“Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes” in Washington DC

In the U.S. the word “ballet” is associated primarily with Russia — and Russian culture is associated with the ballet. It’s not that Americans don’t know or appreciate Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, Mussorgsky and Tchaikovsky, who, unlike other composers, is called by his given name Pyotr Ilyich. It’s that in this particular genre of art we’ve always been “ahead of the game.” Yes, perhaps even today we can present ballet as our “business card” — just as we did a century ago when the legendary Sergey Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes first toured in the U.S.

Now, the famous “Russian Seasons” returns to D.C. as a collection of the original costumes and decorations used in the avant garde performance, including paintings, drawings, sketches, photographs, theater posters and booklets. The exhibition “Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes” has opened in the National Gallery of Art and will be running for four months. The exposition includes nearly 130 masterpieces by Russian and foreign artists and decorators who collaborated with Diaghilev’s troop. It’s the whole constellation of names: Alexandre Benois, Leon Bakst, Alexandr Golovin, Nicholas Roerich, Natalya Goncharova, Mikhail Larionov, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Sonya Delaunay, Giorgio de Chirico, as well as glorious French couturier Coco Chanel.

The multimedia nature of the exhibition creates an atmosphere of unending celebration. There are special sections dedicated to nearly all the ballets in Diaghilev’s repertoire: “Silfide,” “Daphnis et Chloe,” “Petrushka,” “The Rite of Spring,” “Cleopatra” and “Shakerezada.” One can hear the music of Sergey Prokofiev, Igor Stravinsky, Erik Satie and Claude Debussy. Meanwhile, the new documentary on Diaghilev is broadcasted in the cinema room, and the big screens of the museum’s show rooms play modern recordings of these century-old dances which remain on the world’s stages today.

National Gallery of Art Director Earl Powell seems happy: “This landmark exhibition celebrates one of the most dazzling cultural enterprises of the 20th century.” Associate Curator Sarah Kennel claims that Russian ballet is truly one of the most significant achievements of world culture in the last century. It has had a significant influence on all types of art, which is why we see it everywhere around us even today.

According to Kennel, the exhibition demonstrates that Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes phenomenon emerged from the combined efforts of many outstanding masters who performed in various genres and schools. The genius Russian entrepreneur did, indeed, employ nearly all of the best of what European culture had to offer. His unique “Russian Seasons” actually became a synthesis of many different art forms that complimented and enriched each other.

More than 80 exhibit items were donated by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, which hosted the exhibition “Diaghilev and the Golden Age of Russian Ballet” back in 2010. The rest was borrowed from dance museums in Sweden, the National Gallery in Australia and private collections. The vernissage is followed by a series of topic-related events including concerts, ballet presentations and workshops. D.C. celebrity chef Michael Richards also opened his Garden Café Ballets Russes, the name of which recalls Russian sessions in Paris.

The sponsors of the event are oil giants Exxon Mobile and Rosneft. As is noted in the National Gallery’s press release, “This exhibition serves to foster better understanding between the American and Russian people … We are honored to join Rosneft and the National Gallery of Art in promoting dialogue, interaction and commerce between our two countries.”

“The project marks a milestone in the partnership between Rosneft and ExxonMobil,” said Rosneft President Igor Sechin. “We are now discovering not only new oil fields in the interest of future energy security, but also new depths of our cultural heritage in the interest of mutual understanding and respect.”

It remains unknown, however, if both companies are planning to continue cultural collaboration and sponsor another big exhibition in Russia. This question to Rosneft remains unanswered. But it would be good to know.