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

George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze;, Romanization of Georgian, : April 30, 1983) was a Georgian-American ballet choreographer, recognized as one of the most influential choreographers ...

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 fir ...

'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 and dance at Lincoln Center in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Originally named the New York State Theater, the venue has been home to the New York City Ballet sinc ...

, 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 ...

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. Sh ...

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, with the dancers in white Russian style dresses and crown-like headdress. The original lighting was designed by Ronald Bates. 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 associate school of the New York City Ballet, a ballet company based at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. The school trains students from the age of six, with professional voc ...

Critical reception

Following the premiere, ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' 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. It was first introduced by traveling Italian performers in the first third of the 19th century during a period of W ...

''. 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 ballets Ballets by George Balanchine Ballets to the music of Igor Stravinsky New York City Ballet repertory