Original Ballet Russe
Encyclopedia
The Original Ballet Russe (originally named Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo) was a ballet company
established in 1932 by René Blum and Colonel Wassily de Basil as a successor to the Ballets Russes
. The company assumed the new name Original Ballet Russe after a split between de Basil and Blum. De Basil led the renamed company, while Blum and others founded a new company under the name, Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo
.
The company's name is derived from the Ballets Russes
of impresario Sergei Diaghilev
. The last season of Diaghilev's Ballets Russes was in 1929, during which it toured and performed in both London, England and Paris, France. During the final season, it produced the new ballets The Prodigal Son and Le Bal. The company performed for the final time in London at the Covent Garden Theatre on July 26, 1929. Diaghliev died a month later, on August 19, 1929 of diabetes.
. The idea was to create a ballet company that would continue the work and legacy of the late Serge Diaghilev. The company hired George Balanchine
and Leonide Massine to act as choreographers. The majority of the works performed were ones previously staged by Diaghilev's company.
The managers dropped Balanchine after one year because they found that audiences preferred Diaghilev's and Messine's ballets. The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo
struggled financially and almost declared bankruptcy during the Great Depression
. Sol Hurok
, an American, took over the management of the company in 1934, and brought the company to the United States.
At the start of Blum and Massine's company, Massine ran into trouble with Col. de Basil. Massine realized that the ballets which he choreographed while under contract with Col. de Basil were owned by his company. Taking legal action, Massine sued Col. de Basil in London for the intellectual property rights to his works and also tried to claim the name of the company. The jury decided that Col. de Basil owned the ballets. The court ruled that both successor companies could use the name Ballet Russe, but only one could use de Monte Carlo. The courts ruled in favor of Massine regarding the name. Col. de Basil finally settled on the Original Ballet Russe.
and the Original Ballet Russe often performed near each other. Sol Hurok
, manager of the Original Ballet Russe, decided to manage Blum and Massine's company as well. He hoped to reunite the companies, but he was unsuccessful. 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.
and Tatiana Leskova appeared in Conga Pantera at the Cabaret Tropicana. Alberto Alonso and his first wife Patricia Denise
danced all the principal roles on the Havana tour. Other dancers included Tamara Grigorieva, Nina Verchinina, Anna Leontieva, Genevieve Moulin, Tatiana Leskova, Anna Volkova, Your Lazowski, Dimitri Romanoff, Roman Jasinski
, Paul Petroff, and Oleg Tupin.
Ballet company
A ballet company is a group of dancers who perform ballet, plus managerial and support staff. Most major ballet companies employ dancers on a year-round basis, except in the United States, where contracts for part of the year are the norm...
established in 1932 by René Blum and Colonel Wassily de Basil as a successor to the Ballets Russes
Ballets Russes
The Ballets Russes was an itinerant ballet company from Russia which performed between 1909 and 1929 in many countries. Directed by Sergei Diaghilev, it is regarded as the greatest ballet company of the 20th century. Many of its dancers originated from the Imperial Ballet of Saint Petersburg...
. The company assumed the new name Original Ballet Russe after a split between de Basil and Blum. De Basil led the renamed company, while Blum and others founded a new company under the name, Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo
Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo
Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo was a ballet company created by members of the Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo in 1938 after Léonide Massine and René Blum had a falling-out with the co-founder Wassily de Basil...
.
The end of Diaghilev's Ballet Russe
The company's name is derived from the Ballets Russes
Ballets Russes
The Ballets Russes was an itinerant ballet company from Russia which performed between 1909 and 1929 in many countries. Directed by Sergei Diaghilev, it is regarded as the greatest ballet company of the 20th century. Many of its dancers originated from the Imperial Ballet of Saint Petersburg...
of impresario Sergei Diaghilev
Sergei Diaghilev
Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev , usually referred to outside of Russia as Serge, was a Russian art critic, patron, ballet impresario and founder of the Ballets Russes, from which many famous dancers and choreographers would arise.-Early life and career:...
. The last season of Diaghilev's Ballets Russes was in 1929, during which it toured and performed in both London, England and Paris, France. During the final season, it produced the new ballets The Prodigal Son and Le Bal. The company performed for the final time in London at the Covent Garden Theatre on July 26, 1929. Diaghliev died a month later, on August 19, 1929 of diabetes.
Massine and Balanchine join Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo
In 1932, with the help from financier Serge Denham, René Blum and Colonel Vassili de Basil formed the Ballet Russe de Monte CarloBallet Russe de Monte Carlo
Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo was a ballet company created by members of the Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo in 1938 after Léonide Massine and René Blum had a falling-out with the co-founder Wassily de Basil...
. The idea was to create a ballet company that would continue the work and legacy of the late Serge Diaghilev. The company hired George Balanchine
George Balanchine
George Balanchine , born Giorgi Balanchivadze in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to a Georgian father and a Russian mother, was one of the 20th century's most famous choreographers, a developer of ballet in the United States, co-founder and balletmaster of New York City Ballet...
and Leonide Massine to act as choreographers. The majority of the works performed were ones previously staged by Diaghilev's company.
The managers dropped Balanchine after one year because they found that audiences preferred Diaghilev's and Messine's ballets. The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo
Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo
Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo was a ballet company created by members of the Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo in 1938 after Léonide Massine and René Blum had a falling-out with the co-founder Wassily de Basil...
struggled financially and almost declared bankruptcy during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. Sol Hurok
Sol Hurok
Sol Hurok was a world-famous 20th century American impresario.-Biography:...
, an American, took over the management of the company in 1934, and brought the company to the United States.
The company splits
Col. de Basil and Blum had an acrimonious relationship, which ended with Blum breaking up the partnership and leaving with Massine. Together Blum and Massine formed their own company, and recruited several dancers from their previous group. Blum and Massine also called their company Ballet Russes de Monte Carlo.At the start of Blum and Massine's company, Massine ran into trouble with Col. de Basil. Massine realized that the ballets which he choreographed while under contract with Col. de Basil were owned by his company. Taking legal action, Massine sued Col. de Basil in London for the intellectual property rights to his works and also tried to claim the name of the company. The jury decided that Col. de Basil owned the ballets. The court ruled that both successor companies could use the name Ballet Russe, but only one could use de Monte Carlo. The courts ruled in favor of Massine regarding the name. Col. de Basil finally settled on the Original Ballet Russe.
Two Ballets Russe
The Ballet Russe de Monte CarloBallet Russe de Monte Carlo
Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo was a ballet company created by members of the Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo in 1938 after Léonide Massine and René Blum had a falling-out with the co-founder Wassily de Basil...
and the Original Ballet Russe often performed near each other. Sol Hurok
Sol Hurok
Sol Hurok was a world-famous 20th century American impresario.-Biography:...
, manager of the Original Ballet Russe, decided to manage Blum and Massine's company as well. He hoped to reunite the companies, but he was unsuccessful. In 1938, both the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo
Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo
Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo was a ballet company created by members of the Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo in 1938 after Léonide Massine and René Blum had a falling-out with the co-founder Wassily de Basil...
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.
During World War II
The Original Ballet Russe did extensive touring throughout Europe and Australia. Soon after they returned to the United States in 1938, World War II broke out. The company suffered financially, but they were able to book an entire cast of dancers on tour to Havana, Cuba in 1941. They could not pay the dancers adequately, some of whom took second jobs in nightclubs to survive. Principal dancers were forced to take roles that were not solos. While in Cuba, David LichineDavid Lichine
David Lichine / Дэвид Лишин was a Russian/French/US ballet dancer and choreographer; he was born as Давид Лихтенштейн David Lichtenštejn / David Lichtenstein ....
and Tatiana Leskova appeared in Conga Pantera at the Cabaret Tropicana. Alberto Alonso and his first wife Patricia Denise
Alexandra Denisova
Alexandra Denisova , real name Patricia Denise Meyers Galian, is a Canadian ballerina.Born in Canada, she started taking classical ballet lessons in childhood....
danced all the principal roles on the Havana tour. Other dancers included Tamara Grigorieva, Nina Verchinina, Anna Leontieva, Genevieve Moulin, Tatiana Leskova, Anna Volkova, Your Lazowski, Dimitri Romanoff, Roman Jasinski
Roman Jasinski
Roman Jasinski was a Polish ballet dancer who performed from 1933-1950 with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. A premier danseur, he was recognized for his elegance and style. After retiring from performing, he and his wife Moscelyne Larkin founded a ballet school in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and in 1956,...
, Paul Petroff, and Oleg Tupin.
Works
- 1941 Havana tour
- Michael Fokine's Les Sylphides, Coq d’Or, Paganini, Prince Igor, Carnaval, Petrouchka, Sheherazade, Le Spectre de la Rose
- Leonide Massine's Symphonie Fantastique, Les Presages, Le Beau Danube
- Marius PetipaMarius PetipaVictor Marius Alphonse Petipa was a French ballet dancer, teacher and choreographer. Petipa is considered to be the most influential ballet master and choreographer of ballet that has ever lived....
's Le Marriage d’Aurore - George BalanchineGeorge BalanchineGeorge Balanchine , born Giorgi Balanchivadze in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to a Georgian father and a Russian mother, was one of the 20th century's most famous choreographers, a developer of ballet in the United States, co-founder and balletmaster of New York City Ballet...
's Cotillon - Nijinska's Las Cent Baisters
- 1940
- David LichineDavid LichineDavid Lichine / Дэвид Лишин was a Russian/French/US ballet dancer and choreographer; he was born as Давид Лихтенштейн David Lichtenštejn / David Lichtenstein ....
's Graduation BallGraduation Ball"Graduation Ball" is a ballet, choreographed in 1940 in Australia by David Lichine during the 1939-1940 tour of the Original Ballet Russe. The single-act, light-hearted comic ballet was premiered on Friday, March 1st, 1940, in Sydney...
- David Lichine
- 1946
- David LichineDavid LichineDavid Lichine / Дэвид Лишин was a Russian/French/US ballet dancer and choreographer; he was born as Давид Лихтенштейн David Lichtenštejn / David Lichtenstein ....
's Cain and Abel
- David Lichine