''La Prima Ballerina, ou L'embuscade'' or ''The Traveling Dancer'' (aka ''La Danseuse en voyage'') is a

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

(choreographic episode) in one act, with choreography by

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 ...

, music by

Cesare Pugni Cesare Pugni (; ; 31 May 1802, in Genoa – ) was an Italian composer of ballet music, a pianist and a violinist. He studied composition with Bonifazio Asioli and violin with Alessandro Rolla. In his early career he composed operas, symph ...

and libretto by

Paul Taglioni 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 ...

. It was based on a ballet created by Paul Taglioni for the Ballet of Her Majesty's Theatre, London first presented on June 14, 1849. It was first presented by the

Imperial Ballet The Mariinsky Ballet () is the resident classical ballet company of the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in the 18th century and originally known as the Imperial Russian Ballet, the Mariinsky Ballet is one of the world's ...

on November April 16, 1864 ( Julian/ Gregorian calendar dates), at the

Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre The Saint Petersburg Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre (The Big Stone Theatre of Saint Petersburg, ) was a theatre in Saint Petersburg. It was built in 1783 to Antonio Rinaldi's Neoclassical design as the Kamenny (i.e., Stone) Theatre; Giovann ...

, St. Petersburg, Russia. The principal Dancers were

Mariia Surovshchikova-Petipa Mariia Sergeyevna Surovshchikova-Petipa (27 February 1836 – 16 March 1882) was prima ballerina to the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres and wife of the noted choreographer Marius Petipa. Life Mariia Sergeyevna Surovshchikova was born in ...

as the Prima Ballerina, and Timofei Stukolkin as Rinaldo. A variation from this ballet—composed by Petipa in 1905 for the ''Prima Ballerina''

Olga Preobrajenskaya Olga Iosifovna Preobrajenska (; born Preobrazhenskaya; – 27 December 1962) was a Russian ballerina of the Mariinsky Ballet, Russian Imperial Ballet and a ballet instructor. Biography She was born in Saint Petersburg as Olga Preobrazhensk ...

—was the last choreography Petipa ever created (as noted in his Diaries).

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, ...

produced a revival for the Imperial Ballet, with the composer/conductor

Riccardo Drigo Riccardo Eugenio Drigo (; 30 June 1846 – 1 October 1930) was an Italian composer of ballet music and Italian opera, a theatrical Conducting, conductor, and a pianist. Drigo is most noted for his long career as kapellmeister and Director of Mu ...

editing and making additions to Cesare Pugni's original score. First presented on July 26/August 7 ( Julian/ Gregorian calendar dates), 1893 for the Imperial court at the theatre of

Krasnoe Selo Krasnoye Selo (, lit. ''Red (or beautiful) village''). Г. П. Смолицкая. "Топонимический словарь Центральной России". "Армада-Пресс", 2002 is a municipal town in Krasnos ...

. St. Petersburg, Russia.

References

Ballets by Paul Taglioni Ballets by Marius Petipa Ballets by Cesare Pugni 1840s ballets 1849 works 1860s ballets 1864 works {{ballet-stub

See also

References