Vitaphone production reels #622A-623A.
This short is on the Warner Bros. DVD for This Is Our Life (1942).
Jack L. Warner was a visionary in 1940, who had the authority to be totally inspired to bring the entire Frenchman's founding master-director Rene Blum's "Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo" ensemble dance troupe from their New York City temporary company based headquartered location to his California Burbank Studio after the ballet company's impresario Sol Hurok's American and South American international 1938-1939/40 tour had concluded. Jack Warner had seen the Rene Blum dance company's live performances in Los Angeles' Shrine Auditorium during the impresario Sol Hurok's Rene Blum produced "The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo" sponsored American and South American Tour. Jack Warner's determined sponsorship for presenting filmed stage theatricals as part of his prestigious film catalogue causing his impetus to produce two "WB feature-film shorts" using the ballet company's featured international Russian and French principal soloists and ensemble. Jack L. Warner demanded - new "film costumes" for his two "film shorts" - replacing all the original ballet company's worn and shabby tour costume wardrobe, originally designed and built by Madam Barbara Karinska in either her Paris, London, and New York City costume shops. The Ballet Company's wardrobe trunks had been delivered to Warner Brothers' Burbank film studio prior to the Ballet Russe Dance Company's personnel and management arrival at the film studio. The Warner Brothers' costume-wardrobe department meticulously copied every costume for the two short featurettes. The dance company's original ballet costumes were supervised and maintained by Barbara Karinska, who had toured with the ballet company's whirl-wind American and South American International Tour as the company's wardrobe mistress. Although Tamara Tormanova had been featured in the company's tour repertoire in "the glove role", she did not perform the role in this "Gay Parisian" film short. Tormanova performed in the Warner's second feature film short "Spanish Fiesta". Both film shorts were filmed in 1941, with the studio releasing "Gay Parisian" first in January, 1942, and the second short "Spanish Fiesta" in March, 1942.
Vinecenzo Celli's (b: 05/04/1900; d: 02/28/1988, demise at age 88) Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo's company position was as the dance company's dance master, teacher, whose principle role was to maintain a disciplined choreography of the repertoire. Celli, born in Salerno, Italy, with his parents immigrated to the United States, settling in Chicago, Illinois. In 1916, seeing the original Parisian based "Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo" company established by Sergei Diaghilev on their United States tour, Ballet Russes' Vaslav Nijensky perform at a Chicago Opera theater, Vincenzo Celli decided to be a dancer. At 17, Celli moved to New York City, where he performed as an actor both on and off Broadway with the Washington Square Players. Impressed by his range and ease of movement, choreographer Adolph Bolm approached him to appear in a mime role in his ballet production of 'Le Coq d'Or' (1918) at the Metropolitan Opera. He then appeared in Bolm's production of 'The Birthday of the Infanta' (1919) at the Chicago Opera. A few years later, Celli moved back to Italy, where he began formal ballet training with Rafaele Grassi, the teacher of Rosina Galli. He made his Italian debut in a 1922 revival of Manzotti's spectacular ballet 'Excelsior' at Milan's Teatro dal Verme. The success of his appearance led to a contract with the Teatro alla Scala, where he studied privately under the famed choreographer and dancer Enrico Cecchetti. Celli spent fifteen years, from 1923 to 1938, dancing at La Scala. Under the tutelage of maestro Enrico Cecchitti, (born: June/21/1850 in a Rome, Italy, theatre dressing room; d: 11/13/1928, age 78), from 1923-1928. Vinecenzo Celli, developed into an acclaimed virtuoso, eventually earning the title of primo ballerino. During his years at Milan's famed opera and ballet theater, Celli formed an exciting partnership with prima ballerina Via Fornaroli (1888-1954), appearing with her in such ballets as 'Petrouchka' in 1927 and 'La Legend di Giuseppe' (The Legend of Joseph) in 1928. Celli began to choreograph, creating ballets for dozens of operas before he decided to leave Italy, where his position was endangered because of his refusal to join the Fascist party. In late 1938, Celli, who abandoned his performing career in favor of teaching, moved to London. In 1931, Colonel Wassily de Basil (a Russian entrepreneur from Paris) and Rene Blum (ballet director of the Monte Carlo Opera) founded the "Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo" giving its first performance in Monte Carlo in 1932. Diaghlieve alumni Leonide Massine and George Balanchine worked as choreographers with the company, and Tamara Tormanova was principal dancer. Artistic differences led to a split between Blum and de Basil. Rene Blum retained the name "Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo" and de Basil created a new company. In 1938, de Basil called his new ballet company "The Convent Garden Russian Ballet". Then renamed it "The Original Ballet Russe" in 1939. The "Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo" appeared in Berlin (for a week of repertoire) a week after the closing1936 Berlin Olympics, returning to London afterwards. "Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo" toured extensively in the United States, Australia and South America. Returning and ending the 1939-40 tour in New York City, the ballet company was virtually stranded preferring to remain on neutral ground, not to return to London which was under the "Blitz". Celli, after moving to London in 1938, joined Rene Blum and Leonide Massine 'Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo' dance company as ballet master/guest teacher. Celli returning to the U.S. with the ballet company's North and South American tour schedule, as 'Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo' company's ballet master. The 'Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo' touring dance company returned to New York City after their international dance tour in 1940. Celli, still engaged with Ballet Russe, remained in New York city, then opened a studio on Manhattan's West Side and began a highly successful private teaching career. Teaching ballet technique would occupy him for the next forty years. His classes adhered strictly to the Cecchetti method system, which he regarded as the foundation of a complete dance education. Among his pupils were Agnes de Mille, Alicia Markova, Anton Dolin, Jerome Robbins, Alicia Alonso, Katherine Rutgers, Royes Fernandez, Richard Tomas and Harvey Hysell. New York dancer Phyllis Caputo (Felisa Vanoff) enrolled and trained with the ballet master teacher Vincenzo Celli in 1941. This ballet training experience led to Caputo spending 18 months in Mexico City, where Phyllis Caputo studied Spanish and Flamenco lithe and eloquently vivid performance art with another Cecchetti method dance instructor, Jose Fernandez.
In early 1940, the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo dance company was located in Paris, France, performing their repertoire. With the German threat of war, the company hastily returned and remained in New York City. The dance company's American and South American tour had ended in late 1939. With the unstable world conditions focused in England, France, Poland and the Nazi-European war expansion, the Ballet Russe company directors's decision was to keep the company members safe in the United States. Completing the two WB feature film shorts, the ballet group returned to New York City to ponder their fate. The Ballet Russe impresario Rene Blum returned to Paris. Blum was arrested December 12, 1941 in his Parisian home. Among the first Jews to be arrested in Paris by the French police after France was defeated and occupied by the German Regime, he was held in the Beaune-La-Ronde camp, then in the Drancy deportation camp. On September 23, 1942, he was shipped to the Auschwitz concentration camp where he was later killed by the Nazis.