Rite of Spring, an Analysis Using Muted Group Theory & Communication Management Theory

Alexandra Rigby
Slippery Rock University

Laura B. Delind, author of the book Experience Forms: Their Cultural and
Individual Place and Function, writes, ...when bodily behavior is no longer initially
separated from language, or dance from other cultural activities, we can begin to investigate what
they actually are (Delind, 266). It was this statement that acted as the catalyst for my research
into the Rite of Spring debut in 1913. The Rite of Spring caused many spectators to feel
dissonant and uncomfortable because of the way they interpreted the communication within it. It
is clear that Coordination Management of Meaning Theory, or CMM is applicable. In addition, I
found that that application of Muted Group Theory (MGT) and the theory of Group Think are
valid, depending on the perspective of analysis. The following pages will illustrate a description
of the premier of the Rite of Spring, a description of each of the aforementioned theories,
complete with an analysis and application, and finally, the following pages will examine the
strengths and weaknesses of this event in regards to the communication theory analysis.
The Rite of Spring is a ballet that was generated during a time when the public was in
love with opulent set designs, consonant music, and traditional ballet technique. The music for
the ballet was composed by Igor Stravinsky, choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky, had set design
by Nikolai Roerich, and was commissioned for the infamous Ballet Russe by Sergei Diaghilev.
The ballet itself was two acts long and is a demonstration of terror for a cultural group that
participates in pagan rituals for the purpose of land fertility. There are multiple scenes in the
ballet where a multitude of generations are shown. Some of the people an observer may see are
as follows: young women, elders, a sage, and a divine being. Among the young women, one is

chosen to be the chosen one for sacrifice. The cast consists of mostly women and has an
underlying theme of feminism and silencing.The choreography within this work consists of a lot
of stomping and jumping with an inversion of the feet, which is atypical of ballet technique. In
addition, the music for this had an atypical structure with no counts, down beats, or underlying
melodies. When the public saw this ballet premier on May 29, 1913 they immediately broke into
shouting and rioting both in the theatre and the streets. PBS describes the event as follows:

As the lights came up on the first tableau of dancers, people began yelling, and a wilder
and wilder shouting match began. It became difficult to hear the music.

As he heard the roar of the audience begin to build, Stravinsky panicked and ran backstage to
intervene. By the time he reached the wings, things were in complete chaos. But the performance
continued. Diaghilev may have expected there would be some kind of ruckus at the performance.
Unbeknownst to Stravinsky and Nijinsky, he had instructed the conductor, Pierre Monteux, to
keep going no matter what happened. Stravinsky had taken the orchestra, which was associated
with high society and culture, and brought it to this carnal, bestial, earthy level. The audience
was making so much noise that the dancers could not hear the music and stay in sync. So
Nijinsky climbed on a chair and leaned out so far into the set that Stravinsky had to grab him by
his coattails to keep him from falling over. Amidst the huge racket of the orchestra and the crowd
and the pounding of the dancers feet, Nijinsky was there yelling out the numbers: 19, 20, 21, 22
(PBS, Stravinskys).
It is clear that the intended message was not communicated to the audience. There was
something that made them manage the information being presented to them in a way that sent
them into a complete and total frenzy. This solidifies the idea that dance is a true form of
nonverbal communication and can be subject to communication theory analysis.

The theories of communication that work the best with this event are Coordination
Management of Meaning, Group Think, and Muted Group Theory. However, it should be noted
that to use each of the previously mentioned theories, the perspective of analysis must change.
The Coordination Management of Meaning Theory is the focus on ones self and how the self
relates to others. It is this relationship that aids in the way an individual assigns meaning to
communication. This can also be an indicator of an individuals relationship to society. The theory
also assumes that the human being can create and interpret meaning, live in communication, cocreate a social reality, and that the informational transactions depend on personal and
interpersonal meaning (text). One thing the theory talks about that is important to understand is
the idea of life scripts, which the text defines as clusters of past or present episodes that create a
system of manageable meanings with others (text).
Group Think is defined as a way of deliberating that group members use when
heir desire for unanimity overrides their motivation to asses all available plans of action (text).
Group Think also talks about how groups of people want to attain a level of group harmony. The
last important concept within Group Think is the idea of homogeneity, which is the idea of
groups being similar (text).
Muted Group Theory originated with social anthropologists whose primary concerns
were the societal social structure and hierarchy(text). The main focus of the theory is with muted
groups and dominant groups. The theory associates with three assumptions that are:
1.

Women perceive the world differently than men because of womens and mens different
experiences and activities rooted in the division of labor(text).

2.

Because of their political dominance, mens system of perception is dominant, impending

the free expression of womens alternative models of the world (text)

3.

In order to participate in society, women must transform their own models in terms of the
received male system of expression (text).

Other important things within the Muted Group Theory are the idea of gender polarization, or
viewing men and women as complete opposites, the process of silencing, and the ideas of ritual,
ridicule, and control. The process of silencing is accomplished through a social understanding of
who holds the power in a society. The concept of ritual are the things that a person would expect
from certain groups. An example the text uses is the marriage ceremony and women taking the
last name of the man. Ridicule is when a member of the dominant group trivializes the speech of
a member of the muted group. Sometimes, this trivialization is referred to as gossip. Finally, the
idea of control is that which the dominate group makes most of the decisions about the muted
group (text).
When analyzing the Rite of Spring through the Coordination Management of
Meaning lens, a few things are brought to light. The perspective is from that of an audience
member, since the cast of the ballet have had the meaning conveyed to them. The spectators of
the Rite of Spring immediately broke out into a riot because what they heard and viewed was
not what they were expecting. The meaning that they got was that the ballet was barbaric and
that the dancing what immoral and wrong. Ronald Arnett, the author of Philosophy of
Communication as Carrier of Meaning : Adieu to W. Barnett Pearce describes the
reaction of the public in the following way, A provincial conception of conflict morphs into
interpersonal violence, a war between and among interlocutors (Arnett, 4). What he says shows

the internal conflict that the audience members were experiencing. Referring back to the
assumptions that were previously mentioned, the idea that humans co-create social reality shows
that because they wished and were used to having a harmonious life with traditional ballet, the
implementation of the avangard style that the Rite of Spring challenges, forced their
perceptions of reality to become twisted and confused. It is because of this that they could not
coordinate any kind of meaning and felt that the only way to cope with what was happening was
to riot. According to Anya Peterson Royce, author of Anthropology of the Performing
Arts, after Nijinsky released the Rite of Spring he learned that to make radical changes to
what the public expects, it has to be done in a codified way that the audience will be able to
understand (Royce, 94). This proves that even he fell subject to the ramifications of CMM. Even
though he was on the other side, he had to try to understand what the audience did not
understand to cater to them in a more effective fashion. Not only that but, because the music
style was harsh western ears the themes of the dance may not have been received properly.
Bogumil Jewsiewicki, a writer theorizing dance history, probes at the idea of themes not reaching
the western audience because they were not customers of the type of ballet being shown
(Jewsiewicki, 160).
It was this conduct that leads itself to the idea of Group Think. It is interesting because
every audience member immediately decided to partake in the riot and the mayhem. It was
almost like each individual audience member was on the same cognitive wavelength. One thing
that Group Think tries to accomplish is having harmony within the group. This harmony was
achieved when everyone in the theatre began to riot on May 29, 1913. Additionally, the idea of
homogeneity is crucial when discussing the ideals within Group Think. The sheer fact that there
was not a single audience member who chose not to riot, portrays this perfectly. Although,

typically group think is thought of as within small groups or organizations, this event explicitly
shows that the power of this theory can expand to a group of strangers who all want the same
thing.
Finally, Muted Group Theory is extremely relevant to the premier of Rite of Spring.
The first way that proves this true is the idea that men are the dominate group and women are the
minority. It is the idea that the choreography was written and created on the basis on the
traditional roles of men and women, and is a dialogue of the sexes (Banes, 102-3). There is an
underlying theme that the women see the world differently than men. An example of this is what
Sally Banes, author of the book Dancing Women: Female Bodies on Stage, talks about
the theory that when one of the women finally dances herself to death for the sacrifice. Banes
suggests that the sacrifice is symbolic of the pagan gods orgasm. The women in the ballet see
her last breath, while the men in the ballet are seeing that the sacrifice was for the purpose of
sexual release (Banes, 104). Additionally, there is a clear example that describes how women are
primitive to men. Banes suggests that there are political and social issues being brought to light.
Because women were beginning to fight for social and political rights in both Europe and
America, within the ballet was the idea that the sole purpose of women was to re-fertilize the
earth. This is a way for the men to assert their dominance over women, nonverbally, in the form
of a ballet (Banes, 104). An article written by Julia T. Wood talks about the idea that the power
of naming is associated with Muted Group Theory (Wood, 63). This holds true within the Rite
of Spring because the naming is done by the elders in the ballet, who happen to be male. These
males are the ones who name the women, put them in their particular roles, and chose one to
sacrifice to the gods. Finally, according to the book, The Routledge Dance Studies
Reader, the reason that the theatre rioted during the premier of Rite of Spring was that the

choreography was so incredibly masculine that it sent people into a frenzy (Burt, 228). Overall,
Muted Group Theory is a huge part of this event.
There are clear strengths and weaknesses to analyzing the Rite of Spring using
communication theory. The strengths lye in the Coordinated Management of Meaning Theory
and the Muted Group Theory. It is these two theories that have the strongest linkages to the
event. It it clear that the way the audience reacted to the premier of the ballet was a direct result
in the way they coordinated the meaning of the synthesis of the choreography, music
composition, and set design. Additionally, the theories of feminism within the Muted Group
Theory and the idea of the male group being dominant are present in the event. The weaknesses
however, are the ideas associated with Group Think. Because one can only analyze it historically,
it was hard to find direct correlation.
To conclude, there is a lot that a person can do with communication theory. The idea that
dance is a means on nonverbal communication and can serve as a medium to address political
ideals, gender roles, and other ideas shows that the application of theory is totally valid. It is
clear that through the eyes of communication theory, the Rite of Spring can be analyzed by
CMM , and Muted Group Theory. The music, choreography, and set design is what set the
audience into a state of uncertainty. It is clear that they did not know how to manage the
modernization of Nijinskys choreography and the abstractness of Stravinskys music. It is these
facts that link it to Coordinated Management of Meaning. Also, the ballet has underlying themes
of gender roles and who has dominance. It is these themes that links it to the Muted Group
Theory. Overall, it is interesting to see how at first glance, the idea of an audience rioting seems
to be because of just music, but with a closer look, one can see that it was the layering of so
many ideas that sent their brains in to overload and caused them to lose control.

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