Russian Ballet in the Age of Petipa

This essay examines choreographer Marius Petipa's long stewardship of Russia's Imperial Ballet during the second half of the nineteenth century. Born in France, Petipa spent nearly sixty years working in St. Petersburg during which he laid the foundation of the modern Russian school and helped transform an art identified with the West into a Russian national expression. What we call "Russian ballet" in terms of repertory and style is virtually synonymous with Petipa, his colleagues and descendants