Petersburg, to prepare for a career in the civil service like many Russian young men of his class. In 1890, he enrolled at the Faculty of Law, St. He was uniquely prepared for the role born into a wealthy Russian family of vodka distillers (though they went bankrupt when he was 18), he was accustomed to moving in the upper-class circles that provided the company's patrons and benefactors. Sergei Diaghilev, the company's impresario (or " artistic director" in modern terms), was chiefly responsible for its success. Sergei Diaghilev, founder of the Ballets Russes Background
The names Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo and the Original Ballet Russe (using the singular) refer to companies that formed after Diaghilev's death in 1929. (In some publicity the company was advertised as Les Ballets Russes de Serge Diaghileff.) In English, the company is now commonly referred to as "the Ballets Russes", although in the early part of the 20th century, it was sometimes referred to as “The Russian Ballet" or "Diaghilev's Russian Ballet." To add to the confusion, some publicity material spelled the name in the singular. The French plural form of the name, Ballets Russes, specifically refers to the company founded by Sergei Diaghilev and active during his lifetime. 8 Centennial exhibitions and celebrations.
The influence of the Ballets Russes lasts to the present day. It also introduced European and American audiences to tales, music, and design motifs drawn from Russian folklore. 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. Diaghilev commissioned works from composers such as Igor Stravinsky, Claude Debussy, Sergei Prokofiev, Erik Satie, and Maurice Ravel, artists such as Vasily Kandinsky, Alexandre Benois, Pablo Picasso, and Henri Matisse, and costume designers Léon Bakst and Coco Chanel. 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. After its initial Paris season, the company had no formal ties there. The company never performed in Russia, where the Revolution disrupted society. The Ballets Russes ( French: ) was an itinerant ballet company begun in Paris that performed between 19 throughout Europe and on tours to North and South America.
Poster by Jean Cocteau for the 1911 Ballet Russe season showing Nijinsky in costume for Le Spectre de la rose, Paris.