“A graceful and fascinating new documentary! Tells a marvelous story of mid-century show business, encompassing both the most exalted expressions of pure art and the sometimes grubby commerce that sustained it. The filmmakers… triumphantly demonstrate the almost magical power of archival documentary. A delight even for a dance philistine. (An) impeccable memorial to a perishable art form. A moving, invigorating elegy to the civilization that sustained it.”
– A.O. Scott, The New York Times

“MARVELOUS! Let it be said right out loud that BALLETS RUSSES… is a scrumptious chocolate layer cake of a documentary. It’s just heaven!”
– John Rockwell, The New York Times

PRODUCED, DIRECTED & WRITTEN BY
DAN GELLER & DAYNA GOLDFINE
USA, 2005
118 MINS.
IN ENGLISH
Zeitgeist Films

LONG SYNONYMOUS WITH LEGENDARY IMPRESARIO SERGE DIAGHILEV AND THE GENIUS OF NIJINSKY, the Ballets Russes was founded in Paris in 1909, but had a long, illustrious history that spanned many continents, over 50 years, encompassing the lifetimes of many of the 20th century’s greatest dancers. This epic-scaled documentary does justice to these companies (there were actually dueling Ballets Russes). The film is replete with breathtaking, rare archival footage and evocative interviews with dancers in their 80s and 90s who recall their early days touring the world, working with the likes of Balanchine, Massine, Fokine, Stravinsky, Debussy, Picasso and Matisse. Irina Baronova, Frederic Franklin, Dame Alicia Markova, Marc Platt (renamed Platoff — “everyone was Russianized”), Maria Tallchief and George Zoritch are just a few of the extraordinary artists who grace the screen.

• View the trailer [requires QuickTime - free download here]
• Official website
• Click here to access a blog for BALLETS RUSSES.
• Read A.O.Scott’s review of BALLETS RUSSES in the New York Times
• Read Andrew Solomon's review of BALLETS RUSSES in Artforum

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