Vera Fokina in Scheherazade (1914)

Vera Fokina (1886-1958) was a Russian-American ballerina. In 1906 she married the groundbreaking Russian choreographer and dancer Michel Fokine.

The ballet Scheherazade premiered on June 4th 1910, at the Opéra Garnier in Paris by the Ballets Russes. The choreography for the ballet was by Michel Fokine and the libretto was from Fokine and Léon Bakst.

The Ballet Russes’ Scheherazade is known for its traditionally dazzling costumes, opulent scenery, and erotic choreography and narrative which was rarely seen in ballets of the time.

Vera Fokina in Scheherazade at Kungliga Operan, 1914 via

Vera Fokina in Scheherazade at Kungliga Operan, 1914 via

Vera Fokina in Scheherazade at Kungliga Operan, 1914 via

Vera Fokina in Scheherazade at Kungliga Operan, 1914 via

Vera Fokina in Scheherazade at Kungliga Operan, 1914 via

Denishawn Dance Company (1920)

Denishawn dance company founder Ruth St. Denis and husband Ted Shawn with a smattering of vestal virgins, Louise Brooks in the middle, 1920 via

Alexandra Danilova in Neoclassical Ballet Appolon Musagète (1928)

Apollo (originally Apollon musagète and variously known as Apollo musagetes, Apolo Musageta, and Apollo, Leader of the Muses) is a neoclassical ballet in two tableaux composed between 1927 and 1928 by Igor Stravinsky. It was choreographed in 1928 by twenty-four-year-old George Balanchine, with the composer contributing the libretto. The scenery and costumes were designed by André Bauchant, with new costumes by Coco Chanel in 1929.

The scenario involved the birth of Apollo, his interactions with the three Muses, Calliope (poetry), Polyhymnia (mime) and Terpsichore (dance and song), and his ascent as a god to Mount Parnassus. The original cast included Serge Lifar as Apollo, Alice Nikitina as Terpsichore (alternating with Alexandra Danilova), Lubov Tchernicheva as Calliope, Felia Doubrovska as Polyhymnia and Sophie Orlova as Leto, mother of Apollo.

Alexandra Danilova in Appolon Musagète, 1928 via

Alexandra Danilova and Serge Lifar in Appolon Musagète, 1928 via

Alexandra Danilova and Serge Lifar in Appolon Musagète, 1928 via

Two Pink Tinted Postcards From The Early 1900s

Belle Epoque Lady in Art Nouveau Style Belly Dancer Costume with Pearls and Pink Veil, early 1900s via

Studio Portrait by Henri Manuel of Paris, 1900s via

Incredible Vintage Photos of Flamenco Dancers by Man Ray

 Flamenco Dancer Vicente Escudero by Man Ray, 1928 via

 Flamenco Dancer by Man Ray, 1934 via

Flamenco Dancers by Man Ray, 1957 via

Beautiful Vintage Photos of Rosa Rolanda by Man Ray (1928)

Californian born Rosa Rolanda (1895-1970, aka Rosemonde Cowan, Rose Rolando, Mrs or Miguel Covarrubias) was a multidisciplinary artist, dancer and choreographer.

In 1916, Rosa Rolanda began her artistic career in New York as a celebrated dancer in Broadway revues. She became involved with the Mexican artist Miguel Covarrubias in 1924, and in the following year the couple traveled to Mexico, where Rolanda began to take photographs.

During the late 1920s or early 1930s, Rolanda experimented with photograms, creating significant series of surrealist self-portraits that may have been influenced by Man Ray, who photographed Rolanda in Paris in 1923.

She probably began painting around 1926. The majority of Rolanda’s canvases depict colorful, folkloric scenes of children and festivals, portraits of friends such as the movie actresses Dolores del Río and María Félix, and self-portraits.

Rolanda and Covarrubias married in 1930, and by 1935 they had permanently settled into his family home in Tizapan El Alto, close to Mexico City.

Rosa Rolanda by Man Ray, 1928 via

Rosa Rolanda in Paris c. 1923, photograph by Man Ray via

Rosa Rolanda by Man Ray 1923 via

Rosa Rolanda in Paris circa 1923 by Man Ray via

A Couple doing the Charleston (1920s)

A dancing couple doing the charleston, 1920s via

The Guy Sisters (1920s)

The famous Guy Sisters, Eleanor and Karla Gutchrlein, snapped in their home. The sisters danced all over Europe during the 1920s. From the Soibelman Syndicate News Agency Collection via

The Tiller Girls (1928)

The Tiller Girls pose in a line wearing costumes at The Plaza, 1928  via

Parisian Showgirl Minstinguett´s Remarkable Headwear

Jeanne Bourgeois (1875-1956) made her debut as Mistinguett at the Casino de Paris in 1895 and went on to appear in venues such as the Folies Bergère, Moulin Rouge and Eldorado.

Her risqué routines captivated Paris, and she went on to become the most popular French entertainer of her time and the highest paid female entertainer in the world, known for her flamboyance and a zest for the theatrical. In 1919 her legs were insured for 500,000 francs.

Mistinguett by Lucien Waléry, 1920s via

Mistinguett, 1920s via

Mistinguett by Lucien Waléry, early 1920s via

Mistinguett by Lucien Waléry, ca. 1925 via

Mistinguett, ca. 1930 via

Mistinguett by Paul Stone Raymor, 1920s  via

Mistinguett by Paul Stone Raymor, 1920s  via