Ballets Russes and modernist ballet
The Ballets Russes was an itinerant company created and directed by the impresario Sergei Diaghilev, active from 1909 to 1929. After its Paris debut it toured Europe and the Americas without formal ties to any city, and it never performed in Russia. Its productions brought choreographers, composers and painters together in a single work.
Early productions included The Firebird (1910), Petrushka (1911) and The Rite of Spring (1913). Choreographers included Fokine, Nijinsky, Massine, Nijinska and, from 1924, Balanchine; designers included Bakst, Picasso, Goncharova and Matisse. The V&A in London holds an extensive collection of costumes, backcloths, designs and photographs, and Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo, founded in 1985, presents itself as an heir to the Ballets Russes tradition.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Ballets Russes
- V&A: Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes
- Wikipedia: Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo
- Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo (official site)
Organisations connected with this dance
Listed as references; being listed is not an endorsement by or of the organisation.