Imported Sophistication: The Ballets Russes Tours of the 1930s–50s and Toronto's Quest for Cultural Significance

Abstract

Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes tours across North America in 1916–17 were not a resounding financial or critical success, however, as the preceding articles in this collection have shown, the Russian dancers and their repertoire left a deep impression on audiences, and their performances continued to resonate long after the company returned to Europe: many Americans discovered a love of ballet after seeing the Ballets Russes and sought out classes or local dance productions, and orchestras increasingly incorporated Russian orchestral works and ballet music into their programs. Nevertheless, the impact of the Ballets Russes tours waned over the next several years, superseded by other touring companies of the 1910s and 1920s, in particular the much beloved Anna Pavlova.1 For most Americans, Diaghilev’s fabled company eventually faded into memory or became a distant object of curiosity to be followed through magazines and occasional news reports. When Diaghilev died in 1929