Ballets Russes (film)

Ballets Russes is a 2005 American feature documentary film about the dancers of the Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo, which split into the Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo and the Original Ballet Russe.

By showing clips of performances and interviews (recorded in about 2000) with several principal dancers from each troupe, it follows the history of the two troupes over decades.^[3]Alicia Markova, George Zoritch, and Tatiana Riabouchinska, Tamara Tchinarova were among the dancers featured.^[4] It was narrated by Marian Seldes. It is distributed by Zeitgeist Films.^[5]^[6]

Dancers

Dancers appearing in the film include:

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 91% based on 58 reviews, with an average rating of 7.8/10.^[7]

Ballets Russes was nominated for Best Documentary at the 2005 Gotham Awards, and winner of the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the 2005 Hamptons International Film Festival. The film came third in the Best Nonfiction Picture category at the National Society of Film Critics Awards 2005, and second in the Top Five Documentaries category at the National Board of Review Awards 2005.

↑Gurewitsch, Matthew (April 8, 2007). "The War of the Russes, Ballet's Fabled Troupe"– via NYTimes.com.
↑"On Screen". The Hollywood Reporter. October 24, 2005. p. 15.
↑"Ballets Russes". chron.com. Houston Chronicle. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
↑Jones, Alice (April 11, 2006). "Ballets Russes: Dances with Legends". The Independent. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
↑"Ballets Russes". Time Out Worldwide.
↑"Ballets Russes". The A.V. Club.
↑"Ballets Russes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved July 15, 2026.