Interpolation

Abstract The publication of Karsavina’s Theatre Street in 1930, unintentionally coincided with Diaghilev’s death and arrived at a time when audiences feared ballet in the West might disappear with the dissolution of his company. Karsavina’s memoir gained wide readership but it does not mark the full extent of her output as a writer. This chapter introduces those friends and interested colleagues who encouraged the ballerina to write, and outlines the extent and nature of her published and unpublished writing. Arnold Haskell initially prompted her to write her bestselling memoir; P. J. S. Richardson published her many articles about ballet history and pedagogy in Dancing Times; and Mercedes de Acosta pushed her to write a sequel to Theatre Street and acted as an informal agent for her in New York.