Here is a daffy idea to kick around!

Isn't the possibility of a time machine a really cool idea? Wouldn't it be nice to go back to some exciting event of the past and feast our eyes and ears on what really happened? Wouldn't you just salivate at the thought of it? Well, I've got a good candidate for such an outing. It's the 1913 Paris premiere of composer, Igor Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring", a ballet, performed by the Ballets Russes, that exploded into entertainment history. Talk about a magic carpet ride!

I have some friends here at DA who are dancers, but anyone is welcome to join us for this event. We will be leaving just as soon as the machine is invented. You can place your reservation by leaving a COMMENT here before you go and telling me if you are IN!

You won't be sorry either. We will dine at the best restaurants in Paris, stay in a fine hotel, enjoy the sights and sounds of the City. We will go to the first rehearsal of the orchestra, where conductor Pierre Monteux, with Stravinsky at his side, no doubt, led the ensemble with his characteristic dedication and charm. The French orchestras of that day were among the century's best.

We will go to the first performance at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées on May 29, 1913. What will we see? Legends! Myths! The audience itself is a mob ready to make their aesthetic ideas known before the court of world opinion. Stravinsky is nervously puttering about all over the Theatre. Serge Diaghilev, the Russian impresario of the Ballets Russes, was cleverly weighing events as they developed. The great Russian dancer, Vaslav Nijinsky, whose legend was legion, choreographed the work, and had to shout rhythms to the dancers on stage as they could not even hear the orchestra playing. Why not? Because the audience had descended from bickering to fist-fighting right there in the Theatre during the performance, and, later, outside on the street. The Paris police restored order during the intermission. Until then, it was a Battle Royale, a legendary brawl, between those who wanted a new, way-out musical experience, and the more traditional folk, who were also street fighters. In little more than a year, the world would take a plunge into the chasm that was WW1, and everything would be on hold until the Flapper Era began.

See what I mean? That's been the scuttlebutt on this event for many years now, even though they now say that Diaghilev may have staged the fracas to gain publicity. For any true Culture Vulture, this has to be the yum-yum you can't pass up!

So, Act now!
Join our Time-Travel group!
It will be a blast!
Leave a comment and make your reservation.
We'll worry about money later! OK? OK! Deal!