'Diaghilev's Ballets Russes' is a renowned monograph by Lynn Garafola, Professor of Dance at Columbia University, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a leading expert on the history of Russian ballet.
'The history of 20th-century ballet has never seen a company that has left such a profound and influential mark as Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. It existed for only twenty years—from 1909 to 1929—but during these two decades it managed to transform ballet into a living, contemporary art form... Throughout its existence, this company was a magnet for bright, talented, and exceptional individuals. But one figure towered above all others—Serge Diaghilev, the outstanding impresario who led the Ballets Russes from its earliest days until his death in 1929. He was a man of iron will and extremely refined taste, possessing encyclopedic knowledge and passionate curiosity – a kind of Napoleon of the arts – and at the same time a personality of the scale of the Renaissance.”