Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo was an influential ballet company that existed from 1932 to 1963. Act 4 of Swan Lake: choreography by Petipa and Nureyev, music by Tchaikovsky. ...

History

The first Ballet Russe company was founded by Sergey Diagalev in 1909. Until the death of Diagalev in 1929, that company was aguably the most famous, creative and successful company that had ever existed. With his death, the company dissolved, its proprety - including the name - was claimed by creditors. Léon Bakst: Firebird, Ballerina, 1910 The Ballets Russes was a ballet company established in 1909 by the Russian impresario Serge Diaghilev and resident first in Théâtre Mogador, Paris; and then in Monte Carlo. ...

The New Company

In 1933, Rene Blum and Colonel Vassily de Basil founded a new company called the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Choreographers Leonide Massine and George Balanchine, who had both worked for the former company, joined this new company and created some of their greatest works. Ballerinas such as Alexandra Danilova, Alicia Markova, and Maria Tallchief danced with the company. René Blum (Paris, 13 March 1878 - Auschwitz, 30 April 1942) was the founder of the Ballet de lOpera a Monte Carlo. In 1931, he was hired to form the Ballet by the Prince Louis II of Monaco. ... Vassily de Basil (1886? - July 27, 1951) was a Russian ballet impresario. ... Leonid Fyodorovich Myasin was a Russian choreographer and ballet dancer. ... George Balanchine (January 9 (O.S.) = January 22 (N.S.), 1904–April 30, 1983) was one of the 20th centurys foremost choreographers, and one of the founders of American ballet. ... Danilova as Fanny Cerrito in Pas de Quatre. ... Alicia Markova photo taken by Carl Van Vechten, 1940 Dame Alicia Markova (1 December 1910 – 2 December 2004) was an English prima ballerina. ... Maria Tallchief is an American ballerina. ...

The Split

In 1938, de Basil and Massine went separate ways. De Basil founded a company called the Original Ballet Russe which toured mainly in Europe, while Massine's company retained the Monte Carlo name and toured mainly in the United States.

The End

In 1968, the company went bankrupt. Many of the dancers who had served with the company founded dance companies of their own across the United States and Europe.