Les Biches, Bronislava Nijinska’s Parody on 1920s Sexual Mores
Les Biches (The House Party) explored the sexual mores of the 1920s with a candor never before seen on a ballet stage. The flamboyant cast of characters included gigolos, a hostess, and a pair of sapphists, who probed a multitude of forbidden themes such as castration, narcissism, and voyeurism. (Les Biches: music by Francis Poulenc; sets, costumes, and curtain by Marie Laurencin; choreography by Bronislava Nijinska; premiere on January 6, 1924, Théâtre de Monte-Carlo, Monte Carlo.)
<em>Les Biches</em> (The House Party) explored the sexual mores of the 1920s with a candor never before seen on a ballet stage. The flamboyant cast of characters included gigolos, a hostess, and a pair of sapphists, who probed a multitude of forbidden themes such as castration, narcissism, and voyeurism. (<em>Les Biches</em>: music by Francis Poulenc; sets, costumes, and curtain by Marie Laurencin; choreography by Bronislava Nijinska; premiere on January 6, 1924, Théâtre de Monte-Carlo, Monte Carlo.)