The Ballets Russes was a ballet company established in 1909 by the Russian impresario Serge Diaghilev. Diaghilev had already enjoyed success in
In 1914, Leonide Massine joined Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. April 16th was the premiere of the one-act ballet, Papillons choreographed by Fokine. It was also the premiere of another of Fokine’s one-act ballet, La Légende de Joseph. Only a month later, May 24th was Fokine’s opera premiere Le Coq d'Or. A few days later, on May 26, it was the premiere performance of Le Rossignol (The Nightingale) choreographed by Boris Romanov. Finishing off the summer season in June, Fokine premiered his newest choreographed piece, Midas.
Diaghilev's Ballets Russes came to American in 1916. That was the only tour that Diaghilev's Ballets Russes ever danced as a company in the United States. Their first performance was in New York. They opened on January 17, 1916 with The Firebird, La Princesse Enchantée, Le Soleil de Nuit and Schéhérezade. The American public, except those who travelled abroad, had never seen Russian ballet before. After that performance they toured sixteen towns, dancing in a different place each evening. The tour wound up back in New York on April 3, 1916, at the Metropolitan Opera House.
Nijinsky didn't join the tour until the second half, Leonide Massine had been dancing his roles. When Nijinsky turned up he was in bad spirits and out of practice. Trying to book the rest of the year, Diaghilev approached promoter Otto Kahn about another Telegrams arrived daily to Diaghilev in On May 6th, they set sail back to
Diaghilev's Ballets Russes performed Le Mariage D'Aurore or Aurora's Wedding in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles Palace on June 30, 1923.
The final season for Diaghilev's Ballets Russes was in 1929. The Ballets Russes performed in London and in Paris that year. On July 26th, 1929, Diaghilev's Ballets Russes gave its final performance at Covent Garden Theatre in London. Diaghilev died in
After Diaghilev's death in 1929, the company's property was claimed by creditors. The dancers were scattered. Colonel Wassily de Basil and his associate René Blum revived the company but Col. de Basil and Blum argued constantly, so Blum founded a new company named the Original Ballet Russe. The Original Ballet Russe toured mostly in