The Mariinsky Ballet () is the resident

classical ballet Classical ballet is any of the traditional, formal styles of ballet that exclusively employ classical ballet technique. It is known for its aesthetics and rigorous technique (such as en pointe, pointe work, turnout (ballet), turnout of the legs, ...

company of the

Mariinsky Theatre The Mariinsky Theatre (, also transcribed as Maryinsky or Mariyinsky) is a historic opera house in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th-century Russia, where many of the stage masterpieces ...

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. Founded in the 18th century and originally known as the Imperial Russian Ballet, the Mariinsky Ballet is one of the world's leading ballet companies. Internationally in some quarters, the Mariinsky Ballet continues to be known by its former

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

name the Kirov Ballet. The Mariinsky Ballet is the parent company of the Vaganova Ballet Academy, a leading international ballet school.

History

The Mariinsky Ballet was founded in the 1740s, following the formation of the first Russian dance school in 1738. The Imperial Theatre School, as it was originally known, was established on 4 May 1738, at the

Winter Palace The Winter Palace is a palace in Saint Petersburg that served as the official residence of the House of Romanov, previous emperors, from 1732 to 1917. The palace and its precincts now house the Hermitage Museum. The floor area is 233,345 square ...

. It would become the predecessor of today's

Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet The Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet is a school of classical ballet in St Petersburg, Russia. Established in 1738 during the reign of Empress Anna, the academy was known as the Imperial Ballet School until the Soviet era, when, after a brief h ...

. The school's founder director was the French

ballet master A ballet master (also balletmaster, ballet mistress, ''premier maître de ballet'' or ''premier maître de ballet en chef'') is an employee of a ballet company who is responsible for the level of competence of the dancers in their company. In mo ...

and teacher Jean-Baptiste Landé and the purpose of creating the school was to train young dancers to form the first Russian ballet company. As the Imperial Russian Ballet, the company premiered numerous ballets by choreographer

Marius Petipa Marius Ivanovich Petipa (; born Victor Marius Alphonse Petipa; 11 March 1818) was a French and Russian ballet dancer, pedagogue and choreographer. He is considered one of the most influential ballet masters and choreographers in ballet history ...

. A number of his ballets now form the basis of the traditional classical ballet repertoire, performed by ballet companies around the world, and often retaining much of Petipa's choreography. These ballets include the original productions of ''

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' (, ), Opus number, Op. 71, is an 1892 two-act classical ballet (conceived as a '; ) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, set on Christmas Eve at the foot of a Christmas tree in a child's imagination featuring a Nutcracker doll. Th ...

'', '' The Sleeping Beauty'', ''

Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...

'', '' La Bayadère'', and ''

Raymonda ''Raymonda'' () is a ballet, grand ballet in three acts, four scenes with an apotheosis, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa to the music of Alexander Glazunov (his Opus number, opus 57) and libretto by Lydia Pashkova. ''Raymonda'' was creat ...

''; and popular revivals of older ballets, including '' Coppélia'', '' Giselle'', and '' Le Corsaire''. Petipa's revival of the ballet ''

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoje ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, links=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failu ...

'' is perhaps his most famous work for the company. Originally choreographed by

Julius Reisinger Julius Wentsel Reisinger (1828 – 1893) was a Czech ballet choreographer. He created more than twenty works on various European stages and directed the Moscow company of the Bolshoi Theatre. Reisinger choreographed the first stage production o ...

for the

Bolshoi Theatre The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈat(ə)r, t=Grand Theater) is a historic opera house in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové. Before the October Revolutio ...

in 1877, ''Swan Lake'' was initially a critical and commercial failure. Petipa sought to revive the ballet with the blessing of

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popula ...

, but the composer died before the new ballet was created. Petipa consequently worked with his brother

Modest Tchaikovsky Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky (; –) was a Russian people, Russian dramatist, opera librettist and translator. Early life Modest Ilyich was born in Alapayevsk, Verkhotursky Uyezd, Perm Governorate, the younger brother of the composer Pyotr Ilyich ...

, who significantly revised the story and rewrote the libretto to the version now commonly performed. The production was choreographed by Petipa and his collaborator

Lev Ivanov Lev Ivanovich Ivanov (; 2 March 1834, Moscow – 24 December 1901, Saint Petersburg) was a Russian ballet dancer and choreographer and later, Second Balletmaster of the Mariinsky Ballet, Imperial Ballet. As a performer with the Mariinsky Ballet, ...

. Premiering at the Mariinsky Theatre in 1895, the Petipa/Ivanov/Tchaikovsky production of Swan Lake was a success. Following the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

, the Soviet government decided that the ballet school and company were unwanted symbols of the tsarist regime and closed them both. The ballet company was the first to be re-established, becoming in 1920 known as the State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet, with the school re-opening later as the Leningrad State Choreographic School, both in their previous locations. After the assassination of prominent Soviet figure

Sergey Kirov Sergei Mironovich Kirov (born Kostrikov; 27 March 1886 – 1 December 1934) was a Russian and Soviet politician and Bolshevik revolutionary. Kirov was an early revolutionary in the Russian Empire and a member of the Bolshevik faction of the Russ ...

in 1934, the Ballet was renamed the Kirov Ballet in 1935, a name which is still sometimes incorrectly used. After the end of Communist rule, the ballet company and opera company were renamed for the theatre, becoming in 1992 the Mariinsky Ballet and Mariinsky Opera. Both companies are now run by the theatre itself.

Today

The Director of the Mariinsky Ballet is Yuri Fateyev.

Repertoire

*'' Adagio Hammerklavier'' *''Anna Karenina''-

Alexei Ratmansky Alexei Osipovich Ratmansky (, born August 27, 1968) is a Russian-Ukrainian-American choreographer and former ballet dancer. From 2004 to 2008 he was the director of the Moscow Bolshoi Ballet. He left Russia in 2008. In 2009 he was appointed the ar ...

version * ''Apollo'' * ''Ballet Imperial (Ballet No 2)'' *''Bambi'' *'' La Bayadère'' *''Bolero Factory'' *''The Bronze Horseman'' *''Camera obscura'' * ''Carmen Suite'' * ''Carnaval'' *''The Cat on the Tree'' *'' Chopiniana'' *''Choreographic Game 3x3'' *''Cinderella''-Alexei Ratmansky version *''Concerto DSCH'' *'' Le Corsaire'' *''Le Divertissement du roi'' * ''Don Quixote'' *''Elegy. Ophelia'' *''

The Firebird ''The Firebird'' (; ) is a ballet and orchestral concert work by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1910 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes company; the original choreography was by Michel Fokine, who c ...

'' *'' Fountain of Bakhchisarai'' *''The Four Seasons'' *'' Giselle'' *''Infra'' *'' In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated'' * ''In the Night'' *''In the Jungle'' *''Inside the Lines'' * ''Jewels'' *''The Legend of Love''-choreography Yury Grigorovich *''Leningrad Symphony'' *''The Little Humpbacked Horse''-Alexei Ratmansky version *'' Marguerite and Armand'' * ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' *''

Les noces ''The Wedding'', or ''Svadebka (''), is a Russian-language ballet-cantata by Igor Stravinsky scored unusually for four vocal soloists, chorus, percussion and four pianos. Dedicating the work to impresario Sergei Diaghilev, the composer described ...

'' *''

''-

version *''The Nutcracker''- Mihail Chemiakin version *'' Paquita''-Yuri Smekalov version * ''Paquita Grand Pas'' *''Pavlovsk'' *''Le Parc'' * ''Petrouchka'' *''Petrouchka''-Vladimir Varnava and Konstantin Fyodorov version * ''Polovtsian Dances (ballet)'' * ''The Prodigal Son'' *''

'' *''

Le Réveil de Flore ''Le Réveil de Flore'' (English language, en. ''The Awakening of Flora''), (Russian language, ru. «Пробуждение Флоры», ''Probuzhdenie Flory'') is a ''ballet Anacreontics, anacréontique'' in one act, with choreography by Marius ...

'' * ''Romeo and Juliet''- Leonid Lavrovsky version *''Russian Overture'' *'' Le Sacre Du Primtemps'' *''Sacre'' * ''Scheherazade'' *'' Scotch Symphony'' *''Second I'' * ''Serenade'' *''Shurale'' *''Solo'' * ''Sleeping Beauty''- Konstantin Sergeev version *''Sleeping Beauty''- Sergei Vikharev version * ''Spartacus''- Leonid Yakobson version *'' Le Spectre de la rose'' * ''The Stone Flower'' * ''The Swan'' *''

'' *''

La Sylphide ''La Sylphide'' (; ) is a romantic ballet in two acts. There were two versions of the ballet; the original choreographed by Filippo Taglioni in 1832, and a second version choreographed by August Bournonville in 1836. Bournonville's is the only ve ...

'' * ''Sylvia'' * ''Symphony in C'' *''Symphony in Three Movements'' * ''Tarantella'' *''Tchaikovsky Pas de deux'' *'' The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude'' *''Variations for two couples'' *''Violin Concerto No. 2'' *''Without'' *''Yaroslavna. The Eclipse'' *''The Young Lady and the Hooligan'' *''5 Tangos''

Dancers

The basis of the Mariinsky Ballet consists of the following artists:

Principals

* Nadezhda Batoeva * Ekaterina Kondaurova * Olesya Novikova * Renata Shakirova * Oksana Skorik * Viktoria Tereshkina * Diana Vishneva * Timur Askerov * Yevgeny Ivanchenko * Kimin Kim * Vladimir Shklyarov * Andrey Ermakov

First Soloists

* Maria Ilyushkina * Alexandra Khiteyeva * Maria Khoreva * Anastasia Kolegova * May Nagahisa * Yekaterina Osmolkina * Kristina Shapran * Maria Shirinkina * Elena Evseeva * Elena Svinko * Roman Belyakov * Even Capitaine * Yevgeny Konovalov * Nikita Korneyev * Alexander Sergeev * Philipp Stepin * Konstantin Zverev

Second Soloists

* Vlada Borodulina * Maria Bulanova * Alexandra Iosifidi * Daria Kulikova * Anastasia Lukina * Valeria Martynyuk * Camilla Mazzi * Anastasia Nuikina * Yana Selina * Tatiana Tkachenko * Yuri Smekalov * Ruslan Stenyushkin * Alexei Timofeyev * David Zaleyev * Maxim Zyuzin

Character Soloists

* Elena Bazhenova * Olga Belik * Alisa Rusina * Islom Baimuradov * Soslan Kulaev * Dmitry Pykhachov * Vasily Shcherbakov * Andrei Yakovlev

Coryphées

* Yesenia Anushenkova * Yuliana Chereshkevich * Maria Chernyavskaya * Tamara Gimadieva * Shamala Guseinova * Daria Ionova * Yekaterina Ivannikova * Viktoria Krasnokutskaya * Valeria Kuznetsova * Bíborka Lendvai * Anastasia Nikitina * Zlata Yalinich * Yaroslav Baibordin * Ramanbek Beishenaliev * Maxim Izmestiev * Kian James Manghise * Roman Malyshev * Pavel Mikheyev * Alexei Nedviga * Aaron Osawa-Horowitz * Grigory Popov * Yaroslav Pushkov * Andrei Solovyov

Notable dancers

* Altynai Asylmuratova *

Mikhail Baryshnikov Mikhail Nikolayevich Baryshnikov ( rus, Михаил Николаевич Барышников, p=mʲɪxɐˈil bɐ'rɨʂnʲɪkəf; ; born January 27, 1948) is a Latvian and American dancer, choreographer, and actor. He was the preeminent male ...

* Vakhtang Chabukiani * Petra Conti * Natalia Dudinskaya *

Pavel Gerdt Pavel Andreyevich Gerdt (), also known as Paul Gerdt (22 November 1844, near Saint Petersburg, Russia – 12 August 1917, in Vamaloki, Finland, Russian Republic), was the ''Premier Danseur Noble'' of the Mariinsky Ballet, Imperial Ballet, the Bol ...

* Tamara Karsavina * Maria Khoreva * Irina Kolpakova * Theodore Kosloff * Mathilde Kschessinska * Ninel Kurgapkina *

Pierina Legnani Pierina Legnani (30 September 1863 – 15 November 1930) was an Italian ballerina considered one of the greatest ballerinas of all time. Biography Legnani was born in 1863, in Milan and originally studied with famous ballet dancer Caterina B ...

* Larissa Lezhnina * Ulyana Lopatkina * Askold Makarov * Natalia Makarova * Varvara P. Mey * Galina Mezentseva * Vaslav Nijinsky *

Rudolf Nureyev Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev (17 March 19386 January 1993) was a Soviet-born ballet dancer and choreographer. Nureyev is widely regarded as the preeminent male ballet dancer of his generation as well as one of the greatest ballet dancers of all ...

* Alla Osipenko *

Anna Pavlova Anna Pavlovna Pavlova. (born Anna Matveyevna Pavlova; – 23 January 1931) was a Russian prima ballerina. She was a principal artist of the Imperial Russian Ballet and the Ballets Russes of Sergei Diaghilev, but is most recognized for creating ...

* Olga Preobrajenska * Farukh Ruzimatov * Leonid Sarafanov * Marina Semyonova * Konstantin Sergeyev * Alla Sizova * Yuri Soloviev * Olga Spessivtzeva * Galina Ulanova * Diana Vishneva * Svetlana Zakharova * Igor Zelensky

References

External links

* **
Mariinsky Ballet International Tour Schedule

Additional Information/Pictures about the Mariinsky-Kirov Ballet

More information and interviews from the Kirov Ballet
*

Kennedy Center: Information about Mariinsky Ballet
accessed 4 October 2008 {{Authority control 1740 establishments in the Russian Empire History of ballet National Dance Award winners

History

Today

Repertoire

Dancers

Principals

First Soloists

Second Soloists

Character Soloists

Coryphées

Notable dancers

See also

References

External links