As a young musician, Hesketh was spellbound by the sounds and colours of the ballet music commissioned for the Ballets Russes company by Serge Diaghilev, the great ballets by Stravinsky, Debussy, Ravel and Prokofiev.
Diaghilev Dances is Hesketh's homage to this great legacy, which he describes as a miniature ballet consisting of an introduction, three dances and three entr'actes.
