Léon Bakst, La Sultane Bleue, 1910. A costume sketch for the ballet Schéhérazade.

The Ballets Russes—the most innovative dance company of the 20th century—propelled the performing arts to new heights through ground-breaking collaborations between artists, composers, choreographers, dancers, and fashion designers, and were responsible for reawakening of interest in ballet in Europe and America, and bringing Russian culture to the attention of the rest of the Western world. In this lecture we will look at the origins and development of the Ballets Russes and the most important Russian impresario and the first international curator, Sergei Diaghilev.

Language: English

Tickets: Adults £12, CamRuSS members, OAPs, students – £9.
Combined ticket for all 6 lectures: Adults £65, CamRuSS members, OAPs, students £50.

To pre-book your tickets please visit.

You can also pay by a direct bank transfer (BACS) to the following account:

Cambridge Russian-Speaking Society
NATWEST Bank, Sort code: 60-11-30
Account: 18120466
Ref: 5June + YOUR NAME (under which you are making reservation)

Please email events@camruss.com to inform us about your payment.

Dr Natalia Murray, MA (Academy of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg), PhD (Courtauld Institute of Art) is a visiting lecturer at the Courtauld Institute of Art and a senior curator. In 2017 she curated a major exhibition Revolution. Russian Art. 1917-1932 at the Royal Academy of Arts in London and is currently working on several exhibition projects in Moscow and Paris. Her books and articles extend across the wide field of 19-20th century Russian and European art, and she has featured in films dedicated to the Hermitage museum and the Russian revolution and in programmes for BBC Radio 4 and the BBC World Service.