Scope and Content Note
The Serge Grigoriev / Ballets Russes Archive is comprised of materials that document Serge Grigoriev’s career as a dancer and as régisseur (rehearsal director) for the Ballets Russes de Serge Diaghilev (1909-1929). Grigoriev served in the same capacity for the Ballets Russes de Colonel W. de Basil (1932-1952). The manuscripts, photographs, and other documents that are included in this Archive provide one of the richest collections of information on these two dance companies available anywhere.
Although the majority of the materials in the Serge Grigoriev / Ballets Russes Archive relate to the companies of Diaghilev and de Basil, the Archive contains several items from another Russian ballet company, the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. By 1937 differences between Massine and de Basil led to the formation of a company for Massine with backers that included Sergei J. Denham, who eventually became the general director. The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo existed from 1938 to 1962.