Grigoriev, Serge (1883 - 1968)

Borovansky, Edouard: Portrait of Serge Grigoriev, Ballets Russes, c. 1938

Research Materials | Other Resources

Born in Tikhvin, Russia, Serge Grigoriev was trained at the Imperial Theatre School in St Petersburg, from where he graduated in 1900. He was appointed regisseur for Diaghilev's Ballets Russes in 1909 and remained in that position until the company disbanded on Diaghilev's death in 1929. With the Diaghilev company he also created the roles of Shah Shariar in Scheherazade, Guidone in Le Coq d'or and the Russian Merchant in La Boutique fantasque.

After Diaghilev's death Grigoriev worked with Colonel de Basil and his various companies from 1929 to 1951. For de Basil he drew on his earlier experiences to stage ballets from the Diaghilev repertoire. He came to Australia as regisseur-general on the Covent Garden Russian Ballet tour of 1938 to 1939 and the Original Ballet Russe tour of 1939 to 1940. He was accompanied on the Original Ballet Russe tour by his wife, the ballerina Lubov Tchernicheva. Later, with Tchernicheva he was responsible for mounting revivals in the 1950s and 1960s of ballets by Fokine and overseeing rehearsals of works by Massine. Grigoriev's memoirs were published as The Diaghilev Ballet 1909-1929 and were translated into English in 1953.

See also: Ballets Russes Australian tours ; Boutique fantasque, La ; Coq d'or, Le ; de Basil, Wassily ; Fokine, Michel ; Massine, Leonide ; Scheherazade

---

Research Materials

Oral history | Picture | All

---

Other resources

Find more about Grigoriev, Serge in:

• Internet - Google
• Articles - New York Public Library Dance Collection
• Pictures - Picture Australia