Situates the original 1913 production of Sergei Diaghilev’s The Rite of Spring in its local theatrical context, exploring the scheduling and significance of the ballet within the Parisian calendar. Recounts the popular reception of the Ballets Russes’s annual ‘Saisons Russes’ in the French capital, focusing on the pre-war period but also offering a broader history of the troupe and its activities until its dissolution in 1929. Describes the principal stylistic characteristics of the troupe’s productions in terms of music, choreography and visuals (decors and costumes), suggesting historical developments and trajectories that aligned with broader strands of cultural influence during the first decades of the twentieth century. Also explores the nineteenth-century background of theatrical dance in Russia and Western Europe.