A History of Ballet in Russia (1613 - 1881)

This is a detailed history of ballet in Russia (with particular

reference to St. Petersburg) from its origin to the third

quarter of the 19th century. The groundwork of historical

data is enlivened with notes on the different dancers, extracts

from contemporary accounts of their appearances, the casts

of important first performances, the stories of many of the

ballets produced, and so on.

We learn of the birth of interest in the Theatre early in the

17th century, during the reign of Tsar Alexis, of the Public

Balls or Assemblies organised by Peter the Great, and of the

establishment during the reign of the Empress Anne of a

ballet company – recruited from the children of poor parents

– directed by a French master called Landé. With each new

reign the company increases in size, importance and talent

under the successive influence of famous maîtres de ballet such

as Didelot, Perrot, St.-Léon and Marius Petipa, and celebrated

ballerine such as Marie Taglioni, Fanny Elssler, Carlotta Grisi,

Fanny Cerrito, Caroline Rosati, Amalia Ferraris, Salvioni,

Henriette d’Or and so forth. With such forces at work a line

of illustrious Russian Stars is formed – Istomina, Kolosova,

Zubova, Andreyanova, Petipa, Prikhunova, Bogdanova,

Muravieva, Grantsova, Vazem, Sokolova and many others.

The book is prefaced by a most interesting introduction by

M. André Levinson, whose reputation as an historian and

critic of dancing is world-wide, which presents an admirable

survey of the development of Ballet in Russia from the “age

of Petipa” to the conquering of both the Old World and the

New by that glorious company – composed of hand-picked

artists from the Imperial Ballet – directed by Serge Diaghilev.