Costume designed by Giorgio de Chirico for one of the two male dancer in the Spanish entrée in the Ballets Russes’ production of Le Bal, 1929, danced by Leon Woizikowsky and George Balanchine.
The Spanish entrée, a pas de trois, was the first of the divertissement to entertain the guests at the ball. As the critic of the Daily Telegraph said ‘In the interludes The Ball begins to be interesting. Madame Doubrovska has a fine Spanish dance with M. Woizikowsky, always an impeccable artist, and the redoubtable M. Balanchine.’ The design for this costume is in the V&A collections S.445-1979 showing the costume worn with black shoes and white stockings, a white shirt and narrow black tie. The dancer is holding a pink cape and wearing a dark wig. Photographs suggest that wigs were not worn for the Spanish entrée. When the costumes were catalogued the numbering muddled the parts of the dancers’ costumes.
Le Bal (The Ball), a modern ballet in one act and two scenes had sets and costumes designed Giorgio de Chirico, was created for Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes at the Théâtre de Monte Carlo on 7 May 1929. The musical score was by Vittorio Rieti, the narrative by Boris Kochno, after a story by Count Vladimir Sologub, and it was choreographed in 1929 by George Balanchine. The costumes executed under the direction of Mme A. Youkine. The original ballet had 15 performances being presented only during the last season of Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes in Monte Carlo, Paris, Berlin and London where it was first performed on 26 July 1929 also at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London. When Massine created a new version of the ballet in 1935 using the original score, sets and costumes the Spanish entrée was danced by Vania Posta and Marian Ladre with Tamara Grigorieva.