Fokine

Mikhail Sergeyevich Fokine (1880–1942) was a Russian choreographer and dancer who helped establish modern ballet. Trained at the Imperial Ballet School in Saint Petersburg, he danced with the Mariinsky Theatre before becoming a central figure with Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, where he served as a leading choreographer in the company’s formative years.

Fokine is renowned for pushing a cohesive integration of dance, music, and drama. He argued that choreography should serve the thematic content of the music and story, rather than presenting virtuosic display for its own sake. This approach emphasized expressive movement, concise form, and unified design, contributing to a shift away from 19th-century ballet conventions.

For the Ballets Russes, Fokine created several influential works that helped redefine modern ballet. His notable pieces include The Firebird (1910), Petrouchka (1911), and Le Spectre de la Rose (1911), all of which integrated striking visual design with tightly linked narrative and movement. Earlier in his career, he also choreographed The Dying Swan for Anna Pavlova (1905), a solo piece that showcased his emphasis on expressive storytelling through movement.

In 1912, Fokine departed from the Ballets Russes and continued to choreograph and teach across Europe and the United States. His innovations and insistence on dramaturgically coherent choreography left a lasting impact on modern ballet, influencing generations of choreographers who sought to unify music, movement, and stage presentation. He died in New York City in 1942.