Marius Ivanovich Petipa born Victor Marius Alphonse Petipa (1818 – 1910), was a French ballet dancer, pedagogue and choreographer and is considered to be one of the most influential ballet masters and choreographers in ballet history.
From 1871 until 1903 he held the coveted title of Premier maître de ballet (First Ballet Master) of the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres, making him Ballet Master and principal choreographer of the Imperial Ballet (precursor of the Kirov/Mariinsky Ballet).
Petipa created over fifty ballets in his lifetime. Some of these pieces have survived in versions either faithful to, inspired by, or reconstructed from the original. Among these works, he is most noted for :
The Pharaoh's Daughter (1862)
Don Quixote (1869)
La Bayadère (1877)
Le Talisman (1889)
The Sleeping Beauty (1890)
The Nutcracker (1892)
Le Réveil de Flore (1894)
La Halte de cavalerie (1896)
Raymonda (1898)
Les Saisons (1900)
Les Millions d’Arlequin (a.k.a. Harlequinade) (1900)
Petipa has also revived various works created by other choreographers. Many of these would become the definitive editions of any future production. The most famous of these revivals were:
Le Corsaire
Giselle
La Esmeralda
Coppélia
La Fille Mal Gardée (with Lev Ivanov)
The Little Humpbacked Horse
Swan Lake (with Lev Ivanov)
