"Dieu" was one of six new ballets for the 1911 Ballets Russes season. The others were "Narcisse", "La Peri", "Le Spectre de la Rose", "Sadko", and "Petrushka". Michel Fokine would design the dances for all of them. Léon Bakst would design the sets and costumes for the first four. When Fokine and Bakst started work on Ida Rubinstein's ballet "Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien", Diaghilev felt betrayed. He pushed "Dieu" forward to 1912. He lost interest in "Dieu", but spent huge amounts of money on the production. He hoped "Dieu" would make Nijinsky a great international star.