schmidt read my introduction and, with her trained editorial eye, indicated several infelicities; Dale Peterson, my long- time friend and literary fellow traveler, followed with interest and typical intellectual insight the long and windy road of this journey; and, most espe- cially, Catherine Ciepiela again and again provided exquisite critical advice and emotional uplift when both were sorely needed. Fortunate is the person who is surrounded by such knowledgeable and supportive colleagues, and lucky is the professor who has had as the dean of the faculty a person of such high academic and administrative caliber as Lisa Raskin. Through her nine-year tenure, Dean Raskin o√ered every possible means of support available to her to create the conditions necessary for me to conduct my work with a sense of material security and psychological comfort, and I am ever grateful for the time she always found to deal respectfully and empathetically with my needs.