What Was Controversial About the Ballet When It Premiered in 1913?

Ballet

When Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring premiered in Paris in 1913, it caused a near riot, leading some to dub it the “most controversial ballet of all time”. The ballet’s combination of avant-garde music, angular dance steps and expressive costumes was considered shocking and offensive by some audiences.

The Rite of Spring was composed by Stravinsky as a result of his collaboration with Russian dancer and choreographer Vaslav Nijinsky. It was meant to be performed as a ballet, telling the story of an ancient pagan Russian ritual. The music was highly dissonant and modernistic, while the choreography was characterized by sharp movements and pulsating rhythms.

Nijinsky’s choreography featured exaggerated gestures that were suggestive of primitive fertility rites. This, combined with the abstract nature of the music, led some audience members to find it too strange or even repulsive. As a result, when the performance opened at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées on May 29th 1913 there were shouts from the audience during both acts.

The controversy surrounding The Rite of Spring has been attributed to several factors. For one thing, its unconventional rhythms and harmonies challenged traditional expectations about what ballet should be.

Additionally, its themes seemed to violate social conventions about religion and sexuality. Finally, its combination of intense athleticism with expressionistic gestures made for an unfamiliar experience for many audience members.

Conclusion: What made The Rite of Spring so controversial when it premiered in 1913 was its combination of modernist music, angular dance steps and suggestive costumes. It challenged traditional expectations about what ballet should be and seemed to violate social conventions about religion and sexuality. It also featured an intense athleticism combined with expressionistic gestures that made for an unfamiliar experience for many audience members.