The goal of Ballets Russes 2009 is to celebrate the centenary of Sergei Diaghilev's famous ballet and opera company, and its broad cultural legacy, as well as to build new audiences for dance and the arts in New England and the Northeastern US. During 10 days in May 2009, we will capture the city of Boston with a wide-ranging program reflecting the various components of the Ballets Russes. There will be performances by the Boston Ballet and the Boston Pops, a festival of dance films at the Museum of Fine Arts and an exhibition of stage designs and actual costumes at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford. Boston University will host a major three-day academic conference on the Ballets Russes and an exhibition of related posters and memorabilia. For children, there will be a puppet theater, performances, and a parade populated with characters from Ballets Russes as well as classic Imperial Ballet productions, and even from contemporary ballets done at the Mariinsky Theatre. To celebrate the cultural richness of the Ballets Russes for people of all ages, Ballets Russes 2009 will also hold a traditional Russian street fair, called a balagan, on the streets of Boston. Performers from present-day Russia, including dancers, actors and mimes, will come to Boston to participate in the Festival.

Following the conclusion of the festival, Ballets Russes 2009 will launch a permanent cultural exchange program between Russia and other American and European cities, including Boston and Paris. The program will celebrate the Ballets Russes achievement by promoting, as its global objective, education, culture, international relations and the sharing of resources.

Ballets Russes 2009 is a one-of-a-kind cultural organization based in Boston, USA. Our aim as an organization is to unite, not to compete, with the disparate efforts of other cultural institutions in Boston and St. Petersburg to celebrate the centennial. Through its central management structure, and network of partnerships, the project links independent organizations in a harmonious way, and allows cultural and civic groups as well as businesses in the service sector to realize their individual agendas, while benefiting from the association. By beginning early and maintaining a major visible presence through a sustained series of events in Boston, as well as a web community, we will serve as a leader and guide for any individual or group interested in celebrating the Ballets Russes centenary. Ballets Russes 2009 is also a work-in-progress. Currently, the organization is looking for corporate and individual sponsors, and is extending a welcome to any in the business community who wish to participate in the festival.

The Executive Team: Ballets Russes 2009 is a non-profit organization operated out of Boston University by an experienced management team under the direction of festival founder Peter Rand.

Peter Rand, Executive Director, has authored numerous works of fiction and non-fiction. He is also a professor at Boston University's College of Communication.

Anna Winestein, Associate Director, is a Boston University-educated art historian and scholar of Russian culture, currently working on her doctoral dissertation at Oxford University.

Alston Purvis, Art Director, is the Chairman of the Department of Graphic Design, The College of Fine Arts, Boston University. He is also Curator of the Ballets Russes Exhibition at the 808 Showroom; and Editor of the Ballets Russes and the Art of Design.

Nick MacShane, Financial Director, is an independent investment banker and founder of the Boston-based firm, Progress Partners, Inc.

Partners: Ballets Russes 2009 is working with a range of cultural institutions in the city of Boston and the New England region. Key partners include Boston University, Boston Ballet, the Boston Pops, the film program at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford. The festival has additional, international partners in St. Petersburg, Russia and Paris, France.