Some theatrical events live on in popular memory to become legends - such were Nijinsky's appearances in Diaghilev's early Saison Russes in Paris. Mikhail Fokine was Diaghilev's chief chroegrapher and his choreography marked a departure from many of the rigid rules and forms of classical ballet and ushered in a new expressiveness. He is widely considered to have been the creator of modern dance. This sparkling Russian gala features four Fokine ballets, all associated with Nijinsky. Recorded live from the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, the Kirov Ballet brings to life, once again, the full glory of the Ballets Russes. Sheherazade is based on the first story of The Thousand and One Nights. With Nijinsky in the role of the Golden Slave, it was received with great enthuasism by the Parisian audiences. The ballet's triumph was also due to the fabulous set and costume designs of Léon Bakst, which were immediately acquired by the Paris Museum of Decorative Arts. Created by Fokine to the music of Weber's Invitation to the Dance, Le Spectre de la rose is one of the choreographer's most poetic creations. The story is about a girl who dreams that the spirit of a rose enters her window and dances with her before disappearing with a spactacular leap. Nijinsky's famous role as the rose was very important in establishing his reputation outside Russia. The Firebird was the fruit of a close collaboration between Fokine, composer Igor Strawinsky and stage designer Alexander Golovin. Based on motifs from various Russian fairy tales, this ballet tells of Prince Ivan and the beautiful and mysterious Firebird, This Kirov staging of Fokine's The Firebird recreates the scenery and costumes created for the original production. The Polovtsian Dances were originally choreographed in 1890 by Ivanov for inclusion in Borodin's opera Prince Igor: the entertainment laid on by Khan Kontchak to entertain his captives, Prince Igor and his son Vladimir in Act Two. Mikhail Fokine revised them for presentation in Diaghilev's first Saison Russes in Paris in 1909, when audiences at the Théâtre du Châtelet found them startlingly wild and vigorous. With such works the Ballets Russes elevated dance to the heights of musical drama.