Relâche

‘Ballet instantanéiste’ in two acts by Satie to a scenario by Picabia (1924, Paris).

Dadaist dance event, defined in full as an instantaneous ballet in two acts, a cinematographic entr'acte and a queue de chien, with choreography by Börlin, music by Satie, libretto and design by Picabia, and film by René Clair. Premiered 4 Dec. 1924 by Les Ballets Suédois at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées with Bonsdorff, Börlin, and K. Smith. The title of this Dadaist ballet means ‘cancelled performance’, and at its premiere it achieved its desired aim—to scandalize the bourgeois press. Its cast features a fireman and nine men in their underwear, the choreography contains no recognizable classical dance; the design consists of rows of headlamps which brighten and dim, and the music features the sound of motor cars. Among the work's apparently random sequence of events is a tableau of two artists (originally Man Ray and Marcel Duchamp) playing chess, and a mock funeral (of Börlin) which turns into a chase when the hearse runs away. Between the acts Clair's film Entr'acte is screened—the first to be used in a ballet. It was revived by Moses Pendleton for Joffrey Ballet in 1980.

Relâche is French for "cancellation", "theater dark", or "no performance today".

• Relâche (ballet) music by Erik Satie (1924)
• Relâche (musical group), an American contemporary classical music ensemble from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)