The Ballets Russes

1909 - 1929

The Ballets Russes

A company of Russian dancers and choreographers residing in Paris from

1909 - 1929 which transformed the worlds of dance, music, art, theater and fashion

Origins of the Ballets Russes

• Ballet had been introduced into Russia

in the 18th century during the reign of Peter the Great.

• In 1738, the first ballet school opened for the children of the palace servants, eventually becoming the Imperial Ballet School and the company of the Maryinsky (Kirov) Theater.

Origins of the Ballets Russes

• Ballet became the vogue in Russia, especially amongst the aristocracy, then a tradition.

• By the end of the 19th century, the Russians had become the artistic leaders of classical ballet, breathing life back into it.

Founding of the Ballets Russes• In 1904, Isadora Duncan dances in St. Petersburg.• In 1906, Sergei Diaghilev (1872-1929), a young

Russian aristocrat, first exported to Paris an exhibition of Russian art.

• In 1907, he arranged a series of five concerts of Russian opera and music.

• In 1909, Diaghilev introduces the new troupe as a summer theater program of the Russian Opera and Ballet.

• The company was founded by Sergei Diaghilev, in 1911 as a permanent ballet company residing in Paris.

Founder of the Ballets Russes

Sergei Diaghilev 1872 - 1929

Importance of the Ballets Russes

• Presented innovative ballets

The Rite of Spring

• Incorporated advanced, experimental technical skills

The Afternoon of a Faun

• Commissioned new musical scores

Igor Stravinsky and Vaslav Nijinsky as Petrushka

• Employed avant-garde composers, choreographers, dancers, and designers to create cutting-edge ballets

Vaslav Nijinsky as Petrushka

Vaslav Nijinsky as the Faun

• Embraced primitivism and the exotic as a means of expressing the new dance freedom

Nijinsky in Les Orientales

Contributors

Vaslav Nijinsky

1888 -1950

Pablo Picasso

1881 - 1973

Curtain for Parade (1917)

Costume for theChinese Conjurorin Parade (1917)

Costume of the AmericanManager, Parade (1917)

Scene from Parade (1917)

Scene from Parade (1917)

Coco Chanel

1883 - 1971

Costumes forLe Train bleu (1924)

Leon Bakst

1866-1924

Costume for The Firebird (1910)

Costume for The RedSultana (1910)

Costume for a Bacchante,Narcisse (1911)

Costume for Schéhèrazade(1910)

Costume for a Pilgrim,Le Dieu Bleu (1912)

Nicholas Roerich

1874 - 1947

Michel Fokine1880 - 1942

Claude Debussy

1862-1918

Maurice Ravel

1875 - 1937

Erik Satie1866-1925

Igor Stravinsky

1882 - 1971

Jean Cocteau1889 - 1963