Blum, René

Blum, René

(rənā` blo͝om), 1878–1942, French ballet impresario, brother of Socialist leader Léon BlumBlum, Léon
, 1872–1950, French Socialist leader and writer. Well established in literary circles, he entered politics during the Dreyfus Affair and rose to party leadership.
..... Click the link for more information.
. He edited (1903–13) the journal Gil Blas and arranged (1913) for the publication of ProustProust, Marcel
, 1871–1922, French novelist, b. Paris. He is one of the great literary figures of the modern age. Born to wealthy bourgeois parents, he suffered delicate health as a child and was carefully ministered to by his mother.
..... Click the link for more information.
's Swann's Way. After fighting in World War I, he moved to Monaco to become (1924) artistic director of the Theatre de Monte-Carlo and later reorganized and cofounded (1932) a new Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo, bringing together such dancers as Alexandra DanilovaDanilova, Alexandra
, 1904?–97, Russian-American ballerina. She entered (1923) the Imperial Ballet School, St. Petersburg, was a member (1924–29) of Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, and prima ballerina (1938-58) of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo.
..... Click the link for more information.
, Alicia MarkovaMarkova, Dame Alicia
, 1910–2004, English ballerina. Her original name was Lilian Alicia Marks. Markova joined Diaghilev's Ballets Russes in 1924 and, in 1931, the Vic-Wells Ballet (now the Royal Ballet), becoming its first prima ballerina in 1933.
..... Click the link for more information.
, Serge LifarLifar, Serge
, 1905–86, Russian dancer, choreographer, director, teacher, and dance historian, b. Kiev. Lifar studied briefly with Bronislava Nijinska, but he was primarily self-taught.
..... Click the link for more information.
, and Igor YouskevitchYouskevitch, Igor
, 1912–94, Russian-American ballet dancer. He joined (1938) the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and became premier danseur. Youskevitch danced with the Ballet Theatre in New York from 1946 to 1955, thereafter returning to the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo as
..... Click the link for more information.
 and such choreographers as FokineFokine, Michel
, 1880–1942, Russian-American choreographer and ballet dancer, b. Russia. He studied at the Imperial Ballet School (1889–98) and danced at the Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg.
..... Click the link for more information.
, MassineMassine, Léonide
, 1896–1979, Russian choreographer and ballet dancer, b. Leonid Fyodorovich Miassin. Massine attended the Imperial Ballet School, St. Petersburg, and became principal dancer and choreographer for Diaghilev's Ballets Russes (1914–20) and for
..... Click the link for more information.
, and BalanchineBalanchine, George
, 1904–83, American choreographer and ballet dancer, b. St. Petersburg, Russia, as Georgi Balanchivadze. The son of a Georgian composer and a Russian mother, Balanchine attended (1913–21) the Imperial Ballet School, St.
..... Click the link for more information.
. The company's sale (1937), for financial reasons, to U.S. interests brought some of the world's finest dancers and choreographers to America. In 1941 he was arrested and ultimately sent to Auschwitz, where he died.

Bibliography

See biography by J. Chazin-Bennahum (2011).