The Ballets Russes Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

The Ballets Russes - Research Paper Example Uniting different forms of art one artistic whole that organizes the material and spiritual environment is what artistic synthesis is all about. This concept implies the creation of a qualitatively and new phenomenon or art that cannot then be reduced to the sum of its original component sums. The new product becomes the imaginative, the compositional and the ideological unity of these components that form the various parts. Be they music, painting or dance. The Ballets Russes became the first internationally performing dance company that featured an intricate design by several outstanding artists, a variety of choreographers and a blend of music and beautiful synthesis of art. The common effect in space and time arrangements, the unity of the various components, their proportion, their coordination in scale and the rhythm generate several marvelous and variable artistic qualities. These enhance the apprehension of art and establish an idea that is developed on several planes. The sy nthesis of art has a comprehensive and emotional effect on the person who encounters it, appealing to several of his senses all at once. This concept has had many great educational and social possibilities that have been adopted by a number of productions and performances through the history of performance. There are various syntheses that have been practiced throughout the history of art. For instance, monumental art and architecture have always been united leading to the creation of an artistic synthesis where painting and sculpture, while still performing their own tasks, have also enhanced and interpreted the work of architecture in itself. This form of plastic and spatial synthesis sometimes also includes the decorative art that is applied to bring out the environment of man, his desires and pleasure. It is this aspect of art that the Ballet Russes maximized on. The Ballets Russes There has been a history of synthesis of the temporal arts such as poetry and music that are chara cterized by different genres of vocals such as: popular song, cantata, art song, opera, and oratio. There are several works that have utilized this concept to create an innovative form of art. These include motion picture, theater and of course ballet. Painting, music and dance are synthetic in their own nature. In uniting the creative works of the painter, the singer and the dance, a whole new world of art is aesthetically united (Jordan & Lopukhov, p. 24). These are the possibilities that were utilized by the Ballets Russes. The Ballets Russes, also known as the Russian Ballets, was a travelling ballet company from Russia that performed from 1909 to 1929 in several countries. It was directed by Sergei Diaghilev and is regarded as one of the greatest ballet companies, if not the greatest, in the 20th century (Brewer, Diaghilev’s Golden Age; Culture24.org). His work was based on the philosophy that â€Å"art is free and life is paralyzed.† It is important to note that by this time, Diaghilev had already enjoyed success in Paris a year before, in 1908 before his company originally started to perform. In that year, he presented to the Parisians a season of the Russian art, their music and opera. It is this presentation that got him the invitation the following year to present ballet and opera. The dancers of Ballets Russes came from the ballet school in St. Petersburg, the Imperial Ballet. After the Russian Revolution several Russians were exiled to Paris. This formed the training ground for the next generation of dancers. They featured a variety of works from a variety of artists. When the director died the company’s dancers scattered and its assets were claimed by creditors. It was later revived under the name Ballet Russ de Monte Carlo by Colonel Wassily de Basil and an associate Rene Blum in 1932. The company combined new art, dance and music and created a sensation that reached all the corners of the world.