From Diaghilev to Terekhov and Chouteau

The University of Oklahoma School of Dance, OU Libraries and the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art are showcasing the Ballets Russes Special Collections and Archive and its connection to the University of Oklahoma with an array of exhibitions, lectures and an Oklahoma Festival Ballet production. Many events are open to the public with complimentary admission.

The public is invited to the complimentary exhibition From Diaghilev to Terekhov and Chouteau: An Exhibition of Material from the Ballets Russes Special Collections and Archive. The exhibition opens alongside the museum’s fall exhibition Picturing Indian Territory: 1819-1907 the same night.

The Ballets Russes, the pre-eminent ballet company of the early 20th century, was founded in 1909 by Russian impresario Sergei Diaghilev. Throughout the company’s history, it was a who’s who of famous artists that ensured the success of the company. Noted composers Strauss, Stravinsky, Ravel and Prokoviev wrote scores for the ballet company. Set designers included such renowned painters as Picasso, Matisse, Braque and Miró. Choreographers such as Balanchine, Fokine and Massine, and principal dancers Nijinsky, Karsavina and Danilova served as dominant figures in the ballet world. The company’s cutting-edge productions forever changed audience expectations of ballet as theatre.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website