Balett

Rolf de Maré is the Swede who meant the most for international modern art and dance. He founded the Swedish Ballet in Paris in the 1920s, was one of the first who collected modern artists such as Picasso, made research trips throughout the world and founded the Dance Museum in Stockholm. But Rolf also lived an exciting life. He loved fast cars, bullfights, beautiful men and elegant parties. And he never denied his homosexuality and this at a time when it was forbidden by law. Rolf de Maré made a unique contribution by filming and documenting dance cultures, especially in Indonesia, which has then disappeared. He ran variety shows and launched superstars like Josephine Baker, founded the world's first magazine for men's fashion, Monsieur, and ran for many years a coffee farm in Africa. He opened the Dance Museum 1952 in Stockholm, the world's first and only museum of dance. He died in 1964 in Barcelona. His great fortune he bequeathed to the Museum of Dance and the main works of his art collection he donated to The Modern Museum in Stockholm.

The book is written by Erik Näslund, author, critic, researcher and for many years the director of the Dance Museum in Stockholm. He has also received great acclaim for his biographies of Birgit Cullberg, Nils Dardel, Carina Ari and Carl Milles.

Jag avundas målarna. Deras verk är oändliga. Verken bär sitt eget liv inom sig, oberoende av deras skapare. En dans lever ganska kort. Lika kort som dansören själv.

Jean Börlin

I efterkrigstidens 1920-tal blomstrade nya idéer och en kreativ experimentlusta väcktes till liv. Ett nytt avantgarde tog form. I dess epicentrum fanns en nyskapande danstrupp med en radikal och utmanande repertoar som inte drog sig för att provocera sin publik, de kallade sig Svenska Baletten (Ballets Suédois). Dess ledare var det excentriska paret Rolf de Maré och Jean Börlin, men medskaparna var många. Svenska Baletten var inget danskompani i vanlig mening, deras skapelser var mer än bara koreografi, de var allkonstverk. Förutom de unga dansarna i kompaniet, samarbetade man med konstnärer som Nils Dardel, Francis Picabia och Fernand Léger och kompositörer som Erik Satie, Hugo Alvén och Darius Milhaud, för att nämna några.

Med multimediala verk som Bröllopet på Eiffeltornet (Les Mariés de la Tour Eiffel), Iberia, Människan och hennes åtrå (L Homme et son désir) och Världens skapelse (Le Création du monde), där musiken, scendekoren, koreografin, dräkterna, framförandet och ibland till och med publiken var en del av skapelsen, intog de scener runt om i Europa och USA mellan 1920 och 1925.

I tio kapitel författade av konstvetare, danshistoriker, musikvetare, teaterforskare och koreografer berättas historien om Svenska Baletten: Genom striderna med Stockholmsoperan, skandalerna och det illvilliga skvallret i pressen. Genom konstsamlingarna och målningarna som inspirerade och inspirerades. Genom den historiska synen på den manliga kroppen. Genom de kvinnliga dansarnas äventyr. Genom kärlek, vänskap, konflikter och tragedier. Genom ekonomiska bekymmer och konkurrensen med Ryska Baletten. Genom Paris, Stockholm och Köpenhamn. Genom experimentella musikaliska kompositioner och dess betydelse för kompositörer som John Cage. Genom extravaganta och innovativa haute couture-kostymer. Genom arvet som de lämnat efter sig till nya generationer dansare och genom ett återuppförande av deras dadaistiska verk Relâche. Svenska Baletten var före sin tid på många plan.

Svenska Baletten var queer långt innan queer blev ett begrepp inom genusforskningen. Svenska Baletten skapade performancekonst långt innan Fluxusrörelsen introducerade det för konstvärlden på 1960-talet. Den här boken lyfter fram deras betydelse för modernismen såväl som för efterkommande generationers konstnärer, kompositörer, koreografer, dansare, modeskapare och forskare. Det blev som Börlin önskade, Svenska Baletten lever vidare, den är oändlig.

I envy the painters. Their art is eternal. The work carries its own life within, independent of its creator. A dance lives rather short. As short as the dancer himself. Jean Börlin

In the post-war 1920s, new ideas were blossoming and a creative experimental appetite was awakening. A new avant-garde took form. At its epicentre was an unconventional dance troupe with a politically charged repertoire that did not hesitate to provoke its audience: they went by the name Ballets Suédois. The eccentric couple Rolf de Maré and Jean Börlin were its leaders, but the co-creators were many. Ballets Suédois was not an ordinary dance company, their creations were more than plain choreography, they were total artworks. Aside from the young dancers in the company, they had collaborations with artists such as Nils Dardel, Francis Picabia and Fernand Léger, and composers like Erik Satie, Hugo Alvén and Darius Milhaud, to name but a few.

With multi-media works such as Les Mariés de la Tour Eiffel (The Wedding on the Eiffel Tower), Iberia, and L Homme et son désir (Man and his Desire), where the music, stage décor, choreography, costumes, performance, and at times even the audience, were part of the creation, they took over stages around Europe and the USA between 1920 and 1925.

In ten chapters written by art history professors, dance historians, music historians, theatre scholars and choreographers, the story about Ballets Suédois is told: Through the feuds with the Stockholm Opera, the scandals and the vicious gossip in the press. Through the art collections and painters that inspired and were inspired. Through historical views on the male body. Through the adventures of the female dancers. Through love, friendship, conflict and tragedy. Through financial troubles and the fierce competition with Ballets Russes. Through Paris, Stockholm and Copenhagen. Through experimental musical compositions and their influence on composers such as John Cage. Through the innovative and extravagant haute-couture costumes. Through the legacy they left behind for new generations of dancers and through a re-enactment of their Dadaistic piece Relâche.

Ballets Suédois were ahead of their times in many regards. Ballets Suédois were queer long before it was a notion in gender and LBTQ research. Ballets Suédois created performance art long before the Fluxus movement introduced it to the art world in the 1960s. This book highlights their importance for modernism as well as following generations of artists, composers, choreographers, dancers, fashion designers and scholars.

Börlin s wish came true: Ballets Suédois lives on, it is eternal.