Overview

The Ballets Russes was perhaps the most iconic, yet at the same time mysterious, ballet company of the twentieth century. Inspired by the unique vision of their founder Sergei Diaghilev, the company gained a large international following. In the mid-twentieth century - during the tumultuous years of World War II and the Cold War - the Ballets Russes companies kept the spirit and traditions of Russian ballet alive in the West, touring extensively in America, Europe and Australia. This important new book uncovers previously-unseen interviews and provides insights into the lives of the great figures of the age - from the dancers Anna Pavlova and Alicia Markova to the choreographers Leonide Massine, George Balanchine and Anton Dolin. The dancers' own words reveal what life was really like for the stars of the Ballets Russes and provide fascinating new insights into one of the most vibrant and creative groups of artists of the modern age.

Full Product Details

Author:   Michael Meylac ,  Ismene Brown ,  John Neumeier ,  Rosanna Kelly (translator, UK)
Publisher:   Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Imprint:   I.B. Tauris
Weight:   0.749kg
ISBN:  

9781780768595

ISBN 10:   1780768591
Pages:   288
Publication Date:   30 October 2017
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Introduction : Russia and Europe: A Transparent BarrierPart I: Les Ballets Russes de Serge de Diaghilev, Les Ballets Russes de Colonel de Basil and the Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo 1. Working with Diaghilev2. The Baby Ballerinas3. Working with the Ballets Russes de Colonel de Basil and the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo4. The Ballets Russes in Australia 5. The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in AmericaPart II: Marquis de Cuevas and Others6. Serge Lifar7. Nina VyroubovaPart III: The Next Generation8. Pierre Lacotte9. Three Portraits10. The Canadian ballet11. The Netherlands BalletPart IV: The Heirs of the Russian Tradition12. American balletPart V: The Mariinsky TheatrePart VI: The Wandering Stars13. Rudolf Nureyev14. Natalia Makarova15. Mikhail Baryshnikov16. Two PortraitsPostscript, List of Illustrations, Index

Reviews

Meylac's love of ballet has gifted balletomanes with genuinely evocative reading, providing dancers' tidbits from this unforgettable ballet era. * Dance International Magazine *

`Behind the Scenes at the Ballets Russes is a fascinating series of interviews with dancers, choreographers and teachers of the diaspora of Russians following the Revolution and subsequently based in America, Australia and Europe. We must be grateful to Michael Meylac for recording these first-hand accounts in the years 1989-2007 from artists involved with the generations of companies generically known as Ballets Russes. To hear their voices is revealing.' - Jane Pritchard, author of Diaghilev and the Golden Age of the Ballets Russes, `Michael Meylac's book does an exceptional favour to dance history, bringing all the participants in the Ballets Russes story together.' - Ismene Brown, from the foreword to this book

Author Information

Michael Meylac is Professor of Russian Literature at the University of Strasbourg. He is the author of editions and studies of the Oberiou poets and of studies on the Provencal troubadours. Rosanna Kelly is an author and translator, based in London.

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