A History of Ballet in Russia (1613 - 1881)

<p>This is a detailed history of ballet in Russia (with particular<br />reference to St. Petersburg) from its origin to the third<br />quarter of the 19th century. The groundwork of historical<br />data is enlivened with notes on the different dancers extracts<br />from contemporary accounts of their appearances the casts<br />of important first performances the stories of many of the<br />ballets produced and so on.<br />We learn of the birth of interest in the Theatre early in the<br />17th century during the reign of Tsar Alexis of the Public<br />Balls or Assemblies organised by Peter the Great and of the<br />establishment during the reign of the Empress Anne of a<br />ballet company – recruited from the children of poor parents<br />– directed by a French master called Landé. With each new<br />reign the company increases in size importance and talent<br />under the successive influence of famous maîtres de ballet such<br />as Didelot Perrot St.-Léon and Marius Petipa and celebrated<br />ballerine such as Marie Taglioni Fanny Elssler Carlotta Grisi<br />Fanny Cerrito Caroline Rosati Amalia Ferraris Salvioni<br />Henriette d’Or and so forth. With such forces at work a line<br />of illustrious Russian Stars is formed – Istomina Kolosova<br />Zubova Andreyanova Petipa Prikhunova Bogdanova<br />Muravieva Grantsova Vazem Sokolova and many others.<br />The book is prefaced by a most interesting introduction by<br />M. André Levinson whose reputation as an historian and<br />critic of dancing is world-wide which presents an admirable<br />survey of the development of Ballet in Russia from the “age<br />of Petipa” to the conquering of both the Old World and the<br />New by that glorious company – composed of hand-picked<br />artists from the Imperial Ballet – directed by Serge Diaghilev.</p>