Who’s Leading the Dance? Inter-Artistic Collaborations and Collisions in the Ballets Ruses and Beyond
Theatre Department lecture by Lynda Paul, Ph.D., Yale University
Candidate for Assistant Professor in Theatre
The Ballets Russes (1909-1929) brought together some of modernist Europe’s most consequential choreographers (Fokine, Nijinsky, Balanchine), most influential composers (Debussy, Stravinsky), most renowned visual artists (Picasso, Matisse, Braque), most cutting-edge fashion designers (Chanel), and most innovative writers (Cocteau). How and why did this company—and, with it, ballet in general—become such an important site for the intersection of so many diverse artists and forms of art? What can the answers to these questions tell us about the process of inter-artistic collaboration in theatre more generally? This talk investigates these complex questions, examining some of the company’s most iconic works, such as Afternoon of a Faun and The Rite of Spring
Lynda Paul is a multidisciplinary theatre artist, scholar, and teacher. Recent directing credits include Christopher Chen’s Caught and Leonard Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti, and recent dramaturgical work includes Yale Repertory Theatre’s productions of Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins and Shakespeare’s Cymbeline. Lynda has been seen onstage as an actor, classical vocalist, bassoonist, and saxophonist at Yale Cabaret, and her writing has appeared most recently in Theatre Development Fund’s Stages magazine. She has also taught several courses at Yale, including new interdisciplinary seminars she created on the topics of the Ballets Russes, Alternate Realities, Disney, and Cabaret. She holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music, the University of Rochester, the University of Chicago, and Yale, where she received distinction on her Ph.D. dissertation analyzing the role of music, performance, and technology in Cirque du Soleil’s Las Vegas productions, a study she is currently preparing for publication as a book. She is now completing the M.F.A. in Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism at Yale School of Drama.
- Sponsored by:
- Theatre
Contact Organizer
Zz Kearns, Sarah
skearns@middlebury.edu
5601