Living predominately through most of the 20th Century, George grew up in a crazy, eventful time, surrounded by significant events, disasters, inventions, advances, and change. George spent half of his life in Russia and the other half in the states, predominately New York City. Growing up as a kid in Russia, George saw such events occur as the Russo-Japanese War of 1904, the Russian Revolution of 1905, which is otherwise known as “Bloody Sunday”, World War I, and the foundation of the NAACP in 1909. On a more lighter side, these were times when man also say the development of plastic, the Boy Scouts foundation formed, and the invention of Corn Flakes!  |
| Bloody Sunday |
Balanchine moved to the States with Mr. Kristien in 1933. In the next handful of years Balanchine would witness the rise of Hitler and the Nazi party with the Hindenburg Disaster taking place in 1937 and The Night of Broken Glass in 1938. In the next year George would see the beginning of World War II.
The Manhattan Project would begin in 1941, which was used as a secret code name for the development of the atomic bomb. This was followed by the by the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. Aside from wars and worldwide conflicts, this was also a time for civil rights and equality for all. The Civil Right Movement was a fast growing topic during this period and we began to see significant/ historical events that would include Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr, JFK, etc.
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| Pearl Harbor |
Towards the end of Balanchine’s life, the world showed no sign of slowing down. In 1977, The Northeast Blackout took place to which New York state and many others would carry on with out power or electricity of 12 hours. In relation, New York City would see yet another blackout in 1977. Also, Vietnam would take place just around the time of George’s death in 1983.
George had much to live through and plenty to witness in his life, both good and bad. Hard to deny that such events wouldn’t have an impact on the person you became and/or the dreams you had.
Jake these times sure were crazy. Do you think that the fact that Balanchine lived in different countries throughout his life gave him a different perspective on the things happening on a global level? Also, do you think that he drew inspiration or was directly affected by these things?
ReplyDeleteOf course I believe it had some kind of effect on his perspective of things. I couldn't see how it wouldn't, but with that said, Balanchine is someone who seemed like a very in the moment, focused, constantly moving forward(in terms of work) individual. He wasn't someone who created pieces that reflected what was going on in the world or how he really felt emotionally by his surroundings. I like to thing of him as someone who, in the darkest day, had this intention of bringing a light out from the dark, through his work. When you look back on a lot of his works, not much of it, if at all, is driven by something that comes from a deep meaningful/emotional place. It's much the opposite.
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