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The ballet that incited a riot - Iseult Gillespie

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Ballet is typically thought of as harmonious, graceful and polished— hardly something that would trigger a riot. But at the first performance of Igor Stravinsky's “The Rite of Spring,” audience members were so outraged that they drowned out the orchestra. People hurled objects at the stage, started fights and were arrested. What caused this shocking reaction? Iseult Gillespie explains the controversy.

In what ways did Vaslav Nijinsky’s choreography for the first production break from the traditional features of ballet?

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Meet The Creators

  • Educator Iseult Gillespie
  • Director WOW-HOW Studio
  • Narrator Susan Zimmerman
  • Storyboard Artist Sasha Dudka, Denis Bousygin
  • Character Designer Denis Bousygin
  • Illustrator Victor Zhuravliov, Nikita Bondarenko, Anastasiia Krakhmal
  • Animator Victor Zhuravliov, Nikita Bondarenko, Alex Bohdan
  • Art Director Marianna Murashko
  • Producer Anna Dolzhenko
  • Sound Designer Jarrett Farkas
  • Director of Production Gerta Xhelo
  • Editorial Producer Alex Rosenthal
  • Associate Producer Bethany Cutmore-Scott
  • Associate Editorial Producer Dan Kwartler
  • Fact-Checker Francisco Diez

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