Ballet
Features
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Wilhelm: legendary costume and stage designer of Victorian and Edwardian ballet
Introducing Wilhelm – designer of the most spectacular ballet costumes of the late 19th and early 20th century
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Léon Bakst – revolutionary designs for the ballet
Discover Léon Bakst's revolutionary costume designs for the legendary Ballets Russes
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Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes – an introduction
The productions of the Ballets Russes revolutionised early 20th-century arts and continue to influence cultural activity today
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Conserving a prima ballerina's tutu - ASMR
Watch as Belinda Wright's tutu is humidified
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A close-up look at the risqué costume made for the 1913 performance of Salomé by the Ballet Russes
Take a closer look at the risqué costume designed for Tamara Karsavina in her role as Salome, performed by the Ballet Russes in 1913
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Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes: behind-the-scenes as objects are prepared for display
Go behind the scenes to see spectacular costumes, posters and a gigantic Picasso stage cloth being prepared for display
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Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes: a free, self-guided London walking tour
Take a journey through the streets of London's Covent Garden to discover key landmarks in the story of Sergei Diaghilev's legendary Ballets Russes
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Diaghilev's music and choreography
Leading contemporary choreographers and composers give their take on Sergei Diaghilev's legendary Ballets Russes
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Gerald Scarfe: drawing inspiration
Join the cartoonist Gerald Scarfe as he discusses his varied work and career
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Surrealism and design
Originally a radical art movement, in the 1930s Surrealism transformed the design world
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Opera set design
Opera set designs reflect the social, political and cultural mood of the time and place they are performed
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Patchwork fashions
Once a technique of economy, patchwork is now a perennial fashion favourite
Collection highlights
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Nijinsky depicted on a poster for the Ballets Russes, designed by Jean Cocteau, printed by Eugène Verneau and Henri Chachoin, 1913, FranceV&A East Storehouse -
Set model for ballet based on 'Hamlet', designed by Leslie Hurry, 1942, EnglandV&A South Kensington -
Costume design for La Parisienne in ballet 'Nocturne', designed by Sophie Fedorovitch, 1936, EnglandV&A South Kensington -
Making Tea, photograph, by Mary McCartney, 2004, LondonV&A South Kensington -
Costume for a courtier in ballet 'Le Chant du rossignol', designed by Henri Matisse, 1920, Paris, FranceV&A East Storehouse -
Costume design for a butterfly or moth in the moth ballet of Matthew Bourne's 'Swan Lake', by Lez Brotherston, 1995, EnglandV&A East Storehouse -
Tamara Karsavina in 'The Firebird', photograph by Emil Otto Hoppé, about 1911, London, EnglandV&A East Storehouse -
Owl head costume for magician Von Rothbart in 'Swan Lake', designed by Leslie Hurry, 1952, EnglandV&A East Storehouse -
Poster advertising ballet 'Swan Lake', photograph by Anthony Crickmay, printed by AJC, 1993V&A East Storehouse -
Set model for ballet 'Comus', designed by Oliver Hilary Sambourne Messel, 1942, London, England -
Theatre costume, designed by Philip Prowse, made by Bonn & Mackenzie, 1981, London, EnglandV&A East Storehouse -
Costume design for the four swallows in the ‘Snow Ballet’, designed by Wilhelm, choreographed by Aime Bertrand, performed by the Alhambra Ballet in Offenbach’s A Trip to the Moon (Le Voyage dans la lune) at Her Majesty’s Theatre, 1883 – 84, London, EnglandV&A East Storehouse -
Theatre costumes for Fokine's ballet 'Daphnis and Chloé', designed by Léon Bakst, 1912. Museum no. S.508&A, B-1979; S.639&A, B, 635&A, C-1980 -
Tamara Karsavina and Margot Fonteyn, photograph, by Keystone Press Agency Ltd., 1954, London, EnglandV&A East Storehouse -
Autographed pointe shoe worn by Margot Fonteyn as the Firebird, maker unknown, 1950s.V&A East Storehouse -
Poster for the Sadler's Wells Ballet at the Royal Opera House, printed by Claridge, Lewis & Jordan Ltd., 20th century, LondonV&A East Storehouse -
Tutu worn by Margot Fonteyn as Odile in Act III of 'Swan Lake' in Vienna, designed by Nicholas Georgiadis, 1964, Vienna, AustriaV&A East Storehouse
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