Denham, Sergei, 1896-1970

Sergei Denham (1896-1970) is most prominently known as the director of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo.

Sergei Ivanovich Denham was born Sergei Ivanovich Dokouchaiev (Docootshieff) the son of a banker. The family moved from Samara on the Volga to Moscow, and Sergei was sent to boarding school near St. Petersburg. Eventually he finished his schooling at The Moscow Commercial Institute. His education was eclectic, covering both business and the arts. He developed a particular talent for the piano. Denham's professional career was extremely diversified. When World War I began he worked for the Red Cross. After the 1917 Revolution he took his family east, first to the home of relatives in Uralsk, then to Vladivostok. While in Shanghai on business, Denham heard that the regime for which he had been working had fallen, and decided to immigrate with his family to the United States. In 1921 the Denhams arrived in San Francisco, but eventually settled in New York. Sergei would become a vice-president with the Bankers Trust Company. He was put in charge of establishing and overseeing branches in Eastern Europe and later London, Paris, and Vienna. Denham's social connections and interest in ballet would lead him to establish his own company, the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in 1938. Denham was appointed president of this new ballet organization and held that post throughout the entire length of the company's existence. The company, initially led by choreographer and ballet master, Leonide Massine, toured extensively in the United States and abroad, until it folded in 1962. Denham died in New York City after being struck by a bus.

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