90 Years Ago Today: The Death of Sergei Diaghilev

On August 19, 1929, shockwaves were felt throughout the dance world as news spread that impresario Sergei Diaghilev had died. The founder of the Ballets Russes rewrote the course of ballet history as the company toured Europe and the U.S., championing collaborations with modernist composers, artists and designers such as Igor Stravinsky, Pablo Picasso and […]

#tbt: Why Alexandra Danilova Could Never Pick a Favorite Role

In the April 1944 issue of Dance Magazine, we chatted with prima ballerina assoluta Alexandra Danilova. After leaving the Soviet Union in 1924 with George Balanchine, she danced with Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes and Colonel de Basil’s troupe before becoming the most beloved leading lady of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, where she formed […]

After the Revolution

Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring) was the ballet that shook the world. One hundred years ago, the chic crowd in Paris booed or cheered, argued loudly, and even came to blows. Nijinsky stood on a chair and yelled out the counts to keep the Ballets Russes dancers going, while Diaghilev commanded the […]