Ballets Russes

The Ballets Russes was an itinerant ballet company based in Paris that performed between 1909 and 1929 throughout Europe and on tours to North and South America. The company never performed in Russia, where the Revolution disrupted society. After its initial Paris season, the company had no formal ties there.

Originally conceived by impresario Sergei Diaghilev, the Ballets Russes is widely regarded as the most influential ballet company of the 20th century, in part because it promoted ground-breaking artistic collaborations among young choreographers, composers, designers, and dancers, all at the forefront of their several fields. Diaghilev commissioned works from composers such as Igor Stravinsky and Claude Debussy, and artists such as Léon Bakst, Pablo Picasso, and Henri Matisse, and designer Coco Chanel.

The company's productions created a huge sensation, completely reinvigorating the art of performing dance, bringing many visual artists to public attention, and significantly affecting the course of musical composition. It also introduced European and American audiences to tales, music and design motifs drawn from Russian folklore. The influence of the Ballets Russes lasts to the present day.

Ballets Russes (film)

Ballets Russes is an American 2005 feature documentary about the dancers of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. It was directed by Dayna Goldfine and Dan Geller, and featured Irina Baronova, Alicia Markova, George Zoritch, and Tatiana Riabouchinska, among others. It was narrated by Marian Seldes. It is distributed by Zeitgeist Films.

Dancers

Dancers appearing in the film include:

Awards

Ballets Russes was nominated for Best Documentary at the 2005 Gotham Awards, and winner of the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the 2005 Hamptons International Film Festival. The film came third in the Best Nonfiction Picture category at the National Society of Film Critics Awards 2005, and second in the Top Five Documentaries category at the National Board of Review Awards 2005.