Cinema - Ballets Russes

The setting is pre-revolutionary Russia. The year is 1909. Serge Diaghilev, soon to become the impresario of the world famous Ballets Russes has formed a group of artists and avant-garde thinkers. Each share a common desire to promote all forms of 'art for art's sake' in order to break down the traditional distinctions between 'High' and 'Low' art. Their philosophy is to become known as the World of Art movement. One of the group, Alexander Benois, proposes that they choose ballet as the art form with which to work. This is how the story of the legendary Ballets Russes almost accidentally begins.

Fast forward to 1929, the eve of Diaghilev's death. The Ballets Russes has risen to unimagined heights. The ground-breaking company has attracted designers such as Braque, Picasso, Tchelitchev, and Utrillo, and composers like Debussy, Prokofiev, Ravel, Satie and Stravinsky, who Diaghilev spotted when he was virtually unknown. Dayna Goldfine and Dan Geller's much lauded documentary film 'Ballet Russes' weaves new interviews, archive material and unseen footage together to recount the story of the company's extraordinary struggle for survival. It tells of the impact of the Russian Revolution, the Second World War and the splintering of the brand into the 'original' and the Monte Carlo Ballets Russes, each headed by opposing entrepreneurs. Guiding us through this history are many of the original dancers whose enduring passion for their art has made them the undisputed stars of the show. ER