''Scherzo à la Russe'' is a ballet choreographed by

George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze; ka, გიორგი მელიტონის ძე ბალანჩივაძე; January 22, 1904 (O. S. January 9) – April 30, 1983) was ...

to Stravinsky's music of the same name. The ballet was created for

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company' ...

's Stravinsky Festival, a tribute to the composer after his death, and premiered on June 21, 1972, at the

New York State Theater The David H. Koch Theater is a theater for ballet, modern and other forms of dance, part of the Lincoln Center, at the intersection of Columbus Avenue and 63rd Street in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Originally ...

, with the two lead roles originated by

Karin von Aroldingen Karin Anny Hannelore Reinbold von Aroldingen (9 September 1941 – 5 January 2018) was a German ballet dancer. She danced as a soloist at the Frankfurt Opera Ballet before joining the New York City Ballet in 1962 after receiving a personal i ...

and

Kay Mazzo Kay Mazzo (born January 17, 1946) is an American former ballet dancer and educator. In 1961, she joined Jerome Robbins' company, Ballets USA. The following year, she joined the New York City Ballet, and was promoted to principal dancer in 1969. S ...

Production

Stravinsky and Balanchine collaborated for many years until the former's death in 1971. The latter then decided to have the

hold the week-long Stravinsky Festival to honor the composer. There were at least 20 premieres, seven of which were choreographed by Balanchine. One of the ballets made for the festival is set to '' Scherzo à la Russe'', which Stravinsky wrote in 1925, for a film project that was abandoned. The four-minute long ballet is performed by an all-female cast, with two principal dancers and a corps de ballet of sixteen.

and

originated the two lead roles. The choreography resembles Russian folk dance. Von Aroldingen described, "You feel like a child or a doll when you do it. The whole thing is a smile. It's over so fast. That surprise short ending – it just stops dead – shows Stravinsky's humor." The costumes were designed by

Karinska Varvara Jmoudsky, better known as Barbara Karinska or simply Karinska (October 3, 1886 – October 18, 1983), was the Oscar-winning costumier of cinema, ballet, musical and dramatic theatre, lyric opera and ice spectacles. Over her 50 year caree ...

, with the dancers in white Russian style dresses and crown-like headdress. The original lighting was designed by

Ronald Bates Ronald Bates (July 14, 1932 - August 25, 1986) was an American ballet lighting designer, particularly for the New York City Ballet. Early life and career Bates was born in Fort Smith, Arkansas in 1932. He studied scenic design at Los Angeles City ...

. The choreography of the ballet was revised in 1982.

Performances

''Scherzo à la Russe'' premiered on June 21, 1972, at the

. In addition to the New York City Ballet, the ballet had also been performed by students of the

School of American Ballet The School of American Ballet (SAB) is the most renowned ballet school in the United States. School of American Ballet is the associate school of the New York City Ballet, a ballet company based at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New ...

Critical reception

Following the premiere, ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' critic

Clive Barnes Clive Alexander Barnes (13 May 1927 – 19 November 2008) was an English writer and critic. From 1965 to 1977, he was the dance and theater critic for ''The New York Times'', and, from 1978 until his death, ''The New York Post.'' Barnes had sign ...

commented that the ballet "is a slight joke but warm one." He added, "Balanchine has taken this easy, almost succulent music, and made, slightly irreverently, the kind of Nursemaids’ Dance that he feels that Fokine should have contributed to ''

Petrushka Petrushka ( rus, Петру́шка, p=pʲɪtˈruʂkə, a=Ru-петрушка.ogg) is a stock character of Russian folk puppetry. Italian puppeteers introduced it in the first third of the 19th century. While most core characters came from Italy ...

''. It is brief, clever and lightly betwitching."

References

External links

''Scherzo à la Russe''
on New York City Ballet's website
''Scherzo à la Russe''
on George Balanchine Trust's website {{DEFAULTSORT:Scherzo a la Russe (ballet) 1972 ballet premieres Ballets by George Balanchine Ballets to the music of Igor Stravinsky New York City Ballet repertory