Initially, the couple inaugurated a new focus in the principality on culture, as patrons of the arts. Serge Diaghilev and the prince agreed that financial sponsorship of the former's dance troupe, the "Ballets Russes", offered an opportune means to raise the national prestige of Pierre and the international prestige of the principality. In 1922 the "Société des bains de mer de Monaco" (SBM), the Blanc family corporation licensed to operate Monaco's casinos, contracted with the impresario and his dancers to become Monte Carlo's resident ballet corps, eventually bringing the resort city international renown for entertainment beyond gambling.