'The Rite of Spring' and the Expansion of the Corporeal Experience

Picture of the Ballet Russes 

On the evening of May 29, 1913, a large audience gathered at a Paris theater, anticipating a relaxing evening of ballet and harmonious music.

However, when the curtain rose and the instruments began playing, these expectations were shattered. With dancers that appeared jerky and anything but graceful, and music that was discordant and chaotic, the audience was shocked by the total wrongness of it all. By intermission, the theater was in an uproar, and for years afterward the performance would be lauded by critics as barbaric, disturbing, and a regression of art back into its ‘primitive’ stage.

Yet with proper insight and meticulous observation, the 1913 performance of the Rite of Spring was ingenious, to say the least, and would continue to pave the way for modernist art for centuries to come. What befuddled, even angered, many critics of then (for example, the awkward movements of the dancers or startling sounds reverberating from the instruments) is in fact the same characteristics that fascinate the scholars of today. These distinctions of peculiarity are landmarks of a modernist work and hail the divergence from Romanticism and realism to abstract expressionism.

The masterminds behind The Rite of Spring, Igor Stravinsky and Vaslav Nijinsky, were both Russian artists whom were deeply inspired by traditional Russian forms of expression. A well-known composer of his time, Stravinsky was primarily famous until 1913 for his deft incorporation of Russian folk songs and myths into his pieces. Although this reflection back to village music was a different approach for its time, his earlier compositions still existed within the realms of “normalcy.” For example, The Firebird (1910) was hailed by the press and launched his career as a talented composer and artist. However, in the years leading up to The Rite of Spring, Stravinsky began to dabble with more avant garde forms of music, forms that would initially not be received so well by the public ears.

Vaslav Nijinsky, on the other hand, had always been something of a rebel. Both a talented dancer and a choreographer, Nijinsky’s work often incorporated unexpected angles of movement and “exceeded the limits of traditional ballet and propriety” (Russian Ballet History). Under the famous Ballet Russes headed by Serge Diaghilev, Nijinsky was able to achieve a daring collaboration with Stravinsky that in turn led to The Rite of Spring.

The impact on art wasn’t immediately obvious. Again, modernism wasn’t exactly a celebrated form of expression at this point, as made evident by the harsh critiques against the New York Armory Show, a modernist exhibit that had premiered just three months prior to the show’s performance. Both The Rite of Spring and the Armory Show contained certain shock factors: a sensuality of human physiology, works that might be unpleasing or discordant with the senses, and most importantly, a divergence from what was considered to be ‘real art.’

Yet as the years went on, the movements of Nijinsky and tones of Stravinsky became apparent in many other artistic words.

Some scholars have highlighted that The Rite of Spring’s experimental use of sound has made itself prevalent in modernism. Authors like James Joyce, Gertrude Stein, and Virginia Wolfe all wrote in nontraditional syntax, often playing on sound and rhythm to form different means of expression and evoke feelings of uncertainty.

Also, consider the importance of song so often explored in modernist art. In The 42nd Parallel (1930) by John Dos Passos, newsreels rattle off traditional tunes of the era, an allusion to the mysteriousness of voice-origin (as in, who is the narrator of the song?). In other parts of the novel, Dos Passos employs the song as a way to point to the plight of the outsider. With its background in mythology and struggle of Russian tradition with the ever-growing European influence, The Rite of Spring certainly encompasses the struggle of the collective consciousness.

In addition, the influence of The Rite of Spring manifests itself in artistic movements, notably cubism and the use of abstraction. Although it’s unlikely that Stravinsky or Nijinsky were sources of inspiration for notable cubist artists like Picasso and Matisse, who both arrived on the modernist scene prior to 1913, it’s safe to assume that all four artists fell under the same umbrella of men ahead of their time, all manipulating their respective forms of art to ‘primitive’ state of being, whether this be in geometrical shapes or tribal traditions.

The notes of Stravinsky’s composition as well the physical movements within Nijinsky’s choreography put a heavy focus on sensations and the world felt through the human body. With its focus in corporeal experience and new forms of expression, The Rite of Spring had a more direct effect on abstract art of the 20th century. Another Russian and prominent abstract artist, Wassily Kadinsky commented that the Ballet Russes under Diaghlev was admirable in its “‘total art’ combination of theater, music, art and dance” (White and Taruskin). This “synergy” of art forms would inspire Kadinsky and many other artists in years to come to explore and expand their repertoire of what was considered to be art.

Serge Diaghilev, left, and Igor Stravinsky, right

Questions to Consider:

1. The plotline of the The Rite of Spring is that, to please the gods, a Russian tribe offers as tribute a young girl who dances herself to her death. What characters in the books and passages that we’ve read so far could symbolize this sacrifice, and to what purpose would they be sacrificing for?  
2. In the video played of the composition of The Rite of Spring, think of the emotions and musical tools Stravinsky employed. To what extent do these sounds manifest themselves in the rhythm of modernist books like The 42nd Parallel and Melanctha?

Works Cited

        Chang, Richard. "Rite of Spring': Influence on the arts far-reaching". The Orange County Register. 27 January 2013. Web. 09 September 2016. <link>

                    Hewett, Ivan. "The Rite of Spring 1913: Why did it cause a riot?". The Telegraph. 26 May 2013. Web. 09 September 2016. <link>

        KVIE. "Stravinsky 'The Rite of Spring'". KVIE: Keeping Score. 2009. Web. 10 September 2016. <link>

        Russian Ballet History. "Legendary Vaslav Nijinsky". Russian Ballet History 2016. Web. 08 September 2016. <link>

        White, Eric W and Richard Taruskin. "Igor Stravinsky". Encyclopedia Britannica. 2016. Web. September 2016. <link>
Picture Work Cited
Hewett, Ivan. "The Rite of Spring 1913: Why did it cause a riot?". The Telegraph. 26 May 2013. Web. 09 September 2016. <link>
Service, Tom. "The Rite of Spring: 'The work of a madman'". The Guardian. 12 February 2013. Web. 10 September 2016. <link>
Video <link>