Project Petipa Marathon

Exhibitions, Summer Program, Workshops, Presentations, Master-classes, Coaching, Showcases, Round-tables, Discussion panels

An amazing marathon of works of the brilliant choreographer Marius Petipa has been on display for nearly two centuries, encompassing the entire planet. There is no country in the world that has not heard of the art of classical ballet, and Petipa is certainly credited to be its famous father.

Thanks to Marius Petipa, classical ballet has entered the global cultural niche as an art form. He not only created his own choreographies, as well as famous Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Raymonda, but also carried forth the legacies of other artists who created such ballet masterpieces as Giselle, Coppélia, Le Corsaire and many more. 

Marius Petipa was born in Marseille, France on the 11th March 1818, grew up in Brussels between 1818 and 1835 and began his career in France and Spain. However, his name is strongly associated with St. Petersburg, where he arrived on the 29th May 1847, the Russian Imperial Ballet and its school, where he worked for 60 years and created over 70 ballets and dances. He died on the 14th July 1910.

The year 2018 was the year of Petipa’s 200th birthday. There were many events held in various locations (Russia, France, USA and Germany) in Petipa’s memory – books published, exhibitions, festivals, concerts, conferences, lectures and open readings held, ballets restored, and a commemorative plaque was installed at Architect Rossi street in St. Petersburg, Petipa’s home of art. In 2019, there was an extensive international archival revision carried out and a lot of material accumulated that should be not be limited to a narrow circle of professional experts.

It is important to share it with the global ballet community, those who dance Petipa’s ballets and variations everywhere in world, and with everybody related to the art of dance and the culture generally. 

The main task of our project is to motivate the young generation of dancers to explore themselves and their creativity, to ignite their passion in studying the history of ballet and the great heritage of the past, to expand the boundaries of their perception of the world.