"Sleeping beauty," a legend in progress [electronic resource] /
Tim Scholl.
- Yale University Press, c2004.
- 1 online resource (xiv, 242 p.) : ill.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 219-231) and index.
Genre trouble -- Legends of Sleeping beauty : what becomes a legend most? -- Achieving symphonism : the Soviet ballet in theory -- Red Auroras : the Soviet ballet in practice -- Bringing Beauty back -- Appendix. Reviews of 1890 production.
In 1999 the Maryinsky (formerly Kirov) Ballet and Theatre in St. Petersburg recreated its 1890 production of Sleeping Beauty. The revival showed the classic work in its original sets and costumes and restored pantomime and choreography that had been eliminated over the past century. Nevertheless, the work proved unexpectedly controversial, with many Russian dance professionals and historians denouncing it. In order to understand how a historically informed performance could be ridiculed by those responsible for writing the history of Russian and Soviet ballet, Tim Scholl discusses the tradition, ideology, and popular legend that have shaped the development of Sleeping Beauty. In the process he provides a history of Russian and Soviet ballet during the twentieth century. A fascinating slice of cultural history, the book will appeal not only to dance historians but also to those interested in the arts and cultural policies of the Soviet and post-Soviet periods.