June 9
We began the day with a lecture on the Ballets Russes dance company. Working in Paris at the beginning of the 20th century, this company and its groundbreaking art serve as an avenue to explore themes of modernity. Under the guidance of impresario Serge Diaghilev, choreographer Vaslav Nijinsky and composer Igor Stravinsky developed “Le Sacre du Printemps,” a controversial and revolutionary collaboration. The Ballets Russes attracted artists from every art form: Matisse, Picasso, and Roerich designed costumes and Stravinsky composed seminal music scores, among others.
In the afternoon we toured l'Hôtel de Ville, Paris’ beautiful City Hall. Hotel de Ville sits in the center of Paris, and at night is one of the most glorious sites on the Seine. The building was designed and decorated in the 1870s when the style of the bourgeoisie was ornate, gold and opulent. Seeing this style of architecture and design allowed us to better understand the type of aesthetic that was in fashion when the modern architects, dancers and visual artists made such radical shifts away from these types of
spaces and designs.
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