The Sleeping Beauty
Composer - Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Original Choreographer - Marius Petipa
The Sleeping Beauty, based on Perrault's La belle au bois dormant, has a long history in the canon of classical ballet. It was first mounted by the Imperial Ballet in 1890 in St. Petersburg and gained widespread acclaim over the next several decades, cementing its place in the classical repertoire. In 1946, The Sleeping Beauty was the first production the Sadler’s Wells Ballet (now the Royal Ballet) staged at Covent Garden, a brand new production that revived the company following the end of the Second World War.
Composed only a few years before his death, Tchaikovsky’s grand score has made a lasting mark on western culture, well beyond the sphere of classical ballet. In fact, flashes of it can be heard throughout Disney’s 1959 animated film adaptation.
The choreography, inspired by the original vision of Marius Petipa, features numerous iconic moments including the difficult balances of the Rose Adagio in Act I, the daring fish dives of the Act III Wedding Pas de Deux, and the fluttering fingers of the fairy Canari in the Prologue.
Marie Petipa as the Lilac Fairy & Lyubov Vishnevskaya as an Attendant.
1890
Jeunesse Classique Ballet dancers in The Sleeping Beauty
2019
Photo credit Brittany Doucet-Lewis
Swan Lake
Olga Spessiva in Swan Lake costume.
1934
Jeunesse Classique Ballet dancer at a Gala performance
2019
Photo credit Larry Doucet
Composer - Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Primary Choreographers - Marius Petipa, Lev Ivanov
Originally choreographed by Julius Reisinger, and scored by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Swan Lake first premiered in 1877 at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. It was later revised and restaged by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov in 1895, which is the staging from which most modern productions draw their inspiration.
The story follows Odette, a princess transformed into a swan by the evil sorcerer Von Rothbart, and Prince Seigfried who hopes to free her from her curse by swearing his eternal love for her. He is tricked by magic into promising himself to Von Rothbart’s daughter, Odile, and Odette dies, heartbroken and betrayed. Although the original libretto was written as a tragedy, there have been many different versions in the years since which sometimes allow the two lovers a more bittersweet or even happy ending.
Swan Lake has long been a mainstay of classical repertoire for ballet companies the world over. This ballet has ingrained itself perhaps more than any other in the general cultural awareness, from its crashing, mournful score, to the striking iconography of the white and black swans, Odette and Odile. The feathered headpieces, graceful arm movements, and precise coordination of the corps de ballet evoke a flock of birds, delicate and inhuman.
La Bayadère
Composer - Ludwig Minkus
Original Choreographer - Marius Petipa
​La Bayadère (which means 'The Temple Dancer') was first staged in 1877, a time when the cultural landscape of Europe showed a distinct fascination with imagery and themes from Asia and the Middle East. Set in India, the ballet follows the tragic romance between Nikiya, the eponymous temple dancer, and Solor. After Nikiya is murdered by the woman Solor is betrothed to, he dreams of her dancing peacefully among the mountaintops, and the two are briefly reunited before the dream ends and he must return to his grief, and his murderous fiancee.
Solor's vision in the second act, commonly called 'The Kingdom of the Shades', is widely considered to be one of the grandest and most enduring elements of the ballet, and one of the most celebrated pieces of choreography by Marius Petipa. In it, we see Nikiya reflected many times over, with thirty-two white-clad shades descending slowly across the stage in perfect synchrony, to Ludwig Minkus' beautifully mournful score. This segment also features iconic variations from three unnamed shades, before Nikiya herself appears to dance with Solor one last time.
Mathilde Kschessinskaya, Pavel Gerdt, and dancers of the Imperial ballet in the Kingdom of the Shades
1901
Jeunesse Classique Ballet dancers at a gala performance
2019
Photo credit Larry Doucet
Don Quixote
Olga Vasiliyevna Lepeshinskaya as Kitry in Don Quixote
c. 1940
Jeunesse Classique Ballet dancer in a Kitri costume
2022
Photo credit Larry Doucet
Composer - Ludwig Minkus
Primary Choreographers - Marius Petipa
Miguel de Cervantes classic novel Don Quixote, first published in 1605, has been adapted into countless stage, film, and television productions, and in 1869 in a collaboration between Ludwig Minkus and Marius Petipa it was staged as a full length ballet by the Bolshoi Ballet in St. Petersburg.
Three decades later, in 1902, Alexander Gorsky introduced some new variations with music by Antoine Simon, and today most productions of this ballet draw inspiration from his staging.
Set in 17th century Spain, the ballet tells the stories of Don Quixote, an old man with dreams of being a Knight Errant and haunted by visions of Dulcinea, his lady love, and of the rocky romance between the flamboyant Kitri and the penniless barber Basilio.
Beyond the lush colours and lively score, the traditional choreography includes many nods to Spanish culture and dance, from the clacking castanets of Kitri’s first variation to the delicate fan movements in her wedding variation to the swirling capes of the matadors as they arrive in the town.
Paquita
Composer - Édouard Deldevez, Ludwig Minkus
Original Choreographer - Joseph Mazilier, Marius Petipa
First conceived in 1846 by composer Édouard Deldevez and ballet master of the Paris Opéra Ballet, Joseph Mazilier, Paquita follows the story of a young Romani girl in occupied Spain falling in love with an officer in Napoleon's army.
In 1847, it came to Russia and the Imperial Ballet, under the direction of Marius Petipa. It was Petipa’s first staged production, and he collaborated with Ludwig Minkus to introduce several new variations with newly composed music, including the Children’s Mazurka and Grand Pas Classique in the third act of the ballet.
Although the full ballet is rarely performed today, Petipa’s later choreographic additions, meticulously recorded in Stepanov notation, have become a touchstone of classical repertoire, performed by world class companies all around the globe.
Ekaterina Vazem as Paquita in Marius Petipa's 1881 revival of the ballet.
1881
Jeunesse Classique Ballet dancer at a guest performance
2019
Photo credit Larry Doucet