Agrippina Yakovlevna Vaganova was a 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.
Mathilda-Marie Feliksovna Kschessinskaya was a Russian ballerina from a family of Polish origin. Her father Feliks Krzesiński and her brother both danced in St. Petersburg. She was a mistress of the future Tsar Nicholas II of Russia prior to his marriage, and later the wife of his cousin Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich of Russia.
Lev Ivanovich Ivanov was a Russian ballet dancer and choreographer and later, Second Balletmaster of the Imperial Ballet. As a performer with the Imperial Ballet, he achieved prominence after performing as an understudy in a benefit performance of La Fille Mal Gardée. He is most famous as the choreographer of Dance of the Little Swans from Swan Lake, Act II of Cinderella, and The Nutcracker, which he choreographed alongside Marius Petipa.
Riccardo Eugenio Drigo was an Italian composer of ballet music and Italian opera, a theatrical conductor, and a pianist.
La Bayadère is a ballet, originally staged in four acts and seven tableaux by French choreographer Marius Petipa to the music of Ludwig Minkus. The ballet was staged especially for the benefit performance of the Russian Prima ballerina Ekaterina Vazem, who created the principal role of Nikiya. La Bayadère was first presented by the Imperial Ballet at the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia, on 4 February [O.S. 23 January] 1877. From the first performance the ballet was universally hailed by contemporary critics as one of the choreographer Petipa's supreme masterpieces, particularly the scene from the ballet known as The Kingdom of the Shades, which became one of the most celebrated pieces in all of classical ballet. By the turn-of-the 20th century, The Kingdom of the Shades scene was regularly extracted from the full-length work as an independent showpiece, and it has remained so to the present day.
The Sergeyev Collection is a collection of choreographic notation, music, designs for décor and costumes, theatre programs, photos and other materials that document the repertory of the Imperial Ballet of St. Petersburg, Russia at the turn of the 20th century. The majority of the choreographic notations document with varying degrees of detail the original works and revivals of the renowned choreographer Marius Petipa, who served as Premier Maître de ballet of the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres, as well as notation and music documenting the ballets of Lev Ivanov, who served as second Maître de ballet. Also included in the collection are choreographic notation documenting dances from various operas by both Petipa and Ivanov, respectively.
Roxana, the Beauty of Montenegro is a fantastic ballet in four acts, with choreography by Marius Petipa and music by Ludwig Minkus. Libretto by Sergei Khudekov and Marius Petipa.
Kalkabrino is a ballet in three acts and three scenes, with choreography by Marius Petipa and music by Léon Minkus.
The Blue Dahlia is a fantastic ballet in two acts, with libretto and choreography by Marius Petipa and music by Cesare Pugni, first presented by the Imperial Ballet on May 12 [O.S. April 30] 1860 at the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia, with Mariia Surovshchikova-Petipa and Timofei Stukolkin.
The Two Stars or The Stars or The Two Little Stars is an Anacreontic ballet in 1 act, with choreography by Marius Petipa, and music by Cesare Pugni. Libretto by Marius Petipa, based on an ancient Greek myth.
Mlada is a fantastic ballet in 4 Acts/9 Scenes, with choreography by Marius Petipa, and music by Ludwig Minkus.
The King's Command is a ballet in 4 Acts-6 Scenes, with choreography by Marius Petipa and music composed and adapted by Albert Vizentini in a pastiche of airs taken from various works by Johann Strauss II, Léo Delibes, Daniel Auber, Jules Massenet, and Anton Rubinstein.
La Tulipe de Haarlem is a fantastic ballet in three acts and four scenes, with choreography by Lev Ivanov and music by Baron Boris Fitinhoff-Schell, first presented by the Imperial Ballet on 16 October [O.S. 4 October] 1887 at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia, with Emma Bessone, Pavel Gerdt, and Alfred Bekefy.
Le Réveil de Flore, is a ballet anacréontique in one act, with choreography by Marius Petipa and music by Riccardo Drigo, to a libretto written by Petipa and Lev Ivanov. First presented by the Imperial Ballet at Peterhof Palace on 6 August [O.S. 25 July] 1894.
The Little Humpbacked Horse, or The Tsar Maiden is a ballet in four acts and eight scenes with apotheosis.
Les Aventures de Pélée is a ballet in three acts and five scenes with choreography by Marius Petipa and music by Ludwig Minkus, with additional music adapted from works by Léo Delibes. The libretto by Marius Petipa is derived from the Greek Myth concerning the Goddess Thetis and the circumstances surrounding her marriage, arranged by Jupiter, to the mortal Peleus.
La Perle is a ballet-divertissement in one act, with libretto and choreography by Marius Petipa and music by Riccardo Drigo.
