The ballet that incited a riot

Dive into the history and controversy of Igor Stravinsky’s ballet, “The Rite of Spring,” which shattered the conventions of classical ballet.

Ballet is typically thought of as harmonious, graceful and polished— hardly something that would trigger a riot. But at the first performance of Igor Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring,” audience members were so outraged that they drowned out the orchestra. People hurled objects at the stage, started fights and were arrested. What caused this shocking reaction? Iseult Gillespie explains the controversy.

Lesson by Iseult Gillespie, directed by WOW-HOW Studio.