In 1909 Feu d'artifice was performed at a concert in Saint Petersburg.
In the 1980s, Nijinsky's original choreography, long believed lost, was reconstructed by the Joffrey Ballet in Los Angeles. Massine's was the forerunner of many innovative productions directed by the world's leading ballet-masters, gaining the work worldwide acceptance. After a mixed critical reception for its original run and a short London tour, the ballet was not performed again until the 1920s, when a version choreographed by Léonide Massine replaced Nijinsky's original, which saw only eight performances. The concept behind The Rite of Spring, developed by Roerich from Stravinsky's outline idea, is suggested by its subtitle, 'Pictures of Pagan Russia in Two Parts' the scenario depicts various primitive rituals celebrating the advent of spring, after which a young girl is chosen as a sacrificial victim and dances herself to death. The Rite was the third such project, after the acclaimed Firebird (1910) and Petrushka (1911). Stravinsky was a young, virtually unknown composer when Diaghilev recruited him to create works for the Ballets Russes.
