Будущее русского балета: взгляд из начала ХХ века

At the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth many thought that ballet was in crisis. An opposition could be observed between the “old” classical ballet and the “new” ballet, represented in the first place by Michel Fokine and Alexander Gorskii. In books and magazines critics discussed what should happen to Russian ballet in the future. Many of these predictions were later fulfilled. The critics managed to “foresee” the advent of abstract ballet (pioneered by George Balanchine), the epoch of so-called “dramballet”, and the gradual independence of character dance in 1930–1940.