Léonide Massine
Born Aug. 9 [July 28, Old Style], 1896, Moscow
Died March 15, 1979, Cologne, West Germany
Born LEONID FYODOROVICH MIASSIN: dancer and innovative choreographer of
more than 50 ballets, one of the most important figures in 20th-century
dance.
He studied acting and dancing at the Imperial School in Moscow and had almost
decided to become an actor when Sergey Diaghilev, seeking a replacement
for Vaslav Nijinsky, invited Massine to join his
company. After a few months of study under Italian dancer and teacher Enrico
Cecchetti, Massine made his Paris debut in La Légende de Joseph in
1914 and received favourable comment on his dramatic
dance ability and commanding stage personality. Diaghileff supervised his
artistic education, taking him to museums and concerts and introducing him
to such people as the Russian painter Mikhail
Larionov, the conductor Ernest Ansermet, and the composer Igor Stravinsky,
all of whom influenced Massine's approach to dance. Diaghilev also encouraged
his choreographic talent. Massine's first work
as a choreographer, Le Soleil de nuit, was produced in 1915 and was eventually
followed by such masterpieces as La Boutique fantasque (1919), Le Tricorne
(1919; The Three-Cornered Hat), Le Beau Danube
(1924), and Gaîté Parisienne (1938). Massine extended Michel
Fokine's choreographic reforms by enriching and clarifying narration and
characterizations. His ballets incorporated both folk dance and
the demi-caractère dance, a style that uses classical technique to
perform character dance. He added variety and complexity by including synchronized
yet individual or small-group dance patterns
within the corps de ballet.
From 1932 until 1938 Massine was principal dancer and choreographer of Colonel
de Basil's Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. In 1933 he created his first symphonic
ballet, Les Présages, using Peter Ilich
Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony. Although dancers such as Isadora Duncan had
previously used symphonic music, Massine's choreography more completely
paralleled the structure of the music. The symbolic
characterizations of Les Présages were innovative because they relied
on dance itself rather than costuming or props to convey their identity.
Choreartium, first performed in London (1933) and danced
to Johannes Brahms's Fourth Symphony, created even greater controversy;
its second movement was close to modern dance in movement style. Critics
declared it was both blasphemous and redundant to add
dance to these musical masterpieces. With their eventual acceptance, Massine's
symphonic ballets effected a choreographic revolution and in turn led to
reforms in costuming and sets. Rouge et Noir
(1939), set to Dmitry Shostakovich's First Symphony, had scenery and costumes
by Henri Matisse. Nobilissima Visione, St. Francis (1938) had libretto and
music by Paul Hindemith and decor by Pavel
Tchelichew. Surrealist painter Salvador Dalí designed three major
experimental ballets. Because of disagreements with de Basil, Massine resigned
and formed his new Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, which
he headed until 1942. Later he appeared with the Ballet Theatre and the
Royal Ballet. In 1966 he joined the newly formed Ballet de Monte Carlo as
choreographer and artistic director. He also
choreographed and danced in such films as The Red Shoes (1948) and Tales
of Hoffmann (1951). Massine's publications include My Life in Ballet (1968)
and Massine on Choreography (1976).
