Russian dancer and choreographer Léonide Massine was BOTD in 1896. Born in Moscow in the Russian Empire, he studied acting and dancing at the Imperial School, and joined the Bolshoi Ballet. In 1913, aged 17, he was invited by ballet impresario Sergei Diaghilev to join the Paris-based Ballets Russes, as a replacement for Diaghilev’s recently-fired star dancer and lover Vaslav Nijinsky. Massine made his Paris debut in La Légende de Joseph in 1914, and was praised for his technique and commanding stage personality. He became the Ballet Russes’ lead male dancer, performing most of Nijinsky’s star roles. Inevitably, he and Diaghilev became lovers. As with Nijinsky, Diaghilev supervised Massine’s artistic education, introducing him to the luminaries of Parisian society, including composer Igor Stravinsky. At Diaghilev’s and Stravinsky’s encouragement, Massine choreographed his first dance, Le Soleil de nuit, in 1915. He had a major success with the 1917 ballet Parade, based on a scenario by Jean Cocteau, with music by Erik Satie and set designs by Pablo Picasso. He was also praised for his 1919 piece Le Tricon (The Three-Cornered Hat), with a score by Manuel de Falla and set design and costumes by Picasso, and drawing on Spanish folk dance traditions. He worked repeatedly with Stravinsky, choreographing his music for Le chant de rossignol (The Nightingale’s Song), Pulcinella and a 1920 revival of Le sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring). After Diaghilev’s death in 1929, Massine became the principal dancer and lead choreographer of Colonel de Basil’s reconstituted Ballet Russes de Monte-Carlo. His dance pieces Les Présages and Choreartium created controversy for being set to symphonic pieces by Tchaikovsky and Brahms, rather than to specially-composed dance scores, but eventually became standard choreographic practice by the mid-20th century. He continued working with avant-garde artists as set and costume designers, including Henri Matisse, Salvador Dalí and Joan Miró. In 1937, following an argument with de Basil, Massine resigned and established his own dance company. He took de Basil to court, winning the right to call his company Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and retain ownership of his ballets choreographed before 1932. The new company debuted in 1938, led by Massine until 1943. Following the Nazi occupation of France, he moved to London, dancing for the Royal Ballet and teaching ballet students including Frederick Ashton. He rose to wider popularity as the co-star of Powell & Pressburger’s 1948 ballet film The Red Shoes, with a narrative heavily influenced by Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes. He famously feuded with the film’s co-star and choreographer Robert Helpmann, insisting on creating and receiving credit for his own choreography. He also appeared in Powell & Pressburger’s 1951 film Tales of Hoffmann, and choreographed and appeared in the Hollywood dance film Carnival in Costa Rica. In 1966, he returned to Ballet de Monte Carlo for a short-lived tenure as choreographer and artistic director, until the company went bankrupt two years later. Later in life, he taught in the United States and eventually settled in Borken, West Germany, the two memoirs My Life in Ballet and Massine on Choreography. Apart from his relationship with Diaghilev, Massine’s other relationships were with women, marrying three times and having five children, and having a series of high-profile affairs with fellow dancers. He died in 1979, aged 82.