Boris Kochno; Russian Ballet Artistic Director

Boris Kochno, 86, artistic director to Sergei Diaghilev and his Ballets Russes. A choreographer, librettist and lighting specialist, Kochno was artistic director to Diaghilev from 1922 to 1929 and helped bring Igor Stravinsky to the world of ballet. Born in Moscow, Kochno was best known for ballets danced by Diaghilev’s famed Ballets Russes troupe, including “Les Facheux,” “Zephire et Flore” and “Les Matelots.” After Diaghilev’s death in 1929, Kochno took over the company and moved it to Monte Carlo where in 1933 he founded, along with George Balanchine, the short-lived company Les Ballets. After World War II, he created the Ballets des Champs-Elysees and wrote many librettos, including “Les Forains” (1945), choreographed by Roland Petit. In Paris last weekend of unreported causes.