Original rite of Spring choreography by Joffrey Ballet

 Today I am celebrating the Rite of Spring!

The ballet opened in Paris in 1913 during a sweltering hot evening. The music and ballet caused a riot! Stravinsky stood in the wings shouting out counts for the dancers. The original costumes were made of wool and a bit unwieldy for dancing. The dancers must have felt the heat and confusion.

 Here is the Joffrey Ballet replicating the original Njinsky  1913 choreography of the Rite of Spring in 1989.

The playwright, John Howard, my grandfather saw the Rite of Spring ballet in Paris and it influenced his cutting edge expressionist play, Roger Bloomer. He wrote the play while living in Paris. The play was  produced in New York in 1921.