I've been watching some beautiful clips on YouTube of Yvette Chauvire coaching Monique Loudieres and Marie-Claude Pietragalla in the ballets of Serge Lifar- "Les Mirages", "Les Deux Pigeons", and "Nauteos". It's such interesting and spicy choreography- very different from Balanchine, Ashton or Tudor- and I would love to see more of it.

I know that the Paris Opera performs his work from time to time- indeed, "Suite en Blanc" is programmed for next season- and since they are my favorite company, I might have to plan a trip! But why isn't Lifar's work performed by American companies? Were his ballets ever performed in America or has he fallen out of favor recently?

I don't think he has ever been "in favor" in the US...Many years ago I saw "Les Mirages" and "Suite En Blanc" and I felt at the time that the only redeeming feature was the performance of Chauvire; but, then, this comes from a Balanchine devotee.

I really believe that Lifar's reputation in America was poisoned by his remaining in Paris during the Nazi occupation. The French themselves managed a kind of ambivalence (Free French paratroopers called their jump suits "sergelifars") about him, but Americans, in our Manichean way, saw him as a full-blown collaborator, so he didn't get a lot of play here.

The Australian Ballet also includes Suite en blanc in their repertoire, could it be anything to do with politics, as part of the Ballet Russe, was stranded in Australia in the second world war. And Lifar had strong connections with both the original and break off companies.

However none of this should detract from the piece itself, it is a genius of brilliant choreography, and when danced with precision which can only be obtained by in depth rehearsal and great musicality, to give the outstanding Lalo score( music from Namouna) it's true effect, it is a wonder to behold. Both stylish, but also lyrical and romantic in the first Pas de deux. To see part of the ballet it is on 40 years of the Australian Ballet DVD.. I do not know if there is a POB DVD, there was, but I believe it was only a excerp and sold out. It would be well worth going to see when it is on in Paris.

Actually, Lifar's work are not performed often in Paris either- "Suite en blanc" and "Les mirages" were performed two seasons ago, but before that there had been many years without any Lifar performance (except from time to time by the POB school), and I'm afraid many of his works are falling into oblivion, as most of the dancers who performed it are getting very old or passed away :-(

The reasons for this lack of programming in Paris are not very clear (cygneblanc, what do you think about it ?) It seems that Brigitte Lefèvre is not a fan of Lifar (more generally, she is mostly interested in modern dance works, and not especially interested in 20th century classical repertory...), and some of Lifar's works probably look quite dated because of the sets and costumes. There might also have been some copyright or coaching issues (but I'm not sure about it)... Also I think that in the US, the audience was so used to Balanchine's aesthetics that Lifar's works probably couldn't have been well received.

Well, I'm afraid that the reasons related to the lack of programming in Paris will always be dark, but it has definitively something to do with POB's current AD tastes and with the "politicaly correct" ideology, too.

What's curious is a that lot of variations extracted of Lifar's works are performed during the annual competition.

As for the performing of Lifar's works by american compagnies, I can only agree with Estelle on the aesthetical point.

I think there would be definitively some problems with the copyrights issues. If I remember well, there is only one claimant, not that young, living in Switzerland. I don't know what's her mind on the subject.

Although I don't know for certain, I suspect his widow wouldn't throw up too many barriers to performance. A few years ago she began donating a number of his personal effects to the Theatre Museum in Kiev, and I suspect she hoped that the troupe of the National Opera there would begin performing his works. However, it sticks to full-length warhorses and rarely presents mixed bills. They did perform his staging of Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet, but I don't think that there have been any further acquisitions. The National Opera of Ukraine contents itself with an annual competition/festival that bears his name and coincides with his birthday in April, but which doesn't actually involve the performance of his ballets.