Mariinsky Ballet
The Mariinsky Ballet is a world-famous Russian ballet company from Saint Petersburg . Along with the Moscow Bolshoi Ballet , it is considered to be the most important ballet ensemble in Russia.
For the origin and history of the ballet company, see also the main article Ballets Russes .
The originally imperial ballet of the Mariinsky Theater was renamed the Kirov Ballet in 1935. Since 1991 the official name of Saint Petersburg has been Mariinsky Ballet .
Ballet flourished in St. Petersburg at the end of the 19th century. Under the direction of Marius Petipa , Sleeping Beauty (1890) and Swan Lake (1895), both to Tchaikovsky's music , were premiered. From 1899 to 1909 the world-famous ballerina Anna Pawlowa was part of the company.
After the October Revolution of 1917, the company went downhill. Many members of the ensemble had left the country during the turmoil of the revolution and continued their careers in Europe. However, the ballet master Agrippina Vaganova managed to preserve the traditions and teaching methods. Her work was the cornerstone for ballet training in the Soviet Union . This created a new ensemble, the best-known member of which was the later Prima Ballerina Assoluta Galina Ulanowa .
During the Cold War , the company had the problem that dancers repeatedly did not return from touring in western countries. These included Rudolf Nureyev , Natalia Makarowa and Mikhail Baryshnikov . Nevertheless, ballet is still one of the leading in the world in terms of technical perfection, stylistic purism and ballet in the spirit of tradition. In 2013 the corps de ballet consisted of 70 dancers and 57 dancers.
