Picryl description: Public domain image of a dancer, dance, performing arts, 20th cenrury, free to use, no copyright restrictions.

The beginning of the twentieth century was a period of dramatic change for women in the West. In the late Victorian period women were constricted by a patriarchal social structure. But the early twentieth century saw the creation of the Suffragette movement, the catalyst for the rapid social change that occurred over the rest of the century. With career options other than marriage and motherhood opening up to them, women engaged with politics, served in the two world wars, made an impact on the artistic and literary worlds and experienced social and sexual liberation. Between 1880 and 1910, the number of women employed in the United States increased from 2.6 million to 7.8 million. Women's organizations in towns and cities across the U.S. were working to promote suffrage, better schools, the regulation of child labor, women in unions, and liquor prohibition. By emphasizing traditional traits, female social reformers created new spaces for themselves in local and then national government even before they had the right to vote.

The Ballet Russes changed the face of dance and opened a new era of modern dance. Sergey Diaghilev and his Ballets Russes incorporated choreography, visual arts, music, dance in their performances. The Ballets Russes was a continual experiment in the diversity and potential that are represented in dance. Its origins were in Russia. It was the homeland for the dancers, choreographers, composers, and designers. However, the Ballets Russes never actually performed in Russia itself. After the Revolution of 1905, the Ballets Russes took up its home in Paris, in the spring of 1909. The Ballets Russes performances took place across three continents and it's style varied with audiences. The influence of the Ballets Russes was far reaching and its vestiges remain today. The undeniable head of this enterprise was Diaghilev, its president from its inception until his death, and the company's in 1929. "He was a man of ferocious will and infinitely discerning taste, encyclopedic knowledge, and passionate curiosity- a Napoleon of the arts and a Renaissance man in one." Beyond the Ballets Russes, Diaghilev also was the editor and founder of the journal Mir Iskusstra, which was an artistic forum, asking for change in every way.4 Along with Diaghilev, founding members such as Alexandre Benois and Léon Bakst implemented a collaborative method, which became the central development behind the company.(5) Two of the early productions of the Ballets Russes were Petrouchka and Les Sylphides. Although both were performed in its first seasons, each represented unique characteristics of the Ballets Russes.