Dance, dance, dance! Today is International Dance Day. The first image is a design by Léon Bakst for a costume for Vaslav Nijinsky as the Rose in Le Spectre de la Rose. The second image shows dancers Nijinsky and Tamara Karsavina in costume for the Ballets Russes production in 1911.
Le Spectre de la rose (The Spirit of the Rose) is a short ballet about a young girl who dreams of dancing with the spirit of a rose, a keepsake from her first ball. Written by Jean-Louis Vaudoyer, the ballet is based on a verse by Théophile Gautier and used the music of Carl Maria von Weber's piano piece Aufforderung zum Tanz(Invitation to the Dance). The Ballets Russes premiered Le Spectre de la rose with Nijinsky as the Rose and Karsavina as the Young Girl in Monte Carlo on April 19, 1911. (from Wikipedia.)
Spectre de la Rose: Costume design for Vaslav Nijinsky as the Rose Bakst, Leon, 1866-1924, Russian [artist]Graphite, watercolor and/or tempera, silver paint and purple glaze on paper Russian Nijinsky, Waslaw, 1890-1950 [subject] 1911 Repository: Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Connecticut, United States 1933.394 HOLLIS number: 8000980706
Vaslav Nijinsky and Tamara Karsavina in Le Spectre de la Rose Roosen, L., French [photographer] French Nijinsky, Waslaw, 1890-1950 [subject] Karsavina, Tamara, 1885-1978, Russian [subject] 1911 HOLLIS number: olvwork432984
