POLOVTSIAN DANCES
Second act ballet fragment of Alexander Borodin’s opera Prince Igor
Choreography by Michael Fokine
Director Andris Liepa
10+
Ballet fragment of Alexander Borodin’s opera “Prince Igor” became an independent and much loved ballet, in the ballet world, almost immediately after its first performance in 1890 at the Mariinsky Theatre.
Mikhael Fokine directed the Polovtsian Dances for Diaghilev’s repertoire in 1909. Here is what he wrote in his memoirs: “Where did my moves come from? I would say from the music. I came with sheet music from Borodin under my arm, and those were my only weapons. No one could bring me down. All the images were clear to me and I believed that even if the Polovtsi dancers didn’t dance like this at all, this was the only way that they could dance to Borodin’s orchestra. Subsequently, very soon, these dances became Diaghilev’s the pride and joy and one of Russian Ballet’s biggest victories.
