The Ballets Russes and Beyond
Music and Dance in Belle-Époque Paris

A fresh perspective on the Ballets Russes, focusing on relations between music, dance and the cultural politics of belle-époque Paris.

Davinia Caddy (Author)

9781107014404, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 26 April 2012

254 pages, 24 b/w illus. 15 music examples
24.9 x 17.3 x 1.8 cm, 0.66 kg

'This fascinating book is supported by visual examples and a copious bibliography. Much wider reading is provided in the footnotes (which readily links theoretical writings to the issues raised in the press) and French quotations are clearly translated and presented as parallel texts. The book will be of interest to scholars (and students) in music, musicology, dance history and art history. It is a significant and refreshing contribution to the field.' Helen Julia Minors, Slavonic and East European Review

Belle-époque Paris witnessed the emergence of a vibrant and diverse dance scene, one that crystallized around the Ballets Russes, the Russian dance company formed by impresario Sergey Diaghilev. The company has long served as a convenient turning point in the history of dance, celebrated for its revolutionary choreography and innovative productions. This book presents a fresh slant on this much-told history. Focusing on the relation between music and dance, Davinia Caddy approaches the Ballets Russes with a wide-angled lens that embraces not just the choreographic, but also the cultural, political, theatrical and aesthetic contexts in which the company made its name. In addition, Caddy examines and interprets contemporary French dance practices, throwing new light on some of the most important debates and discourses of the day.

1. Introduction: Le Génie de la danse
2. Ballet at the Opéra and La Fête chez Thérèse
3. Nijinsky's Faune revisited
4. Metaphors of invasion: the Ballets Russes and the French press
5. Beyond and behind Le Coq d'or.

Subject Areas: 20th century & contemporary classical music [AVGC6], Romantic music [c 1830 to c 1900 AVGC5], Ballet [ASDL]