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The Forum: Diaghilev and the ballet revolution

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Portrait Of Sergei Dyagilev (1872-1929)  (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

29/11/2018 GMT

Diaghilev and the ballet revolution

BBC World Service - The Forum, Diaghilev and the ballet revolution

The Russian impresario whose Ballet Russes company transformed 20th century dance

Bridget Kendall discusses the impact Sergei Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes had on early 20th century dance, music and art with Lynn Garafola, Jane Pritchard and Laura Cappelle.

The Russian dance impresario Sergei Diaghilev transformed not only ballet, but all the arts in the 20th century. His ground-breaking Ballets Russes burst onto the scene in Paris in 1909 and replaced stuffy set pieces with shockingly vibrant performances that brought together scenery by artists Picasso and Matisse, costumes by Coco Chanel, avant-garde music by Stravinsky and Prokofiev, and a new style of movement from innovative dancers such as Nijinsky. The Ballet Russes became the world’s leading dance company for nearly quarter of a century, and its creative impulse still influences dance, music and art today. 

Bridget Kendall explores Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes with Lynn Garafola, Professor of Dance at Barnard College, Columbia University in the US; Jane Pritchard, Curator of Dance at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London; and the French dance writer Laura Cappelle.

Photo: Portrait Of Sergei Dyagilev (Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

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