Michel Fokine

Michel Fokine (1880–1942) was a Russian-American ballet dancer and choreographer who reshaped ballet through expressive movement and works such as The Firebird and Petrushka.

The Firebird: A 1910 ballet choreographed by Michel Fokine to Igor Stravinsky’s score, drawing on Russian folklore. Its premiere established Fokine and Stravinsky as major voices in the Ballets Russes.
Fokine’s five principles: A set of ballet reform ideas Michel Fokine published in 1914, advocating expressive movement and unity among dance, music, and design. The principles state directly how he wanted choreography to serve each ballet’s subject.
Sergei Diaghilev: A Russian impresario who founded the Ballets Russes and brought its productions to international audiences. Diaghilev hired Fokine as a leading choreographer for the company’s early seasons.
Imperial Ballet School: The St. Petersburg institution that trained dancers for the Russian Imperial Theatres. Fokine studied there before joining the Mariinsky Theatre as a dancer.
George Balanchine: A Georgian-American choreographer who became a central figure in twentieth-century ballet and co-founded New York City Ballet. Balanchine’s early Ballets Russes career followed the company culture Fokine helped establish.
Petrushka: A 1911 ballet by Michel Fokine and Igor Stravinsky about puppets brought to life at a Russian fair. Fokine used stylized gesture and crowded staging to give the puppet drama psychological force.
Ballet mime: A system of conventional gestures used in classical ballet to communicate action and emotion without spoken language. Fokine sought to make gesture expressive rather than rely on stock mime.
Anna Pavlova: A Russian prima ballerina celebrated internationally for her performances of classical and expressive roles. Fokine created The Dying Swan for Pavlova and shaped several roles around her artistry.
Mariinsky Ballet: The ballet company of St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theatre, rooted in the Russian Imperial Ballet. Fokine danced with the company and began developing his choreographic ideas there.
Martha Graham: An American dancer and choreographer who developed a major modern dance technique and repertory. Graham’s dramatic approach to movement belongs to the wider shift toward expressive choreography Fokine advanced.

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