Amar Toor believes that the “Rite of Spring” performance was the cause of the riot. From a confused point of view, he tries to break the situation down to see if it was a publicity stunt, a mistake, or an honest attempt to please the viewers with something completely different. As well as being described as “mayhem and chaos,” a fight broke out between two audience factions which eventually turned into vegetables being thrown on the stage. Though it was already confusing determining what exactly was going on in this performance, one thing for sure is that it was NOT a success.  

According to Gleason, the Riot of the “Rite of Spring” never happened. It was actually a myth that was just exaggerated to its fullest potential. The performance was still “shocking to the audience” with its excessively loud music and unpremeditated acoustics where the balcony was, but there wasn’t anybody throwing anything on stage, let alone a fight breaking out. People might’ve felt upset or uneasy but it never got to the point where people were being “physically violent.”  One reason to prove that it never happened was that at the end of the performance, the dancers took five curtain calls and then in the evening there was another ballet. The next performance wouldn’t have been possible if there was a brawl between the factions. 

With all being said, the first time that I listened to it I honestly didn’t mind it. Did I enjoy it? I don’t know. Did I hate it? No. I was captivated by it because of its abnormality especially since it was the polar opposite of what was expected. I am used to these performances being easy going and maybe a little bit of loud every once in a while, but the performance was almost deafening (with respect to it being viewed by a laptop as well.) It was new though and at least was an attempt at something beyond the ordinary which was very much appreciable. If I was a person in the audience that night, I probably would’ve left because I wouldn’t be able to lower the music manually like how I am able to now. But, if the music was lower just a tad bit, I would consider staying.  

1. The author believes that once the music began it caused laughter, however, once the dancing began the audience catcalled so loudly that the performers couldn’t hear the orchestra. Eventually, a fight arose between 2 people in the audience, and then the audience started throwing vegetables and other objects at the stage and orchestra. It’s not certain if police ever arrived at the theatre, but 40 people were forced to leave. Even though all this transpired, the ballet was performed until the end. It’s unclear whether the audience was upset at the choreography or the music composition. 

2. The author says that what actually happened that night was not a riot. They say that since the dancers’ stomping movements were inspired in part by dances in Siberia, etc, the Europeans weren’t used to these “exotic” moves, and the aristocrats laughed because they thought they were supposed to. However, music lovers, critics, etc, were appalled and responded by complaining and insulting the aristocrats. The ballet ignited anger, but the anger was not all directed at the stage. The author uses Tamara Levitz’s “Racism at The Rite,” musicological research, to defend their points. Levitz cites various sources that described the atmosphere as confrontational and impassioned, but not physically violent. There are no mentions of any fights, and much less a riot, in the early stories. Furthermore, another piece of evidence proving there was no riot is that there was another ballet, Carl Maria von Weber’s Le Spectre de la rose, also choreographed by Nijinsky. If the riot was as destructive as portrayed, it would be impossible to perform another ballet after the destruction. 

3. I was confused and scared. Now we have seen scenes of exorcism and the dancing looked just like that. The intense music made me feel uneasy and grossed out. It was creepy. If I was in the audience in 1913, I probably wouldn’t be as scared because there weren’t exorcist scenes to even compare the performance to. I think I would still feel uneasy and really confused.

In “100 years ago today, ‘The Rite of Spring’ incited a riot in a Paris theater” the author does not exactly know what caused the riot at the show, but he knows that it ended in chaos. Angry Parisians threw vegetables at the stage. They didn’t know whether it was the music or the dancing, but the audience was angry. It could have even been a publicity stunt. It started out as a high pitched bassoon solo that had the audience laughing. Soon after the dancers came on, performing violent moves that turned the audience’s laughter into catcalling.  Even though the performance was completed, it went through hell to get there. The author of  “Did Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring incite a riot at its premiere” believes that this riot didn’t even happen. They believe that the assaults were not given directly to the stage, but were given in reviews and journals. They also state how at the end of the performance, the “dancers took five curtain calls”, and another ballet took place after which would not be possible if there was a riot. There were also no reviews that stated there were any physical fights that took place on that night. I thought the performance was chilling. I think she performed the choreography really well, even though it’s a bit strange. If I was in the audience that night I would just take it all in and realize what I am watching is a true piece if art and realize how unique it is. 

In the article “100 years ago today ‘ The Rite of Spring’ incited a riot in Paris theater” the author believes that it began with a bassoon and ended in a brawl. The author believes that during the performance things got so out of hand that people had to be evicted from the audience. Some believe that it could’ve been staged as a stunt to gain attention and some believe that the actual incident was over exaggerated. This incident brought fame to Stravinsky even though it had a lot of negative feedback during its debut. People now celebrate it’s anniversary and instead of attending the performance with hostility they attend it with the means to celebrate it. 

In the second article “ Did Stravisky’s The Rite of Spring incite a riot at its premiere?” talks about how the premiere was expected to be a major cultural event given the talent involved. Instead the audience were given ugly costumes with heavy choreography and harsh music. The audience did not take well to this surprise and booed as well as jeered at the performers. Others defended the artists creating fights all around to make it so that the actual performance was barely heard. Though this is not what the author believed to have actually happened. He points out that people who described their experience mainly came from the seating at the balcony. He believes that the already harsh sounds created at the performance were enhanced even more for people seated at the balcony making it seem worse than it actually was. The dance the performers did were not some that most of the people form the audience were used to seeing. They viewed it as insulting and did not take well to some of the parts that were meant to be seen as humorous. Despite all this, according to people who actually attended the performance, there were no fights or riots. Making it so that people who claimed there were liars.

Unlike the audience I had a little background information on what to expect when first watching the ballet so I wouldn’t say that I was surprised like they were. From my perspective it seems that the performers are displaying the people in a very stereotypical way. I don’t enjoy how they are made to be seen as primitive. If I were to watch this without anyone telling me what it was about, My first thought would never be that it was a ballet. I can see why the audience was surprised. Going to a ballet expecting to see a traditional ballet performance than seeing this would be quite shocking. I think I would be disappointed and angered.

In “100 years ago today, ‘The Rite of Spring’ incited a riot in a Paris theater,” Amar Toor writes about the public’s reaction to the debut of Igor Stravinsky’s ballet. The audience laughed and mocked the ballet from the beginning. When the dancers arrived on stage with unusual costumes and abnormal choreography, the crowd reacted so negatively and loud that the choreographer had to shout the commands from backstage so that the ballerinas could continue. There were two types of people in the audience: traditionalists and modernists. Daniel Waymouth explains that traditionalists were “those wanted things to be tame and ‘pretty’,” while modernists were “eager for something new.” A small fight broke out which concluded with angry audience members throwing vegetables and other objects towards the stage. It has been speculated that this event was a publicity stunt or an operation planned by the traditionalists. This performance led to Stravinky’s international stardom and status as the world’s leading contemporary composer.

In “Did Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring incite a riot at its premiere?” the author argues that the riot didn’t even happen. The only witness accounts of the premiere are from the people that were seated on the balcony. Their environment most likely exaggerated the sounds causing it to be overwhelming. It is unknown whether the audience in other seats experienced the same issue (11). The costumes and the choreography was supposed to represent the primitive aspect of their setting. The stomping were inspired from ethnographic accounts of dances in Serbia. The dance moves were intended as humor when they were danced outside of the actual stage where aristocrats would laugh at them. This was racist and considered disrespectful which caused a lot of outrage from people. However, it’s speculated that only those close them heard and saw these insults. The accounts mention nothing of physical violence or any riots happening. There was another ballet performed right after with the same choreographer (18). Instead of being angry at the premiere, it seems that the audience was more confused. The author uses Tamara Levitz’s essay, “Racism at the Rite” as evidence.

When I first heard “Sacrificial Dance” from “The Rite of Spring,” I felt unnerved. The music would suddenly get loud, causing me to slightly flinch. The dance was also unsettling as there were quick and sharp movements while the arms and the rest of the body would be at weird angles occasionally. If I was in the audience in 1913, I would’ve felt the same way. I would probably be pretty scared because the music would be even louder at the performance. However, I would still silently watch it until the end.

1. The article “100 years ago today, ‘The Rite of Spring’ incited a riot in a Paris theater” speaks upon an event that took place on May 29th 1913. During the debut performance of The Rite of Spring composed by Igor Stravinsky, there was an altercation within the crowd. The author states how the details of the event are scarce and hazy. Many things surrounding this event are left unanswered and leaves us with more questions. However, the author believes that there was actually a riot at this theater in Paris. The author of the article believes that due to the controversial dance moves and sounds of the performance, a verbal dispute occurred which would later turn physical. The show was pure chaos and the ballerinas were unable to hear the commands due to all the commotion. Angry fans would be fighting with each other and launch objects such as vegetables at the performers . What is clear here is that the author believes that this “Riot” was real an actually took place in history.
2. In the article “Did Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring incite a riot at its premiere?” the author talks about the same event of the premiere of “The Rite of Spring. The author states how there were accounts and rumors of there being a riot, verbal and physical fights at this event. However, the author of the article does not think this is what happens. They believe that the people in the audience might have started laughing at the show, and others seeing them laughing would be seen as disrespectful. There were verbal altercations between fans based on their reactions and this was all taken account for in the personal journals and recorded reviews. The author states that there was no physical fights much less a riot. The author believes that there was no riot at all and that “it would not make sense for well cultured people to go into a mob after something so refined as ballet.” So it is clear to see, that the author of this article does not believe that there was a riot in this event.
3. When I first heard/watched this performance, I felt like I was watching something I had never seen before. The performance was very intense and I enjoyed watching the dancers energetic movements. The music or sound of the show reminded me of soundtracks I would hear in horror films. If I was to be in the audience in 1913, I think I would’ve reacted differently. I might’ve felt scared or I would’ve just not liked the performance at all. At that time period, I can see how this performance could make others angry. The presentation was probably unexpected to most people and they might not like the way dances and music was presented.

In Amar Toor’s 100 years ago today, ‘The Rite of Spring’ incited a riot in a Paris theater, they discuss how no one can accurately describe what happened there because there are so many different interpretations, but one thing is for sure: they know that the night ended in chaos. They believed that during the performance, with the ballerinas’ sharp violent movements, the audience began to yell, and it became so chaotic that the ballerinas could not hear the orchestra. After that, the audience began to harass the orchestra by throwing vegetables to them and that’s when the fight began. They weren’t sure if there were cops but it turned into a very chaotic scene with everyone yelling at each other and vegetables being thrown. However, because of this, Stravinsky is known for causing a shift in the music world as we know.   

In Linda’s version, some of the dance moves were a bit exaggerated because of the limited frame the audience could see. Often, the moves were taken from “exotic” people for amusement and the aristocrats that this was the case, so they laughed. But because of the aristocrats’ laughter, critics and musicians found it offensive so they insulted the aristocrats. But that was the most “violent” it ever was. It turns out that there was explosive temper, but the arguments mostly were political, not really about the art. In fact, the riot didn’t happen; the supposed “riot” that occurred was a man sitting behind Carl Van Vechtan beat rhythmically on top of his head. It just so happened that the word riot seemed to paSs on when describing what took place that night  

I honestly thought it was a bit disturbing because I tend to lean towards softer music. I can only imagine what it was like sitting in the audience, in the dark, having this sharp music being played and then dancers following the harsh dance music. Considering the year, I most likely would’ve endured the ballet and then afterwards, never attended another one of Stravinsky’s ballets. 

 “100 years ago today, ‘The Rite of Spring’ incited a riot in a Paris theater”

The premiere of The Rite of Spring by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky is considered one of the most important and violent performances in modern history, as well as one of the most notorious. In this article, the author gives a general account of what happened on the night of May 29, 1913. At the beginning of the ballet, the orchestra plays. But soon after the orchestra began playing, many in the audience laughed at a high-pitched bassoon solo because they thought that was harsh and creepy. The orchestra continued to play, but the jeers became louder and louder, and the audience thought the orchestra’s performance was noisy. Then the dancers came on stage and the noise was at its highest. Because the dancers wear bizarre costumes, the dancers eschewed elegance and fluid movements and dance weird and violent movements. The audience had never seen such a bizarre ballet performance, and the noise of their discontent gradually drowned out the orchestra, so much so that even Igor Stravinsky was forced to stop Shouting backstage. But this has had little effect. The audience was divided into two groups. On one side were those who thought the performance was not art at all, and they mocked and cursed it. On one side, the audience is curious about the avant-garde performance. They were unhappy with the invective, and scuffles broke out between the two factions. The orchestra found themselves drawn into the melee too, everything available thrown at them. 40 people seriously interfered with the performance and were ejected, probably by the police but there was no physical evidence. Despite the chaos, the orchestra continued to play until the end of the performance.

 “Did Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring incite a riot at its premiere?”

In this blog post, the author argues that the riot never happened. There was some audience dissatisfaction but only verbal aggression and no physical altercations as reported. The author believes that the audience’s dissatisfaction comes from two reasons, one is the seat of the audience and the other is because of racism. The author was greatly helped by Dr. Levitz’s article, in which Levitz pointed out that due to the peculiarities of the theater architecture, the sound of the orchestra would reflect off the concrete, and the sound that would bounce back would amplify the music of the band. The sound of the orchestra, which is already harsh, is made even harsher by environmental reflection. Levitz argues that the effect of the theater and the theme of “Rite of Spring” set off a disturbing chain reaction. The second reason was that the actors in The Rite of Spring were dressed in costumes similar to those they had seen exploited people wearing at colonial expositions. Some aristocrats thought this was pleasing to them, so they laughed at the performance onstage. Some people were shocked by the unreasonable behavior of the nobles, so they responded by complaining and insulting the nobles. And so the conflict began.

In today’s world, various types of ballets/performances are very common. So when I first listened to this ballet, I didn’t think it was noisy, I didn’t think like people in the last century. On the contrary, I would be curious to see what kind of story the ballet would tell and look forward to its development. If I were in the audience in 1913, and I had not heard anything like The Rite of Spring, I would have been shocked, shocked that there was such a unique way of performing it, and would not have laughed at it as much as the audience did.

summary and opinion.

in the first article,100 years ago today, ‘The Rite of Spring’ incited a riot in a Paris theater”, The Paris premiere of Igor Stravinsky’s 1913 ballet The Rite of Spring was proven to be violence at the end of the show. the performance was regarded as a seminal work of modernism, which means that it ignore the rules of harmony, and comfort. the article made claim that people storm the staged, and after the performance was allowed to finished to the end. this article proved that there was a riot at the event.

in the second article “Did Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring incite a riot at its premiere?” The Paris premiere of Igor Stravinsky’s 1913 ballet The Rite of Spring was not proven to be riot at the end of the show depict the performance been seen to be harsh and unlike anything the audience was expecting. the article said “the costumes were ugly, the choreography heavy, and the music harsh”.while some booed the performance, some people defend the artistic integrity of the ballet without insult. the article claim the two opposing sides had result in the riot. but untruth, the article proved that the riot is a myth because none of the riot actually take place. the article claim that the myth of riot persist because of huge game of telephone that was passed down decades to decades.

to me, this ballet was too extremely scary. according to the guidelines of ballet at the time period, I won’t be happy if someone came to perform halloween-looking ballet. depict my ego being unconfortable, I would still try to enjoy the show without provoking any form of violence.

In the first article “100 years ago today, ‘The Rite of Spring’ incited a riot in a Paris theater”, the author says that the jeers and derision from the people in the audience was so loud that they had to shout the commands for the dancers from backstage. Then a scuffle broke out in the audience resulting in the orchestra being sieged and vegetables being hurled on stage. The production was continued after 40 people were reportedly ejected from the audience.  There were a lot of people split between keeping things traditional and embracing modernity. From the second article “Did Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring incite a riot at its premiere?”, the author says that the acoustics of the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées exaggerated the sounds of the ballet which overwhelmed some people. Some of the audience had a limited frame of reference to ballets so once they saw the performance they responded by laughing as they thought it was meant to be humorous. The music lovers/ musicians and critics were insulted by this so they complained about the aristocrats. But there were no accounts of any riots or fights. Instead the myth of the riots occurred to challenge the stereotype that classical music as boring, to see high society people becoming a mob over ballet gets a lot of attention. This author uses a firsthand account from 1915 to discuss what actually happened at the event as the only physical altercation that occurred was a man hitting the person on front of him on the head to the rhythm of the music. The author also uses musicological research from Tamara Levitz’s “Racism at The Rite”  to discuss the acoustics issue. If I was in the audience when this first premiered, I would’ve done the same thing as the aristocrats and laughed. In class, even though I knew how diverse the range of music can be, I still laughed when I saw this performance because it caught me off guard. Despite my initial reaction of laughter, after discussing this ballet and watching it through I could say now that it’s a very interesting performance.