Diaghilev Festival

Martin and I went to Groningen (north Holland) last weekend to go to the Diaghilev Festival – saw the Joffrey Ballet and the Kirov Ballet. The productions were all recreations, as far as possible of the original Ballet Russe performances. L’Apres Midi du’un Faune was wonderful to see – the Nijinsky choreography was influenced by Egyptian friezes, and the movements were highly stylized and as two-dimensional as possible. The Kirov did L’Oiseau du Feu – which was spectacular to see, but it was like a pantomime – I half expected the audience to boo the evil wizard and cheer the firebird.