Ballet Russe

The Ballets Russes (French for The Russian Ballets) was an itinerant ballet company which performed under the directorship of Serge Diaghilev between 1909 and 1929. It created a sensation in Western Europe because of the great vitality of Russian ballet compared to French dance. The Ballets Russes became one of the most influential ballet companies of the 20th century, in part because of its ground-breaking artistic collaboration among contemporary choreographers, composers, artists, and dancers. Its works were part of the avant-garde culture in Paris and France. That influence, in one form or another, has lasted to this day.