Australia Dancing

Cotillon

Hall, Hugh P.: Tatiana Riabouchinska as the Conductress with artists of the Covent Garden Russian Ballet in 'Cotillon', 1938

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Cotillon was the first example of George Balanchine's choreography to be seen in Australia, opening on 28 November 1936 during the inaugural Melbourne season by the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet. This single-act work had premiered in Monte Carlo four years earlier, during the the Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo's opening season. Boris Kochno wrote the libretto for the piece, and collaborated with Balanchine in selecting pre-existing music by Emmanuel Chabrier and commissioning costumes and decor from Christian Berard. For the Australian premiere, Leon Woizikowsky appeared in the role created on him in 1932 as the Conductor of the Dance (Master of Ceremonies) with his daughter Sonia Woizikowska as the Conductress. The role of the Daughter of the House, originally created on the thirteen-year-old Tamara Toumanova, was performed by Tamara Tchinarova. Cotillon was well received in Australia by audiences and critics alike. It was also performed by the Covent Garden Russian Ballet during their 1938/9 tour, during which Tatiana Riabouchinska danced as the Conductress.

Cotillon (The Dance) is essentially a suite of dances taking place over eight scenes, depicting events taking place during an eighteenth century ball. While a light-hearted mood prevails at a surface level - with guests performing as harlequins, jockeys and Spaniards after receiving hats as party favours - an undercurrent of foreboding pervades the work. The haunting Hand of Fate pas de deux, for example, begins with a black-gloved hand mysteriously appearing from behind a drape to grab the wrist of a Cavalier. Such seemingly surreal elements are interwoven with surface joviality to create a charged atmosphere. Balanchine's choreography, while classically based, incorporated subtle twists, reflecting musical nuances and reinforcing the air of mystery. In the context of the late Diaghilev period, with its strong emphasis on design and mime, the primacy of dance in Cotillon can be viewed as representing a significant shift. Toumanova's technically demanding role, which was performed to great acclaim, drew particular attention to the female dancer. In general, however, it is the extraordinary atmosphere of the work, with its elusive air of doom, that is hailed as Cotillon's most outstanding feature.

The Tulsa Ballet Theatre, under direction of Roman Jasinsky and Moscelyne Larkin, revived the 'Hand of Fate' pas de deux for their company in 1983. The complete work was revived in 1989 by the Joffrey Ballet, with choreography after Balanchine by Millicent Hodson and Kenneth Archer.

Bibliography:

Kathrine Sorley Walker, De Basil's Ballets Russes (London: Hutchinson, 1982) ; Vicente Garcia-Marquez, The Ballets Russes: Colonel de Basil's Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo 1932-1952 (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1990) ; Sarah C Woodcock, 'Cotillon', in Martha Bremser (ed.), International Dictionary of Ballet Vol 1, pp 305-307 (Detroit: St James Press)

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Find more about Cotillon in:

Internet - Google
Articles - New York Public Library Dance Collection
Pictures - Picture Australia