Imperial Ballet School

The Imperial Ballet School was a Saint Petersburg institution that trained dancers for Russia’s imperial ballet companies. Founded in 1738, it became a central source of performers for the Imperial Theatres.

Jean-Baptiste Landé: A French dancing master who founded Saint Petersburg’s first formal ballet school in 1738. He established the school that became the Imperial Ballet School.
Classical ballet: A codified theatrical dance tradition characterized by turned-out legs, pointe work, and formal technique. Its technique formed the central subject of the school’s training.
Agrippina Vaganova: A Russian ballet dancer and teacher who systematized a method of classical ballet instruction. Her teaching at the school shaped its later pedagogical identity.
The Sleeping Beauty (ballet): A ballet choreographed by Marius Petipa to music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, first performed in 1890. Its demanding classical roles showcased the technique cultivated in Saint Petersburg.
Vaganova method: A system of ballet training developed by Agrippina Vaganova that integrates strength, coordination, and expressive movement. It emerged from teaching traditions at the school and later became widely taught.
Russian Imperial Ballet: The ballet company maintained by Russia’s imperial theatres before the 1917 Revolution. The school was created to supply trained dancers for this company.
Russian ballet: The ballet tradition developed in Russia through imperial patronage, professional companies, and specialized training. The school was one of the institutions that shaped this national tradition.
Marius Petipa: A French-born choreographer who became the leading ballet master of the Imperial Theatres in Saint Petersburg. His repertory gave generations of the school’s dancers major roles to perform.
Swan Lake: A ballet composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, first staged in Moscow in 1877 and later revised for Saint Petersburg. Its Saint Petersburg repertory offered school-trained dancers a defining classical challenge.
Ballets Russes: A touring ballet company founded by Sergei Diaghilev that transformed European ballet in the early twentieth century. Several dancers trained in the imperial system helped shape its performances.

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