Backstage at Ballets Russes

The music envelopes you as soon as you enter the new exhibition at CaixaForum Madrid. It's like being behind the curtain of a grand theater while a fictitious troupe of ballerinas rules the stage. The atmosphere has been especially created for the exhibition Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, 1909-1929. When Art Dances with Music, an "unusual" show, in the words of CaixaForum director Isabel Fuentes, for being dedicated to a cultural impresario.

Sergei Diaghilev, she explains, was "an entrepreneur who transformed ballet and made it grow until it threw off its secondary role to become what it is today: a spectacle with a life of its own."

The exhibition space breathes life into the delicate elegance of this art form. Every costume and design tells the story of a production and of a dancer. Even some of the great artists of the 20th century hide behind the curtains. Coco Chanel, Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse collaborated with Diaghilev, who recognized artistic talent and exploited it for his spectacles. Alongside them, musicians of the stature of Manuel de Falla and Igor Stravinsky gave voice to his creations.

Over 200 posters, programs, photographs and even a film follow one after the other. Visitors can admire posters drawn by Juan Gris and Pablo Picasso, who created a kind of harlequin for The Three-Cornered Hat, a production dreamed up by Falla and Diaghilev during World War I.

The company took refuge in Spain during the conflict. "Europe was no place for dancing," says Fuentes of the situation north of the Pyrenees. Diaghilev immersed himself in Spanish tradition, folklore and costumes and his performances received an extraordinary welcome in Madrid, Barcelona and San Sebastián. Unknowingly, Spain became an important factor in the survival and development of the Ballets Russes, which continued performing in the country after the armistice was signed.

One filmed exhibit, recorded in black-and-white and silent, stands out. Recorded secretly in Switzerland, it is the only footage of the company - Diaghilev would not allow his dancers to be filmed because he thought movies could not capture the magic of his productions.

Today the exhibition hall is buzzing. "There are a lot of people for a Monday," confirms one of the museum security guards. Begoña and Amparo, two old ladies who have come to see the show, say it seems very comprehensive. "I've already come twice," says Begoña. Another visitor describes as "fantastic" the idea of bringing together the visual arts and the theater. "In the exhibition you feel like you're behind the scenes," concludes Amparo as she disappears out the door.

Los Ballets Rusos de Diaghilev 1909-1929. Until June 3 at CaixaForum Madrid. http://obrasocial.lacaixa.es