Recognition
Madame
Kechko was justifiably proud of her magnificent
original Russian
ballet, "The Greek Muses".
Not
only was the Ballet itself a form of perfection, Madame
Kechko was precise down the last detail. She was
determined that her dancers would receive
their well-deserved
recognition
in the proper order. Therefore Madame Kechko arranged
an elaborate scheme by which her dancers would depart the
stage.
Madame Kechko took special care that her
dancers would receive applause in the proper order
by scheduling a
special "staggered departure"
of each dancer from the stage.
Order of Departure
First Mme. Kechko arranged the nine women in three groups of three.
Mlle. Babyan and the others were assigned numbers 1 through 9.
Stage
Left would include a Principal Dancer placed between two attendants numbered
1, 2, 3.
Downstage Center would include the premier danseuse in the
role of Terpsichore, placed directly between two attendants numbered 4
and 6.
Stage
Right would include the third principal placed
between two attendants
numbered 7, 8, 9.
Using the diagram below,
please note as you look at the stage from your seat in the audience, Dancer 1
would be the farthest to the left and Dancer 9 would be the farthest
to the right.
The First Curtain Call
All nine women plus their male partners who had performed in the
ballet would participate in the First Curtain Call.
Then the curtain would fall and the nine men would leave the
stage.
The
Important Second Curtain Call
Only the
nine Muses would appear for the Second Curtain Call.
The
Second Curtain Call was very special.
This is where Madame Kechko placed her attention.
Marina and the
other dancers were shown how to leave the stage in a special order.
Mme. Kechko wished to keep tight
control of the rate of departure because
she feared a memorized departure could occur right in the middle of
great enthusiasm and therefore be "premature".
She refused to leave any timing to chance, preferring to
monitor the applause and the rate of departure from the
stage first-hand.
To solve this problem,
the various dancers were instructed to leave the stage two at a time upon
receiving a special verbal cue.
As the applause began to wane, Mme. Kechko was to give a secret
whisper to her dancers.
"Hurry Please!" meant dancer 1 was to depart
through the side exit. Her counterpart Number 9 on the other side of
the stage was to keep her eyes open and leave at the same time.
Dancer Number 2 was instructed to wait for the verbal order "Exit
Now!" with Number 8 awaiting the visual cue.
Dancers 3 and 7 were to
leave next upon hearing "Leave Quickly!" in the same way.
This would leave only the three women in the Downstage Center Group to
receive further applause. Then the curtain
would fall.
The
Potential Third Curtain Call
During her career, Madame Kechko had learned that sometimes the
applause was so powerful that yet a Third Curtain Call was
necessary.
In the event of a Third Curtain call, the Downstage Center Group
was to remain on stage to reappear
upon the rise of the curtain. Then
on Madame Kechko's cue, dancers four and six were instructed to exit on
the words, "Ladies Depart!".
That would leave her
prima ballerina
Terpsichore alone on stage for the
final applause.
Then upon Mme Kechko's signal,
everyone would reappear upon to finish off the evening.
To
Solve the Puzzle
Using the program listings
below to keep track of the nine Muses and their
particular disciplines, complete the program with the first and last
names of each dancer, the role they danced, and their number onstage
during the Second Curtain Call.
