Le Spectre de la rose is a ballet choreographed by Michel Fokine and was first premiered in 1911 in Monte Carlo by the Diaghilev’s Ballet Russe. The ballet portrays a story of a woman who brough home a rose from a ball. While asleep, she dreams of dancing with the spirit of the rose. Unfortunately, the spirit disappears into the window and she suddenly awakes. This scene is based on lines from a poem by Theophile Gautier:
Open up your sleeping eyes
that are brushed lightly by a virginal dream
I am the spectre of a rose
you wore last night at a ball.
Le Spectre de la Rose was given over 120 performances during the three Ballets Russes tours and seen in every Australian city visited by the companies. Choreographer Angelin Preljocaj perceives the contemporary reading of Le Spectre de la Rose as psychosexual drama. In the Hommage aux Ballets Russes production, the von Weber music was interrupted periodically by a contemporary soundscape. Another contemporary piece was also inspired by Le Spectre de la Rose and was entitled Rose Spirit, presented by West Australian Ballet in 1999. The choreographer, Ted Brandsen, sees the original Spectre as “really a showcase for the male dancer.’ In the Rose Spirit, he ‘’wanted to look at this piece more through today’s eyes – to have the male and female parts be equally demanding and to add a touch of humor to the wonderful Weber waltz’.
