Our Mission

The mission of the Ballets Russes Special Collections and Archive at the University of Oklahoma School of Dance is to collect, arrange, preserve, and make accessible to researchers materials that document the history of the Ballets Russes companies, artists and dancers.

OU Ballets Russes Special Collections and Archive sketch
OU Ballets Russes Special Collections and Archive sketch
OU Ballets Russes Special Collections and Archive sketch
OU Ballets Russes Special Collections and Archive sketch
Karsavina Firebird
Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo Pasde Quatre
Swan Lake - OU Ballets Russes archive

The collections include books, correspondence, photographs, scrapbooks, posters, programs, art prints, costume items, and more.

These items, many donated by former Ballets Russes dancers and their families, document the Ballet Russe company formed by Serge Diaghilev in 1909 and other companies that shared the Ballets Russes legacy and name after his death in 1929.

The Ballets Russes Special Collections and Archive is also home to the School of Dance Library housing books and periodicals on many forms of dance. Subjects include biographies and autobiographies of dancers, histories of dance companies, music and design for dance.