The Mariinsky Ballet is closely linked with the entire history of the development of Russian choreographic art which began more than two and a half centuries ago. An important role in the establishment and evolution of Russian ballet was played by foreign dance masters. At the end of the 18^th century, Franz Hilverding, Gasparo Angiolini, Giuseppe Canziani and Charles le Picq were all working in St. Petersburg. As far back as the 1790s, however, the first Russian ballet teacher, Ivan Valberkh, came to the fore. The main sphere of his activities was in a small mime ballet company. He sought to make his productions rich in subject matter and to create recognizable, lifelike images. Ballet divertissements, reflecting his response to the events of the Napoleonic War, occupied a special place in his work.

The history of St. Petersburg ballet in the 19^th century was associated with the activities of Charles Didelot, Jules Perrot, and Arthur Saint-Léon. In 1869, the position of principal ballet master was entrusted to Marius Petipa who markedly raised the professional standards of the company. The peak accomplishments of this famous choreographer were ballets staged in the period of his collaboration with the composers Pyotr Tchaikovsky and Alexander Glazunov – The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake and Raymonda. The talents of many generations of ballerinas have been revealed in these works – from Yekaterina Vyazem, Marina Semenova and Galina Ulanova to younger dancers who are just starting their careers at the Mariinsky Theatre.

At the turn of the 19^th century, the Mariinsky Ballet produced such great dancers as Anna Pavlova, Mathilde Kschessinska, Tamara Karsavina, Olga Preobrazhenskaya, Olga Spesivtseva, Vaslav Nijinsky and Nikolai and Sergei Legat. Many of them brought glory to Russian ballet during the legendary Saisons Russes in Paris which brought the pioneering works of Mikhail Fokine to Europe.

The first years following the Russian Revolution ushered in difficult times for the Mariinsky Theatre. Almost all its leading artists abandoned the company. Nevertheless, the classical repertoire was retained during this period.

In 1922 when Fyodor Lopukhov, a daring innovator and a brilliant connoisseur of the past, became head of the company, its repertoire was enriched with new productions, in particular ballets dealing with contemporary life. Galina Ulanova, Alexei Yermolayev, Marina Semenova and Vakhtang Chabukiani all danced at the Mariinsky Theatre during that period.

Ballet in the 1930s was largely influenced by dramatic theatre, and this was reflected in such productions as Rostislav Zakharov’s The Fountain of Bakhchisarai, Vakhtang Chabukiani’s The Heart of the Hills and Leonid Lavrovsky’s Romeo and Juliet.

The 1960s saw Spartacus and Choreographic Miniatures by Leonid Yakobson being staged, as well as productions of The Stone Flower and The Legend of Love by Yuri Grigorovich and The Coast of Hope and The Leningrad Symphony by Igor Belsky – ballets which revived the traditions of symphonic dances. The success of these productions would obviously have been impossible without superb performers. During the period of the 1950s-1970s, the company’s dancers included Irina Kolpakova, Natalia Makarova, Alla Osipenko, Irina Gensler, Alla Sizova, Rudolf Nureyev, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Valery Panov, Yuri Soloviev and Anatoly Sapogov. La Sylphide and Napoli by August Bournonville appeared in the repertoire towards the end of the 1970s, as did fragments of old choreography by Perrot, Saint-Léon and Coralli. Roland Petit and Maurice Béjart came to work with the company for some time.

The present-day repertoire of the Mariinsky Ballet includes, along with Petipa’s legacy – Swan Lake, Raymonda, Le Corsaire, La Bayadére and The Sleeping Beauty – ballets staged by Mikhail Fokine, George Balanchine, Frederick Ashton, William Forsythe, Alexei Ratmansky, Angelin Preljocaj and Wayne McGregor.

Ever since 2001, the Mariinsky Theatre has hosted the annual International Ballet Festival Mariinsky, its participants are the greatest soloists from leading ballet companies from all over the globe.

The Mariinsky Orchestra is one of the oldest musical ensembles in Russia. It can trace its history back to the early 18^th century and the development of the Court Instrumental Chapel. The excellence of the orchestra was recognised on numerous occasions by the world-class musicians who conducted it, among them Berlioz, Wagner, Tchaikovsky, Mahler and Rachmaninoff. Since 1996, the orchestra has been directed by Valery Gergiev, a musician of the highest order and an outstanding figure in the music world. Maestro Gergiev’s arrival at the helm ushered in a new era of rapid expansion of the orchestra’s repertoire. The orchestra performs programmes of symphony music at prestigious concert venues throughout the world. Valery Gergiev is a vivid representative of the St. Petersburg conducting school, his musical and public activities have brought him three State Prizes of the Russian Federation (1993, 1998 and 2015), the titles of People’s Artist of the Russian Federation (1996) and Hero of Labour (2013), the Order “For Merit to the Fatherland” III and IV classes (2003, 2008). Under the direction of Valery Gergiev, the orchestra has scaled new heights, also the Mariinsky Theatre has become a major theatre and concert complex, without par anywhere in the world.