Collection of Programmes of "Ballet Russes"

programmes
1909 - 1959

Programme of Ballets Russes 1909. Cover - Leon Bakst

The legendary impresario Serge Diaghilev launched the Ballets Russes at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris on May 1909, for next twenty years, this revolutionary performing company electrified the World audiences with a potent fusion of music, choreography, theatrical design and dance, all of equal brilliance.

The Ballets Russes were the first serious ballet company to function in a permanently itinerant state. Until finding a seasonal home in Monte Carlo in the 1920s. the troupe existed without a base theatre, touring continuously from country to country and performing on three continents.

Under Diaghilev’s guidance, choreographers, designers and composers created innovative theatrical works that were remarkable for the fusing dance, music and design into a harmonious, expressive whole. The company not only redefined and laid the foundations of the world-wide explosion of dance in the 20th century, it had a far-reaching influence on European culture and design, music, theatre , fashion, interior design, jewellery.

Diaghilev attracted some of the greatest names in the 20th century arts - choreographers Fokine, Nijinsky, Massine, Nijinska, Balanchine; composers Stravinsky , Prokofiev, Ravel, Satie, Poulenc; artists Picasso, Matisse, Braque, Bakst, Benois, Derain, Delaunay, Laurencin, Gontcharova, Larionov, Chanel, Tchelitchev, Utrillo, De Chirico, Cocteau, and their associates.