Being Serge Diaghilev

Link copied to clipboard

Published: 24 September, 2010, 12:21

A portrait of Sergei Diaghilev by Valentin Serov

A festival dedicated to one of the key figures in the world of ballet in the 20th Century, Sergey Diaghilev, founder of the legendary Ballets Russes, kicks off in London on Friday.

Over the course of nine days, the Hampstead & Highgate Festival offers a chance to attend over 40 events of different kinds, from classical concerts to jazz gigs, as well as films, exhibitions, discussions and performances, inspired by the “poetry of ballet”, with a Russian twist.

Anna Pavlova in “The Swan”

One of the main highlights of the festival is a large-scale exhibition entitled “Diaghilev and the Golden Age of the Ballets Russes” which opens at the Victoria and Albert Museum on September 25.

Another photographic exhibition reviving Diaghilev’s epoch is held at the Ivy House, the former residence of the renowned Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, one of the leading dancers of the Ballet Russes Company. The display puts the spotlight on one of the brightest lights in history, “The Dying Swan”, as well as another Diaghilev’s prima ballerina Tamara Karsavina, who played a major role in shaping the character of the modern British ballet, having left Russia after the Bolshevik Revolution.

Keeping in mind Diaghilev’s collaboration with the genius composer Igor Stravinsky, the festival’s classical music menu involves, among other attractions, a two-piano performance of Stravinsky’s legendary Rite of Spring score in its original version.

The charismatic impresario, Diaghilev worked with most of the key, foremost artists of his time, including Picasso, Matisse and Chanel. Winner of the Lawrence Olivier Theatre Award, British actor Simon Callow will perform a monologue on the personality of Sergey Diaghilev, “Lightning Conductor”.