Ballet Russe De Monte Carlo
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The company Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo (with a plural name) was formed in 1932 after the death of Sergei Diaghilev and the demise of
Ballets Russes The Ballets Russes () was an itinerant ballet company begun 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 Russian Revolution, Revolution ...
. Its director was Wassily de Basil (usually referred to as Colonel W. de Basil), and its artistic director was René Blum. They fell out in 1936 and the company split. The part which de Basil retained went through two name changes before becoming the Original Ballet Russe. Blum founded Les Ballets de Monte Carlo, which changed its name to Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo (note the singular) when
Léonide Massine Leonid Fyodorovich Myasin (), better known in the West by the French transliteration as Léonide Massine (15 March 1979), was a Russian choreographer and ballet dancer. Massine created the world's first symphonic ballet, ''Les Présages'', and ...
became artistic director in 1938. It operated under this name until it disbanded some 20 years later.Koegler, Horst, ''Concise Oxford Dictionary of Ballet'' (1st English edition, 1977). The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo featured such dancers as Ruthanna Boris, Frederic Franklin, Alexandra Danilova,
Maria Tallchief Maria Tallchief, born Elizabeth Marie Tall Chief ( "Two-Standards"; Osage language, Osage family name: , Osage script: ; January 24, 1925 – April 11, 2013), was an Osage Tribe, Osage and American ballerina. She was America's first major p ...
, Nicholas Magallanes, Lois Bewley,
Tamara Toumanova Tamara Toumanova ( ka, თამარა თუმანოვა; 2 March 1919 – 29 May 1996) was a Russian-born Georgian-American prima ballerina and actress. A child of exiles in Paris after the Russian Revolution of 1917, she made her ...
, George Zoritch, Alicia Alonso, Elissa Minet, Yvonne Joyce Craig, Nina Novak, Raven Wilkinson, Meredith Baylis, Cyd Charisse, Marc Platt, Nathalie Krassovska, Irina Baronova, Leon Danielian, Anna Istomina, and Anna Adrianova. The company's resident choreographer was Massine; it also featured the choreography of Michel Fokine, Bronislava Nijinska,
Frederick Ashton Sir Frederick William Mallandaine Ashton (17 September 190418 August 1988) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer. He also worked as a director and choreographer in opera, film and revue. Determined to be a dancer despite the oppositio ...
,
George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze;, Romanization of Georgian, : April 30, 1983) was a Georgian-American ballet choreographer, recognized as one of the most influential choreographers ...
, Agnes de Mille, Ruth Page and Valerie Bettis. Their costumes in the first season were made by Karinska, and were designed by Christian Bérard, André Derain, and Joan Miró. The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo toured chiefly in the United States and Canada after
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
began. The company introduced audiences to ballet in cities and towns across the country, in many places where people had never seen classical dance. The company's principal dancers performed with other companies, and founded dance schools and companies of their own across the United States and Europe. They taught the Russian ballet traditions to generations of Americans and Europeans.


History

Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo initially began because
Léonide Massine Leonid Fyodorovich Myasin (), better known in the West by the French transliteration as Léonide Massine (15 March 1979), was a Russian choreographer and ballet dancer. Massine created the world's first symphonic ballet, ''Les Présages'', and ...
, the choreographer of Colonel Wassily de Basil's Ballets Russes, desired to be more than just Colonel Wassily de Basil's right-hand man. De Basil was the artistic director of his Ballet Russes, and Massine desired that position, so he broke off to start his own company. Blum and de Basil fell out in 1934, and their Ballets Russes partnership dissolved.Homans, Jennifer
"René Blum: Life of a Dance Master,"
''New York Times'' (July 8, 2011).
After working desperately to keep ballet alive in
Monte Carlo Monte Carlo ( ; ; or colloquially ; , ; ) is an official administrative area of Monaco, specifically the Ward (country subdivision), ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is located. Informally, the name also refers to ...
, in 1937 Blum and former Ballets Russes choreographer Léonide Massine acquired financing from Julius Fleischmann Jr.'s World Art, Inc. to create a new ballet company. At the start of Blum and Massine's company, Massine ran into trouble with Col. de Basil: the ballets which Massine choreographed while under contract with Col. de Basil were owned by his company. Massine sued Col. de Basil in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
to regain the intellectual property rights to his own works. He also sued to claim the ''Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo'' name. The jury decided that Col. de Basil owned Massine's ballets created between 1932 and 1937, but not those created before 1932. through the Internet Archive It also ruled that both successor companies could use the name ''Ballet Russe'' — but only Massine & Blum's company could be called ''Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo''. Col. de Basil finally settled on the '' Original Ballet Russe''. The new ''Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo'' gave its first performance in 1938. Costumes were designed by British dancers Frederic Franklin and Jo Savino were also among those who joined the new company. Franklin danced with the company from 1938 to 1952, assuming the role of
ballet master A ballet master (also balletmaster, ballet mistress, ''premier maître de ballet'' or ''premier maître de ballet en chef'') is an employee of a ballet company who is responsible for the level of competence of the dancers in their company. In mo ...
in 1944. With the company, Franklin and Alexandra Danilova created one of the legendary ballet partnerships of the twentieth century. Sol Hurok, manager of de Basil's
company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...
since 1934, ended up managing Blum's company as well. He hoped to reunite the two ballet companies, but he was unsuccessful. The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and the Original Ballet Russe often performed near each other. In 1938, both the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and the Original Ballet Russe performed in London within blocks of each other. Hurok continued to have the companies perform near each other. After London, Hurok booked both of the companies to perform seasons in New York, for a total of fifteen weeks, making it the longest ballet season of New York. Along with management, the two companies also shared dancers. Co-founder René Blum was arrested on December 12, 1941, in his Paris home, among the first Jews to be arrested in Paris by the French police after France was defeated and occupied by the German
Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
s during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. He was held in the Beaune-la-Rolande camp, then in the Drancy deportation camp. On September 23, 1942, he was shipped to the
Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...
, where he was later killed by the Nazis. With Blum gone, Serge Denham, one of the co-founders of World Art, took over as company director. Massine left the company in 1943. Based in New York from 1944 to 1948, the company's regular home was
New York City Center New York City Center (previously known as the Mecca Temple, City Center of Music and Drama, and the New York City Center 55th Street Theater) is a performing arts center at 131 West 55th Street (Manhattan), 55th Street between Sixth Avenue, Six ...
. In 1968, the company went bankrupt. Before then, many of its dancers had moved on to other careers; a number started their own studios and many taught ballet in larger studios, especially in New York and other major cities.


Works

* 1938 ** Serge Lifar's '' Giselle'' (after Petipa, Coralli, Perrot), London ** 5 April premiere —
Léonide Massine Leonid Fyodorovich Myasin (), better known in the West by the French transliteration as Léonide Massine (15 March 1979), was a Russian choreographer and ballet dancer. Massine created the world's first symphonic ballet, ''Les Présages'', and ...
's '' Gaîté Parisienne'', set to music by
Jacques Offenbach Jacques Offenbach (; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera ''The Tales of Hoffmann''. He was a p ...
, Théâtre de Monte-Carlo, Monte-Carlo, Monaco ** 12 October premiere —
Léonide Massine Leonid Fyodorovich Myasin (), better known in the West by the French transliteration as Léonide Massine (15 March 1979), was a Russian choreographer and ballet dancer. Massine created the world's first symphonic ballet, ''Les Présages'', and ...
's '' Gaîté Parisienne'', set to music by
Jacques Offenbach Jacques Offenbach (; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera ''The Tales of Hoffmann''. He was a p ...
, Metropolitan Opera House, New York * 1939 **
Frederick Ashton Sir Frederick William Mallandaine Ashton (17 September 190418 August 1988) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer. He also worked as a director and choreographer in opera, film and revue. Determined to be a dancer despite the oppositio ...
's ''Devil's Holiday (Le Diable s'amuse)''"Sir Frederick Ashton – Great Choreographer and founder-figure of British ballet"
''TheTimes'' 20 August 1988
**
Léonide Massine Leonid Fyodorovich Myasin (), better known in the West by the French transliteration as Léonide Massine (15 March 1979), was a Russian choreographer and ballet dancer. Massine created the world's first symphonic ballet, ''Les Présages'', and ...
's '' La Boutique fantasque'', set to the music of Ottorino Respighi **
Léonide Massine Leonid Fyodorovich Myasin (), better known in the West by the French transliteration as Léonide Massine (15 March 1979), was a Russian choreographer and ballet dancer. Massine created the world's first symphonic ballet, ''Les Présages'', and ...
's ''Le Beau Danube'' ** 17 November premiere — Serge Lifar's '' Giselle'' (after Petipa, Coralli, Perrot), Metropolitan Opera House, New York CityJ. M
"'GISELLE' PERFORMED BY THE BALLET RUSSE: Mia Slavenska Dances Title Role at the Metropolitan,"
''New York Times'' (Nov. 18, 1939).
** 17 November —
Léonide Massine Leonid Fyodorovich Myasin (), better known in the West by the French transliteration as Léonide Massine (15 March 1979), was a Russian choreographer and ballet dancer. Massine created the world's first symphonic ballet, ''Les Présages'', and ...
's '' Gaîté Parisienne'', Metropolitan Opera House, New York ** 17 November — Michel Fokine's ''
Scheherazade Scheherazade () is a major character and the storyteller in the frame story, frame narrative of the Middle Eastern collection of tales known as the ''One Thousand and One Nights''. Name According to modern scholarship, the name ''Scheherazade ...
'', Metropolitan Opera House, New York ** 18 November premiere — ''Blue Bird'', Metropolitan Opera House, New York ** 18 November premiere — Marc Platoff's ''Ghost Town'', set to music by
Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers wa ...
, Metropolitan Opera House, New York ** 18 November — Michel Fokine's '' Les Sylphides'' and '' Petrushka'', Metropolitan Opera House, New York ** 18 November — Vaslav Nijinsky's '' Les Aprés-midi d'un Faune'', Metropolitan Opera House, New York * 1940 ** Alexandra Fedorova's (after Petipa) ''
The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' (, ), Opus number, Op. 71, is an 1892 two-act classical ballet (conceived as a '; ) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, set on Christmas Eve at the foot of a Christmas tree in a child's imagination featuring a Nutcracker doll. Th ...
'' bridged set to music by
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popula ...
, New York City * 1941 **
Léonide Massine Leonid Fyodorovich Myasin (), better known in the West by the French transliteration as Léonide Massine (15 March 1979), was a Russian choreographer and ballet dancer. Massine created the world's first symphonic ballet, ''Les Présages'', and ...
's ''Labyrinth'', New York **
Léonide Massine Leonid Fyodorovich Myasin (), better known in the West by the French transliteration as Léonide Massine (15 March 1979), was a Russian choreographer and ballet dancer. Massine created the world's first symphonic ballet, ''Les Présages'', and ...
's ''Saratoga'', New York ** Alexandra Fedorova's '' The Magic Swan'' (after Petipa), Metropolitan Opera House, New York * 1942 ** Alexandra Balachova's '' La Fille mal gardée'' ** 16 October premiere — Agnes de Mille's ''
Rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaqu ...
'', set to music by
Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, critic, writer, teacher, pianist, and conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as the "Dean of American Compos ...
, Metropolitan Opera House, New York * 1943 ** 9 October — Igor Schwezoff's '' The Red Poppy'', Public Music Hall, Cleveland, Ohio * 1944 **
George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze;, Romanization of Georgian, : April 30, 1983) was a Georgian-American ballet choreographer, recognized as one of the most influential choreographers ...
's '' Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme'', set to the music of
Jean-Baptiste Lully Jean-Baptiste Lully ( – 22 March 1687) was a French composer, dancer and instrumentalist of Italian birth, who is considered a master of the French Baroque music style. Best known for his operas, he spent most of his life working in the court o ...
,
New York City Center New York City Center (previously known as the Mecca Temple, City Center of Music and Drama, and the New York City Center 55th Street Theater) is a performing arts center at 131 West 55th Street (Manhattan), 55th Street between Sixth Avenue, Six ...
**
George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze;, Romanization of Georgian, : April 30, 1983) was a Georgian-American ballet choreographer, recognized as one of the most influential choreographers ...
's '' Danses concertantes'' **
George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze;, Romanization of Georgian, : April 30, 1983) was a Georgian-American ballet choreographer, recognized as one of the most influential choreographers ...
's ''Song of Norway'', set to the music of
Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the leading Romantic music, Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwid ...
, New York City * 1945 **
George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze;, Romanization of Georgian, : April 30, 1983) was a Georgian-American ballet choreographer, recognized as one of the most influential choreographers ...
's ''Pas de Deux (Grand Adagio)'' ** '' Coppélia'', set to the music of Léo Delibes ** 9 September —
George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze;, Romanization of Georgian, : April 30, 1983) was a Georgian-American ballet choreographer, recognized as one of the most influential choreographers ...
's '' Concerto Barocco'', set to
Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...
's '' Concerto in D minor for Two Violins'', New York City CenterMartin, John
"THE DANCE: BALLET RUSSE: Monte Carlo Company to Present New Works in City Center Season,"
''New York Times'' (August 26, 1945).
** 9 September — Vaslav Nijinsky's '' L'Après-midi d'un faune'', New York City Center ** 17 September premiere — Tod Bolender's ''Comedia Balletica'', set to
Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...
's ''Pulcinella'', New York City Center * 1946 **
George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze;, Romanization of Georgian, : April 30, 1983) was a Georgian-American ballet choreographer, recognized as one of the most influential choreographers ...
's '' La Sonnambula'' and ''The Night Shadow'' ** Balanchine and Alexandra Danilova's ''
Raymonda ''Raymonda'' () is a ballet, grand ballet in three acts, four scenes with an apotheosis, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa to the music of Alexander Glazunov (his Opus number, opus 57) and libretto by Lydia Pashkova. ''Raymonda'' was creat ...
'', set to the music of
Alexander Glazunov Alexander Konstantinovich Glazunov ( – 21 March 1936) was a Russian composer, music teacher, and conductor of the late Russian Romantic period. He was director of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory between 1905 and 1928 and was instrumental i ...
* 1947 ** Valerie Bettis' ''Virginia Sampler''


Legacy

Many of the company's principal dancers and corps de ballet founded dance schools and companies of their own across the United States and Europe, teaching the Russian ballet traditions to generations of Americans and Europeans.


Choreographers and principal dancers

*
George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze;, Romanization of Georgian, : April 30, 1983) was a Georgian-American ballet choreographer, recognized as one of the most influential choreographers ...
— founded the School of American Ballet (SAB) and
New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company's fir ...
, for which he created works for 40 years. ** Alexandra Danilova — taught for 30 years at SAB. ** Leon Danielian — served as the director of SAB from 1967 to 1980. ** Nicholas Magallanes – charter member of the
New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company's fir ...
who performed roles created for him by Balanchine with the troupe from 1946 to 1976. **
Maria Tallchief Maria Tallchief, born Elizabeth Marie Tall Chief ( "Two-Standards"; Osage language, Osage family name: , Osage script: ; January 24, 1925 – April 11, 2013), was an Osage Tribe, Osage and American ballerina. She was America's first major p ...
— danced with the
New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company's fir ...
for years and was featured in choreography Balanchine created for her. * Roya Curie — protégé of David Lichine and premier dancer with the Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo International, she established a school in upstate New York in 1950. * Frederic Franklin —became director of the National Ballet of Washington, D.C. Advised Dance Theatre of Harlem, as well as performing into his nineties. * Jo Savino — formed the St. Paul Ballet in Minnesota. * Robert Lindgren and Sonja Tyven (who danced in the Ballet Russe under the name Sonja Taanila) — opened the Lindgren-Tyven School of Ballet in
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(1959–1965). Lindgren also served as the founding dean of the influential dance school at the North Carolina School of the Arts, where Tyven taught ballet (1965–1987). Lindgren left NCSA when Lincoln Kirstein invited him to be his successor as director and president of the School of American Ballet, City Ballet’s affiliate school in New York (1987–1991). * George Verdak — taught for 25 years at Butler University and founded the Indianapolis Ballet Theatre.


Corps de ballet

* Marian and Illaria Ladre — in the late 1940s, they set up the Ballet Academy in Seattle, where they taught students who went on to dance and teach in their turn. Students of theirs who had professional dance careers included James De Bolt of the Joffrey Ballet, Cyd Charisse, Marc Platt, Harold Lang, and Ann Reinking. In 1994 Illaria Ladre was among the first American dancers, choreographers and writers honored by receiving the newly established Vaslav Nijinsky Medal, sponsored by the Polish Artists Agency in Warsaw, for work carrying on the tradition of Nijinsky. * Lubov Roudenko — Former soloist for the Ballets Russes in the 1930s, she left in the 1940s and, as Luba Marks, became a successful
Coty Award The Coty American Fashion Critics' Awards (awarded 1943–1984) were created in 1942 by the cosmetics and perfume company Coty to promote and celebrate American fashion, and encourage design during the Second World War. In 1985, the Coty Awards we ...
winning fashion designer. * Elissa Minet — danced for one season with the Ballets Russes in 1937 before joining the ballet company at the Metropolitan Opera.


In popular culture

A feature documentary about the company, featuring interviews with many of the dancers, was released in 2005, with the title ''
Ballets Russes The Ballets Russes () was an itinerant ballet company begun 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 Russian Revolution, Revolution ...
''.


References


Notes


Sources

* * * ''
Ballets Russes The Ballets Russes () was an itinerant ballet company begun 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 Russian Revolution, Revolution ...
'', 2005 documentary


Further reading

* * *


External links


Guide to the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo Press Clipping Scrapbooks.
Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California.
Guide to Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo records
a
Houghton Library
Harvard University
Ballet Foundation collection of Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and Ballet Theatre photographs, 1920s-1980s
held by the Dance Division
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
{{Authority control Monte Carlo, Ballet Russe de Ballet companies