A modern production recreating the Ballets Russes premiere performance of Rite of Spring. Nijinsky’s choreography was not so carefully preserved in this case, but modern reconstructions rely on photographs and the reminiscences of the original performers, so it’s probably pretty close. This is the ballet that sparked a riot.
Rudolph Nureyev stars in a re-creation of the original Ballets Russes production. Nijinsky’s choreography for the piece was carefully documented in a series of still photographs, so this production is very authentic.
Vaslav Nijinksy bursts onto the scene as a new kind of ballet dancer for a new kind of ballet, becoming the star of Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. Over a five year period, 1909-1913, these two men would redefine ballet.
Shéhérezade
Composed in 1888 by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Public domain.
Public domain recording. Source.
Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune
Composed in 1894 by Claude Debussy. Public domain.
Performed by the Natalia Ensemble, and used pursuant to a Creative Commons license. Details.
Concerto No. 1 in F-sharp Minor
Composed in 1892 by Sergei Rachmaninoff. Public domain.
Performed by the University of Washington Symphony Orchestra, Neal O’Doan, piano. Recording used pursuant to a Creative Commons license. Details.
In his final years as President, Theodore Roosevelt continues to pursue an aggressive foreign policy, while at home, racial tensions, an earthquake, and a stock market panic roil American politics.
Theodore Roosevelt is re-elected in 1904, breaking the Vice Presidents’ curse. William Howard Taft emerges as Roosevelt’s most trusted advisor and spokesperson, and Roosevelt begins to speak of Taft as his preferred successor. 1906 proves to be Roosevelt’s best year yet, as he gets much of his legislative agenda through Congress.