The Rite of Spring have mastered the work's difficulties. Even the Ballets Russes's sceptical stage director, Serge Grigoriev, was full of praise for the originality and dynamism of Nijinsky's choreography. The conductor Pierre Monteux had worked with Diaghilev since 1911 and had been in charge of the orchestra at the premiere of "Petrushka". Monteux's first reaction to "The Rite", after hearing Stravinsky play a piano version, was to leave the room and find a quiet corner. He drew Diaghilev aside and said he would never conduct music like that; Diaghilev managed to change his mind. Although he would perform his duties with conscientious professionalism,
Picasso and the Ballets Russes Picasso and the Ballets Russes Pablo Picasso and the Ballets Russes collaborated on several productions. Pablo Picasso's Cubist sets and costumes were used by Sergei Diaghilev in the Ballets Russes's "Parade" (1917, choreography: Léonide Massine), "Le Tricorne" ("The Three-Cornered Hat") (1919, choreography: Massine), "Pulcinella" (1920, choreographer: Massine), and "Cuadro Flamenco" (1921, choreography: Spanish folk dancers). Picasso also drew a sketch with pen on paper of "La Boutique fantasque" ("La course"), (1919, choreography: Massine). and designed the drop curtain for "Le Train Bleu" (1924, choreography: Bronislava Nijinska), based on his painting, "Two Women Running on the Beach" ("The Race"), 1922. The