Photographic print of Lydia Sokolova as the Bacchante in Narcisse, ca. 1918.
Lydia Sokolova in Dancing for Diaghilev p.79 describes how she inherited the role of the Bacchante after Bronislava Nijinska left the Ballet Russes because she was a strong dancer. ‘…with a good elevation, and above all because I had powers of endurance. When I was cast as the Bacchante in Narcisse, I was frightened not only of the dance itself, but of the entrance I had to make….The Bacchanale was long, repetitive and difficult, with endless jumps and a lot of spinning on the same spot…I wore a dress of thick cashmere and a long, hot, red wig, with my oen hair, which was thick and heavy, underneath it. In addition I had a wide cashmere scarf fitted to my wrists and hanging down three quarters of a yard on either side. In my hands I carried a cup and jug. I was laden.’

Narcisse A Mythological poem one act had book, sets and costumes by Léon Bakst; was choreographed by Mikhail Fokine for the Ballets Russes' to an original score by Nicolas Tcherepnin. It was created for the first season by Diaghilev's Ballets Russes at the Théâtre de Monte Carlo and first performed on 29 April 1911.