Schmid, Adolf, 1868-1958

Ballet International Incorporated was the first ballet company established by Marquis George de Cuevas, who later went on to sponsor the European-based company, the Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas.

Ballet International was one component of Ballet Institute, a non-profit educational trust that had been set up by the marquis in 1943. Although the company lasted only a single season, it brought together some prominent figures in the world of ballet to create an ambitious repertory of new works and revivals. Adolf Schmid, an Austrian-born composer, author, conductor, and arranger, was engaged by the company to supervise music for the ballets. In addition to creating his own orchestrations, Schmid was responsible for contracting with other arrangers and for working with copyists to produce orchestra scores. Although only officially credited in the company programs with orchestrating the Chopin score for William Dollar's ballet, Constantia, internal documents within the collection indicate that Schmid provided the orchestrations for another piece given during the company's inaugural season, Bronislava Nijinska's version of Bolero, with music by Maurice Ravel. Schmid also was paid for orchestrations for ballets that may have been planned for future seasons, including Giselle, Le Beau Danube, and Variations on a Nursery Rhyme.