Overview
Correspondence, contracts and other records documenting the formation of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and the relocation of the company to the United States.
Dates
- 1935-1968
- Majority of material found in 1937-1940
Language of Materials
Collection materials are in French, Russian, and English.
Conditions Governing Access
There are no restrictions on physical access to this material.
Extent
2 linear feet (4 boxes)The collection includes correspondence between Serge Denham and the owner of the Ballets de Monte Carlo René Blum, as well as correspondence between Serge Denham and his European and American representatives, and other companies. It also includes contracts and other miscellaneous material.
Biographical / Historical
The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo existed between 1938 and 1962 under the directorship of Sergei Denham, a Russian-born banker. In 1937 he formed World Art Inc in order to acquire Les Ballets de Monte Carlo owned by René Blum, with an idea of creating a world-class ballet company based in Monte Carlo that would continue Serge Diaghilev's legacy. The outbreak of World War II forced the company to relocate to America.
Arrangement
Arranged into the following three series:
- I. Correspondence
- II. Contracts
- III. Miscellaneous records
Physical Location
b
Immediate Source of Acquisition
2003MT-291. Purchased with the Howard Rothschild fund; received: 2002 October 29.
Processing Information
Processed by: Irina Klyagin
- Title
- Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo records, 1935-1968: Guide.
- Author
- Harvard Theatre Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard College Library
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hou00231
Repository Details
Part of the Houghton Library Repository
Houghton Library is Harvard College's principal repository for rare books and manuscripts, archives, and more. Houghton Library's collections represent the scope of human experience from ancient Egypt to twenty-first century Cambridge. With strengths primarily in North American and European history, literature, and culture, collections range in media from printed books and handwritten manuscripts to maps, drawings and paintings, prints, posters, photographs, film and audio recordings, and digital media, as well as costumes, theater props, and a wide range of other objects. Houghton Library has historically focused on collecting the written record of European and Eurocentric North American culture, yet it holds a large and diverse number of primary sources valuable for research on the languages, culture and history of indigenous peoples of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.
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