a testament to Franco-Russian cooperation, goodwill and support; they represented ‘un nouveau resserrement de l’alliance’ (a further strengthening of the alliance).” However, the relationship made a negative turn when duplicity amongst the alliance arose. While Russia continued to borrow money from the French banks, “the Russians no longer interested in supporting French culture and colonial politics.” This duplicity gave fuel for the paranoia and lack of trust we see in the relationship concerning the arts. The Parisian press spoke of the Ballets Russes in terms of both “enchantement’, ‘bouleversement’ and ‘fantaisie’. Yet they also invoked metaphors of invasion, describing the company's Parisian presence in terms of ‘assaut’ (onslaught) and ‘conquete’ (conquest).” The dual-faceted relationship can be seen in this expression of both enrapture and contention. One French journalist, Maurice Lefevre, called on his fellow Parisians to see the reality of the Russian invasion as though it was an infestation, “We need to do some soul-searching and ask whether our guests are not about to become our masters.” To imply that Russia was about to take over France through performing arts seems to be irrational, but evidence would suggest the fears were real among those in Paris. Ballet companies The first ballet company was the Imperial School of Ballet in St. Petersburg in the 1740s. Sergey Diaghilev, (1872–1929), an enormously important figure in the Russian ballet scene, founded the ballet company Ballets Russes in 1909. Diaghilev intervened in every aspect of ballet - direction, production, lighting, scenery, and performance. He headquartered his ballet company in Paris. A protégé of Diaghilev, George Balanchine, founded the New York City Ballet in 1948. Today, the Kirov Ballet company (now known as the Mariinsky Ballet) and the Bolshoi company are two world-renowned Russian ballet companies that tour the world. Mariinsky Ballet (formerly Kirov ballet) Bolshoi Ballet Other Russian ballet companies include: Ballets Russes, founded in 1909 Moscow State Academy of Choreography, commonly known as The Bolshoi Ballet Academy, founded in 1773 Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet, founded in 1738 as the Imperial Ballet School Saint Petersburg Eifman Ballet, founded in 1977 Mikhailovsky Theatre Ballet, founded in the 1930s Perm Theatre Ballet, founded in 1896 Novosibirsk Theatre Ballet, founded in 1945 Russian State Ballet of Siberia, founded in 1978 A number of companies have been called, or included in their name, Moscow Ballet. Methods Several methods exist in Russian ballet. The most widely used is the