Ballets Russes: The Real Story—Picasso, Stravinsky & Chanel 💥

Were the Ballets Russes’ scandals clever PR—or did Picasso, Stravinsky, and Chanel genuinely blow up ballet as we knew it? In this 10-minute Ballet Bites deep dive, we unpack the myths vs. reality behind The Rite of Spring “riot,” Picasso and Satie’s audacious Parade, and Chanel’s sleek, fashion-forward Le Train Bleu—plus how these shockwaves still shape ballet in 2025. Keywords: Ballets Russes, Sergei Diaghilev, Vaslav Nijinsky, Igor Stravinsky, Pablo Picasso, Coco Chanel, Jean Cocteau, Parade, Le Train Bleu, The Rite of Spring, Joffrey Ballet, English National Ballet.

What you’ll learn:
– Myth vs. fact: was the 1913 Rite of Spring premiere truly a riot—or a noisy culture clash?
– Diaghilev’s “Étonne-moi” strategy: engineering the conditions for scandal without faking it.
– Parade’s radical mashup: Cubist billboards, typewriters, sirens—why it split critics and won headlines.
– Chanel’s modern sportswear for Le Train Bleu and how fashion money still shapes ballet today.
– Reconstructions vs. reinventions: what Joffrey’s 1987 Rite taught us about authenticity.
– 2025 update: ENB’s intimate Le Train Bleu revival at London’s V&A East—Picasso cloth, CHANEL collaboration, and a fresh lens on a 1924 classic.
Financial Times

Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction to Scandal and Style in Ballet
00:23 Iconic Ballets: Rite of Spring, Parade, and Train Bleu
01:07 Engineered Scandal vs. Audience Reaction
02:32 Reassessing the Chaos: Beyond the Myths
02:54 Reconstructing 'The Rite of Spring': Authenticity vs. Imagination
04:02 Fashion, Finance, and Ballet: Chanel's Influence
05:16 Modern Ballet Scandals: Decolonization and Challenging Norms
05:43 Key Takeaways: Diaghilev's Approach and Legacy
07:20 Diaghilev: Master Planner and Visionary
08:37 Evolving Scandal: Reimagining Boldness in Art

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Main site: https://artdeballet.com
Related reading: Who Is Sergei Diaghilev? https://artdeballet.com/who-is-sergei...

Tags
#ballet,#BalletsRusses,#Picasso,#Stravinsky,#CocoChanel,#RiteOfSpring,#Parade,#LeTrainBleu,#Diaghilev,#Nijinsky,#BalletHistory,#Modernism,#JoffreyBallet,#EnglishNationalBallet,#ParisOperaBallet,#AmericanBallet