Catalog Record:
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically therein.
The material in the archive was purchased in 1999 and 2001. Related materials that detail both companies have been donated from a variety of sources or have been purchased.
No further accruals are expected.
The Serge Grigoriev/Ballets Russes Archive was processed by Elizabeth Aldrich in 2007. George Kipper coded the finding aid for EAD in 2009.
The Library of Congress Music Division holds the special collections and archives of a number of significant figures from the Ballets Russes, including the
The materials in the Serge Grigoriev/Ballets Russes Archive are governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.) and other applicable international copyright laws.
The Serge Grigoriev/Ballets Russes Archive is open to research. Researchers are advised to contact the Music Division prior to visiting in order to determine whether the desired materials will be available at that time.
Certain restrictions to use or copying of materials may apply.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [item, date, container number], Serge Grigoriev/Ballets Russes Archive, Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The Ballets Russes de Serge Diaghilev (also known as Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes) was a creation of the great Russian impresario, Serge Diaghilev. In 1907 Diaghilev presented a festival of Russian music at the Paris Opera and, in 1908, he returned to offer six performances of Mussorgsky’s opera
From 1909 to 1912, the Russian choreographer Michel Fokine’s works dominated the repertory of Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, but Fokine’s resignation allowed Diaghilev to re-conceptualize the company and to commission works that fulfilled his personal aesthetic. Vaslav Nijinsky was anointed as the choreographer who would open the door to Diaghilev’s principles of modernism in ballet. Thereafter, the succession of choreographers that continued Diaghilev’s ideals included Léonide Massine, Bronislava Nijinska, and George Balanchine.
Between 1918 and 1922, Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes performed for long periods of time in London; however, by the mid-1920s, the company split its time between Paris and Monte Carlo. In Monte Carlo, Diaghilev enjoyed the support of the ruling Grimaldi family and was also providing dancers and choreographers for most of the Théâtre de Monte-Carlo’s operatic productions.
One of Diaghilev’s most significant legacies was his collaboration with other artists. For example, he commissioned scores from Debussy, Ravel, Richard Strauss, Satie, Poulenc, and Prokofiev, and is credited with establishing Stravinsky’s international career. Diaghilev also worked closely with the numerous painters and sculptors who created designs for his company, including Bakst, Benois, Matisse, Picasso, Rouault, Gris, Braque, Utrillo, and Miró. However, perhaps his greatest contribution to the world of ballet was his support of the choreographers Nijinsky, Massine, Nijinska, and Balanchine. Likewise, he launched the careers of many dancers, including names such as Adolph Bolm, Léonide Massine, Lydia Lopokova, Olga Spessivtseva, Anton Dolin, Alexandra Danilova, Alicia Markova, and Serge Lifar.
Throughout its existence, Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes set new standards for ballet technique and played an important role in creating a significant body of choreographic works—many of which continue to be performed in the repertories of ballet companies throughout the world.
After Serge Diaghilev’s death in 1929, René Blum was appointed director of ballet at the Théâtre de Monte-Carlo. Blum was determined to establish a new Russian ballet company at the Théâtre and, in 1931 he met Colonel Wassily de Basil. De Basil had emigrated to Paris in 1919 and was the director of L’Opéra Russe à Paris. In late 1931, de Basil and Blum created Les Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo with George Balanchine as ballet master and Boris Kochno as artistic director. The company’s first season opened at the Théâtre de Monte-Carlo in 1932 and, at the end of the year, Balanchine left and was replaced by Léonide Massine. Massine remained with the company until 1937. After a disagreement with Blum in 1934, de Basil became the sole director and the company became known as the Ballets Russes de Colonel W. de Basil (later called the Original Ballet Russe).
When de Basil died in 1951, his associate George Kirsta organized a new company that opened four months later at the Wimbledon Theatre, England. Despite some local touring, the company performed for the last time in January 1952. Known variously throughout the years as the Ballets Russes de Colonel W. de Basil (1932-1938), Colonel W. de Basil’s Ballet Russe (1937, in New York), Educational Ballets Limited (1938), Covent Garden Russian Ballet (1938-1940), and the Original Ballet Russe (1940-1952), the company crisscrossed the globe and was instrumental in the popularization of ballet worldwide.
Serge Grigoriev studied ballet at the Imperial Theatre School in Saint Petersburg and, in 1909, Diaghilev appointed him as company régisseur (rehearsal director) for the first Paris season of his Ballets Russes. Grigoriev remained in this position until Diaghliev’s death in 1929. Upon the formation of the Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo, Grigoriev served once again as régisseur, remaining with the company until its dissolution in 1952. During the 1950s, along with his wife, dancer Lubov Tchernicheva, he staged revivals of Fokine ballets for Sadler’s Wells Ballet (later known as the Royal Ballet), the London Festival Ballet, and La Scala, and oversaw rehearsals for Massine ballets. Grigoriev died on 28 June 1968.
The Serge Grigoriev/Ballets Russes Archive is comprised of materials that document Serge Grigoriev’s career as a dancer and as régisseur (rehearsal director) for the Ballets Russes de Serge Diaghilev (1909-1929). Grigoriev served in the same capacity for the Ballets Russes de Colonel W. de Basil (1932-1952). The manuscripts, photographs, and other documents that are included in this Archive provide one of the richest collections of information on these two dance companies available anywhere.
Although the majority of the materials in the Serge Grigoriev/Ballets Russes Archive relate to the companies of Diaghilev and de Basil, the Archive contains several items from another Russian ballet company, the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. By 1937 differences between Massine and de Basil led to the formation of a company for Massine with backers that included Sergei J. Denham, who eventually became the general director. The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo existed from 1938 to 1962.
The Serge Grigoriev/Ballets Russes Archive is organized into six series:
The core of the Serge Grigoriev/Ballets Russes Archive is the collection of manuscript drafts for his work
In Russian, numerous corrections; dated 2 September 1952 to 18 August 1960. This unpublished draft includes notes and/or cast lists for works that include:
This series contains photographs of most of the principal artists associated with Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes and the Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo.
This series contains albums that span the dates 1916 to 1948 and include nearly 3,000 of Serge Grigoriev’s photographs of ballet dancers and colleagues in the Ballets Russes de Serge Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo. Some are signed and many are unpublished. Included are photographs of George Balanchine, Irina Baronova, Alexandra Danilova, Colonel W. De Basil, Serge Diaghilev, Vladimir Dokoudovsky, Serge Gregoriev, Tamara Grigorieva, David Lichine, Serge Lifar, Léonide Massine, Vera Nemchinova, Bronislava Nijinska, Vaslav Nijinsky, Tatiana Riabouchinska, Tamara Toumanova, and Vera Zorina, just to name a few.
The albums also contain photographs of the company in locations around the world, including Monte-Carlo, Montreux, Roquebrune, Berlin, Edinburgh, London, Barcelona, Montserrat, Paris, Guadalajara, Santiago (Chile), Rio de Janeiro, Havana, New York, Lima, La Paz, Buenos Aires, Quito, Bogota, Caracas, Bombay, Melbourne, and Sydney as well as cities throughout Samoa, Ceylon, Central America, Aden, the United States, and New Zealand. Of particular interest is the scrapbook of passport or identification photographs that identify the dancers by their original names.
The albums are rich in performance photographs of works that include
This series contains programs and souvenir programs for Colonel W. de Basil’s Ballets Russes (also known as the Original Ballet Russe) and for Sergei J. Denham’s company, the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo (
This series contains publications about two of the famous Russian dance companies: the Ballets Russes de Serge Diaghilev (known also as Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes) and the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, a company that was created for Léonide Massine upon his departure from Ballets Russes de Colonel W. De Basil. This company was led by Sergei J. Denham and existed from 1938 to 1962.
This series contains miscellaneous materials relating to Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes (1909-1929) and the Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo (also known as various other names including the Original Ballet Russe, 1932-1952).
Choreographed for the original Ballets Russes.
(Where appropriate, full and correct forms of original names, if known, appear in parentheses)