Arts , Humanities & Social Science

Abstract

At the turn of the twentieth century, ballet stood at the intersection of refinement and stagnation. Under Marius Petipa’s direction, the Russian Imperial Ballet had reached technical and artistic excellence, however its strict adherence to rigid structures and traditions left it vulnerable to cultural and institutional developments. It was a Russian impresario with a background in art criticism and exhibition curation who critically recognized the potential for ballet to evolve into a modern, interdisciplinary art form. As founder of the Ballets Russes, Sergei Diaghilev brought together known leaders in choreography, music, and visual design, fostering a creative environment which challenged established norms. This paper focuses on the 1912 Ballets Russes production of L’Après-midi d’un Faune as the project through which Diaghilev’s dual role as artistic connoisseur and strategic manager is examined. Employing the perspectives of both ballet and management studies, the analysis considers how Diaghilev facilitated collaboration among choreographer Vaslav Nijinsky, composer Claude Debussy, and designer Léon Bakst, enabling each to contribute their distinct artistic perspectives. Ballet literature places L’Après-midi d’un Faune within the avant-garde movement, citing its controversial erotic content, radical two-dimensional choreography, and divergence from musical expectation. These new elements broke from the classical ballet tradition and redefined the expressive language of the discipline. Management scholarship illustrates how Sergei Diaghilev’s entrepreneurial leadership through interdisciplinary project coordination was able to support such innovation. His strategic methods included recruiting top talent across all fields, mediating conflicts between complex personalities, and finding creative ways to leverage controversy for cultural capital. Such approaches align with contemporary theories of adaptive, knowledge-based management. Diaghilev’s leadership ensured that L’Après-midi d’un Faune was both a groundbreaking artistic achievement and a carefully executed act of institutional entrepreneurship. The findings presented in this paper underscore how the modernist transformation of ballet was as much a managerial accomplishment as it was an artistic one. Through his ability to unite artistic disciplines under a cohesive vision, Diaghilev established a model for arts leadership that remains relevant today. This interdisciplinary case study therefore contributes to arts management scholarship by identifying historically grounded strategies for managing artistic risk to drive cultural innovation.