The Rite of Spring The Rite of Spring The Rite of Spring (; ) is a ballet and orchestral concert work by Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1913 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes company; the original choreography was by Vaslav Nijinsky with stage designs and costumes by Nicholas Roerich. When first performed at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées on 29 May 1913, the avant-garde nature of the music and choreography caused a sensation. Many have called the first-night reaction a "riot" or "near-riot," though this wording did not come about until reviews of later performances in 1924, over a
Picasso and the Ballets Russes Picasso and the Ballets Russes Pablo Picasso and the Ballets Russes collaborated on several productions. Pablo Picasso's Cubist sets and costumes were used by Sergei Diaghilev in the Ballets Russes's "Parade" (1917, choreography: Léonide Massine), "Le Tricorne" ("The Three-Cornered Hat") (1919, choreography: Massine), "Pulcinella" (1920, choreographer: Massine), and "Cuadro Flamenco" (1921, choreography: Spanish folk dancers). Picasso also drew a sketch with pen on paper of "La Boutique fantasque" ("La course"), (1919, choreography: Massine). and designed the drop curtain for "Le Train Bleu" (1924, choreography: Bronislava Nijinska), based on his painting, "Two Women Running on the Beach" ("The Race"), 1922. The