Australia Dancing - Jeux d'enfants

Jeux d'enfants

Photographer unknown: Anton Dolin as the Traveller with Tatiana Riabouchinska as the Child in 'Jeux d'enfants', Covent Garden Russian Ballet , 1939 or 1939

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This one act ballet with choreography by Leonide Massine was premiered by the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in Monte Carlo on 14 April 1932. It was Massine's first work for Colonel de Basil and he set it on Tatiana Riabouchinska as the Child and David Lichine as the Traveller. The ballet follows the activities of toys and games that come to life, and the adventures of a child who, awakened by the noise the toys make, tries to take part in their secret life. The libretto was by Boris Kochno who worked closely with Massine on a variation of a theme that Massine had used before in his Boutique fantasque - that of toys coming to life. Massine avoided using toy-like movements in his choreography for Jeux d'enfants, however, and gave the toys human qualities and choreography based on the balletic vocabulary. In his book A Prejudice for Ballet the British critic A. V. Coton wrote:

Massine had abandoned all reference to the "unnatural" toy movement idiom of Boutique fantasque in composing this work. All the toys and games ... danced perfectly balletic and athletic measures as against the entirely derivative movement idiom of the toys in Boutique fantasque.

Jeux d'enfants was inspired by and adapted to the structure of Bizet's twelve-part suite for four handed piano of 1871, in the composer's orchestration.

The work was designed by Spanish surrealist Joan Miro, although the commission had first been offered to Alberto Giacometti. When Giacometti declined the commission Kochno approached Miro, having seen examples of Miro's work in a Paris exhibition, and having been fascinated by the naive qualities of many of the paintings and collages in the show. Miro designed a front curtain, a series of geometrical shapes and a backcloth to represent the child's nursery, and costumes many of which were unitards, an unusual item of dance clothing for the 1930s. The Child wore a short blue dress, white socks, black pointe shoes with black bows and a red leather bow on her head. The Traveller was dressed in a brown jumpsuit with a scarf and skull cap.

Jeux d'enfants had its first Australian performance in Melbourne on 10 October 1938 on an all Massine program, which also included Choreartium and Scuola di Ballo. At the Australian premiere the Child was danced by Riabouchinska, the Traveller by Anton Dolin. Reviewing the evening for The Herald (Melbourne) Basil Burdett wrote of the work's 'air of fantastic modernity' and singled out Riabouchinska's performance:

Riabouchinska's exquisitely human and delicate child is the outstanding individual performance. She dances with that airy grace of hers ... at the same time building up the character with small, deft touches.

Jeux d'enfants was seen in Australia only in Melbourne and Sydney and was performed around 30 times over two tours, that by the Covent Garden Russian Ballet in 1938-1939 and that by the Original Ballet Russe in 1939-1940. Massine revived the work in 1955 in Buenos Aires.

Bibliography:

Basil Burdett, 'An Evening with Massine', The Herald (Melbourne), 11 October 1938, p. 16; Vicente Garcia-Marquez, The Ballets Russes (New York: Knopf, 1990), pp. 28-37.

Research Materials

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Hall, Hugh P.: Alexandra Denisova as the Top with Tamara Grigorieva and Borislav Runanine as the Spirits in 'Jeux d'enfants', Covent Garden Russian Ballet [1], 1938

Hall, Hugh P.: Alexandra Denisova as the Top with Tamara Grigorieva and Borislav Runanine as the Spirits in 'Jeux d'enfants', Covent Garden Russian Ballet [1], 1938 (Picture): Ballets Russes Australian tours ; Hall, Hugh P.; Location:; Hugh P. Hall collection of photographs, 1939-1940; National Library of Australia; PIC/11102/719 LOC ALBUM 1111/18
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Hall, Hugh P.: Alexandra Denisova as the Top with Tamara Grigorieva and Borislav Runanine as the Spirits in 'Jeux d'enfants', Covent Garden Russian Ballet [2], 1938

Hall, Hugh P.: Alexandra Denisova as the Top with Tamara Grigorieva and Borislav Runanine as the Spirits in 'Jeux d'enfants', Covent Garden Russian Ballet [2], 1938 (Picture): Ballets Russes Australian tours ; Hall, Hugh P.; Location:; Hugh P. Hall collection of photographs, 1939-1940; National Library of Australia; PIC/11102/720 LOC ALBUM 1111/18
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Photographer unknown: Anton Dolin as the Traveller in 'Jeux d'enfants', Covent Garden Russian Ballet [1], 1938 or 1939

Photographer unknown: Anton Dolin as the Traveller in 'Jeux d'enfants', Covent Garden Russian Ballet [1], 1938 or 1939 (Picture): Dolin, Anton ; Ballets Russes Australian tours; Location:; National Library of Australia; PIC P1106/25, Album 888
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Photographer unknown: Anton Dolin as the Traveller in 'Jeux d'enfants', Covent Garden Russian Ballet [2], 1938 or 1939

Photographer unknown: Anton Dolin as the Traveller in 'Jeux d'enfants', Covent Garden Russian Ballet [2], 1938 or 1939 (Picture): Dolin, Anton ; Ballets Russes Australian tours; Location:; National Library of Australia; PIC P1106/28, Album 888
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Pitsch, Wolf: Anton Dolin as the Traveller in Leonide Massine's 'Jeux d'enfants' Covent Garden Russian Ballet, 1938 or 1939

Pitsch, Wolf: Anton Dolin as the Traveller in Leonide Massine's 'Jeux d'enfants' Covent Garden Russian Ballet, 1938 or 1939 (Picture): Massine, Leonide ; Ballets Russes Australian tours ; Dolin, Anton; Location:; National Library of Australia; PIC P1106/26, Album 888
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Hall, Hugh P.: Artists of the Covent Garden Russian Ballet as the Soap Bubbles in 'Jeux d'enfants', 1938

Hall, Hugh P.: Artists of the Covent Garden Russian Ballet as the Soap Bubbles in 'Jeux d'enfants', 1938 (Picture): Hall, Hugh P. ; Ballets Russes Australian tours; Location:; Hugh P. Hall collection of photographs, 1939-1940; National Library of Australia; PIC/11102/727 LOC ALBUM 1111/18
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Hall, Hugh P.: Artists of the Covent Garden Russian Ballet in 'Jeux d'enfants', 1938

Hall, Hugh P.: Artists of the Covent Garden Russian Ballet in 'Jeux d'enfants', 1938 (Picture): Ballets Russes Australian tours ; Hall, Hugh P.; Location:; Hugh P. Hall collection of photographs, 1939-1940; National Library of Australia; PIC/11102/739 LOC ALBUM 1111/18
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Kuehn, Nanette: Borislav Runanine and Tamara Grigorieva as the Spirits in 'Jeux d'enfants', Covent Garden Russian Ballet, 1938 or 1939

Kuehn, Nanette: Borislav Runanine and Tamara Grigorieva as the Spirits in 'Jeux d'enfants', Covent Garden Russian Ballet, 1938 or 1939 (Picture): Is part of: Margaret Walker Dance Archives: Ballets Russes photographs; Ballets Russes Australian tours; Location:; National Library of Australia; MS 8495 Series 23 Folio 2 Album 2 Part 8
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Hall, Hugh P.: Hugh P. Hall collection of photographs, 1938-1940 (Picture): 1182 photographs; b&w; 25 x 20 cm; This is a collection of photographs taken by Hugh P. Hall of 30 ballet productions performed by the Covent Garden Russian Ballet (toured Australia 1938-1939) and the Original Ballet Russe (toured Australia 1939-1940). The photographs were taken from a seat in the circle of His Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne and mounted on cardboard for display purposes. For conservation and storage, the photographs have been demounted. The original arrangement of the photographs has been recorded, and details are available from the Pictures Branch of the National Library. The collection comprises photographs of performances of the following ballets: Les presages; Symphonie fantastique; Les cent baisers; Le coq d'or; Petrouchka; L'apres-midi d'un faune; Cendrillon; The Firebird; Paganini; Francesca da Rimini; Icare; La concurrence; Jeux d'enfants; Graduation Ball; Scuola di ballo; Le Danube bleu; The Prodigal Son; Swan Lake; Le carnaval; Cotillon; Scheherazade; Union Pacific; Les dieux mendiants; Les femmes de bonne humeur; Prince Igor; Les Sylphides; Papillons; Protee; Aurora's Wedding; Le spectre de la rose.; Presages, Les ; Symphonie fantastique ; Cent baisers, Les ; Coq d'or, Le ; Petrouchka ; Apres-midi d'un faune, L' ; Cendrillon ; Firebird, The ; Paganini ; Francesca da Rimini ; Icare ; Concurrence, La ; Graduation Ball ; Scuola di ballo ; Beau Danube, Le ; Prodigal Son, The ; Swan Lake ; Carnaval, Le ; Cotillon ; Scheherazade ; Sylphides, Les ; Union Pacific ; Dieux mendiants, Les ; Femmes de bonne humeur, Les ; Prince Igor ; Papillons ; Protee ; Aurora's Wedding ; Spectre de la rose, Le ; Hall, Hugh P. ; Ballets Russes Australian tours; Location:; National Library of Australia; PIC/11102/1-1182 LOC Album 1111
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Photographic album of Anton Dolin (First album - Australia), 1938-1948

Photographic album of Anton Dolin (First album - Australia), 1938-1948 (Picture): This album of 69 black and white and sepia-toned photographs was assembled by Anton Dolin as a record of a his performances in Australia with the Covent Garden Russian Ballet in 1938-1939. Photographers represented include Hugh P. Hall, Nanette Kuehn, Andre, Spencer Shier and Wolf Pitsch. Works represented are Le lac des cygnes (Swan Lake) Act II, Aurora's Wedding, Le Spectre de la rose, Les Sylphides, Bolero, Symphonie fantastique, Scheherazade, The Firebird, Jeux d'enfants, Protee and The Prodigal Son. (Six photographs are photographic portraits mostly taken by Gordon Anthony in London in 1948.)

Some material from this album features in 'Every picture tells a story', National Library of Australia News, December 2000.; Ballets Russes Australian tours ; Dolin, Anton ; Sylphides, Les ; Scheherazade ; Aurora's Wedding ; Protee ; Prodigal Son, The ; Symphonie fantastique ; Spectre de la rose, Le ; Firebird, The ; Hall, Hugh P. ; Bolero; Location:; National Library of Australia; P1106/1-2, albums 888/1-69; 889
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