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Abstract:

“Ballet of Three Lovebirds” consists of a schematic drawing of the scene divided into nine numbered cells, and the text which is a precise instruction of a zigzag moving from one cell to another. The article spotlights the interpretation of this “Ballet” as a mathematical formula unfolded in a stage space (D.V. Tokarev), and as a “whole text, dedicated to the experiments with the serialism” (M.B. Yampolsky). The “Ballet” is viewed as a scenario for a series of mass events (V.N. Sajine), but could also considered as a ballet master’s detailed explication (S.V. Naborshchikova). This hypothesis was confirmed with the help of choreography practice and documents, including Michel Fokine’s. At the same time, the “Ballet” is a text with distinctive musical qualities: remark “Music”, with which the “Ballet” starts, in a certain way marks the qualities of this “Ballet” as a literary work.