Anna Pavlovna Pavlova 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 the role of The Dying Swan and, with her own company, being the first ballerina to tour the world, including South America, India, Mexico and Australia.
Pierina Legnani was an Italian ballerina considered one of the greatest ballerinas of all time.
Tamara Toumanova was a Russian-born Georgian-American prima ballerina and actress. A child of exiles in Paris after the Russian Revolution of 1917, she made her debut at the age of 10 at the children's ballet of the Paris Opera.
Marius Ivanovich Petipa, born Victor Marius Alphonse Petipa, was a French and Russian ballet dancer, pedagogue and choreographer. Petipa is one of the most influential ballet masters and choreographers in ballet history.
Le Corsaire is a ballet typically presented in three acts, with a libretto originally created by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges loosely based on the poem The Corsair by Lord Byron. Originally choreographed by Joseph Mazilier to the music of Adolphe Adam and other composers, it was first presented by the ballet of the Théâtre Impérial de l’Opéra in Paris on 23 January 1856. All modern productions of Le Corsaire are derived from the revivals staged by the Ballet Master Marius Petipa for the Imperial Ballet of St. Petersburg throughout the mid to late 19th century.
Agrippina Yakovlevna Vaganova was a Soviet and Russian ballet teacher who developed the Vaganova method – the technique which derived from the teaching methods of the old Imperial Ballet School under the Premier Maître de Ballet Marius Petipa throughout the mid to late 19th century, though mostly throughout the 1880s and 1890s. It was Vaganova who perfected and cultivated this form of teaching the art of classical ballet into a workable syllabus. Her Fundamentals of the Classical Dance (1934) remains a standard textbook for the instruction of ballet technique. Her technique is one of the most popular techniques today.
Olga Iosifovna Preobrajenska was a Russian ballerina of the Russian Imperial Ballet and a ballet instructor.
Altynai Abduakhimkyzy Asylmuratova is a Kazakh-born former ballerina who is artistic director of the ballet company at Astana Opera. She is a former prima ballerina with the Kirov Ballet and a guest artist all over the world.
La Esmeralda is a ballet in three acts and five scenes, inspired by the 1831 novel Notre-Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo, originally choreographed by Jules Perrot to music by Cesare Pugni, with sets by William Grieve and costumes by Mme. Copère.
Pehr Christian Johansson was a teacher, choreographer and balletmaster for the Russian Imperial Ballet. He was engaged at the Royal Swedish Ballet in 1829–41, and at the Imperial Russian Ballet in 1841–66.
Nikolai Gustavovich Legat was a ballet dancer, choreographer and teacher.
Raymonda is a grand ballet in three acts, four scenes with an apotheosis, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa to the music of Alexander Glazunov and libretto by Lydia Pashkova. Raymonda was created especially for the benefit performance of the prima ballerina Pierina Legnani, and first presented by the Imperial Ballet at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre on 19 January [O.S. 7 January] 1898 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Among the ballet's most celebrated passages is the Pas classique hongrois from the third act, which is often performed independently.
The Little Humpbacked Horse, or The Tsar Maiden is a ballet in four acts and eight scenes with apotheosis.
Mariia Sergeyevna Surovshchikova-Petipa was prima ballerina to the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres and wife of the noted choreographer Marius Petipa.
Ludwig Minkus, also known as Léon Fyodorovich Minkus, was an Austrian composer of ballet music, a violinist and teacher of music.
Sergei Gustavovich Legat was a Russian ballet dancer.
Vera Trefilova was a Russian dancer and teacher.
Virginia Zucchi was an Italian dancer. Her career as a ballerina spanned the years 1864 to 1898, and she was known as "the Divine Zucchi" or even "the Divine Virginia" for her artistry, expressiveness, and virtuosity. Perhaps her most lasting legacy is the celebrated La Esmeralda pas de six, which Marius Petipa created for her to the music of Riccardo Drigo in 1886. She was a guest artist in Berlin, London, Paris, Madrid, Milan, Naples and Rome. She was a force in introducing Italian technique in Russia.
Elena Smirnova was the last prima ballerina of the Mariinsky Theater in the Imperial period of Russia. Starring in many leading roles, she often performed choreography created by Marius Petipa and Boris G. Romanov. Participating in early films of Germany and Russia, she made eight silent films and participated in the premiers of both the Ballets Russes in Paris and in the first performance of Russian ballet in Japan.
Maria Ikonina (1788–1866), was a Russian Empire ballerina. She was engaged at the Imperial Russian Ballet in 1806–1829, where she was a soloist and regarded as an elite member during her career. She was trained by Charles Didelot, who regarded her as one of his best pupils.
