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{{Short description|Ballet company in Saint Petersburg, Russia}}
{{More footnotes|date=February 2011}}
{{Infobox ballet company
| name                    = Mariinsky Ballet
| logo                    = 
| local_name              = 
| previous_names          = {{plainlist|
* Imperial Russian Ballet (1860–1920)
* State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet, Leningrad State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet (1920/1924–1935)
* Kirov Ballet (1935–1992)
}}
| founded                 = Approx. {{start date and age|1738}}
| venue                   = [[Mariinsky Theatre]]<br />1 Theatre Square<br />[[St Petersburg]]<br />[[Russia]]
| website                 = [http://www.mariinsky.ru/en www.mariinsky.ru/en]
| artistic_director       = [[Valery Gergiev]]<br />([[Mariinsky Theatre]])
| deputy_director         = {{plainlist|
* Yury Fateyev
* Tatiana Bessarabova (assistant)
}}
| artistic_staff_type     = Reserve Troupe Director
| artistic_staff_name     = Andrei Bugaev
| parent_company          = [[Mariinsky Theatre]]
| associated_schools      = [[Vaganova Ballet Academy]]
| formation               = {{plainlist|
* Principal
* First Soloist
* Second Soloist
* Principal Character Artist
* Coryphee
* Corps de Ballet
* Reserve Troup
}}
}}

The '''Mariinsky Ballet''' ({{langx|ru|Балет Мариинского театра}}) is the resident [[classical ballet]] company of the [[Mariinsky Theatre]] in [[Saint Petersburg]], [[Russia]]. 

Founded in the 18th century and originally known as the '''Imperial Russian Ballet''', the Mariinsky Ballet is one of the world's leading [[Ballet company|ballet companies]].  Internationally in some quarters, the Mariinsky Ballet continues to be known by its former [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] name the '''Kirov Ballet'''.  The Mariinsky Ballet is the parent company of the [[Vaganova Ballet Academy]], a leading international ballet school.

==History==
[[Image:Krasavitsa.jpg|thumb|left|250px|[[Carlotta Brianza]] and [[Pavel Gerdt]] of the Imperial Ballet as Princess Aurora and Prince Desire in the 1890 premiere of the ''[[The Sleeping Beauty (ballet)|Sleeping Beauty]]''.]]
The Mariinsky Ballet was founded in the 1740s, following the formation of the first Russian dance school in 1738.

The Imperial Theatre School, as it was originally known, was established on 4 May 1738, at the [[Winter Palace]] in [[Saint Petersburg]]. It would become the predecessor of today's [[Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet]].  The school's founder director was the French [[ballet master]] and teacher [[Jean-Baptiste Landé]] and the purpose of creating the school was to train young dancers to form the first Russian ballet company.

As the Imperial Russian Ballet, the company premiered numerous ballets by choreographer [[Marius Petipa]]. A number of his ballets now form the basis of the traditional classical ballet repertoire, performed by ballet companies around the world, and often retaining much of Petipa's choreography. These ballets include the original productions of ''[[The Nutcracker]]'', ''[[The Sleeping Beauty (ballet)|The Sleeping Beauty]]'', ''[[Don Quixote (ballet)|Don Quixote]]'', ''[[La Bayadère]]'', and ''[[Raymonda]]''; and popular revivals of older ballets, including ''[[Coppélia]]'', ''[[Giselle]]'', and ''[[Le Corsaire]]''. Petipa's revival of the ballet ''[[Swan Lake (1895)|Swan Lake]]'' is perhaps his most famous work for the company. Originally choreographed by [[Julius Reisinger]] for the [[Bolshoi Theatre]] in 1877, ''Swan Lake'' was initially a critical and commercial failure. Petipa sought to revive the ballet with the blessing of [[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky]], but the composer died before the new ballet was created. Petipa consequently worked with his brother [[Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky|Modest Tchaikovsky]], who significantly revised the story and rewrote the libretto to the version now commonly performed. The production was choreographed by Petipa and his collaborator [[Lev Ivanov]]. Premiering at the Mariinsky Theatre in 1895, the Petipa/Ivanov/Tchaikovsky production of Swan Lake was a success.

[[Image:Kirov-Mariinsky Ballet Logo.jpg|thumb|right|Kirov Ballet logo used by Victor Hachhauser, promoting the Mariinsky Ballet in London]]
Following the [[Russian Revolution]], the Soviet government decided that the ballet school and company were unwanted symbols of the tsarist regime and closed them both. The ballet company was the first to be re-established, becoming in 1920 known as the State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet, with the school re-opening later as the Leningrad State Choreographic School, both in their previous locations.

After the assassination of prominent Soviet figure [[Sergei Kirov|Sergey Kirov]] in 1934, the Ballet was renamed the Kirov Ballet in 1935,<ref>Masters, John. "Patrons gorging at Expo's culture banquet." ''Toronto Star'', 24 May 1986. Page F.3</ref> a name which is still sometimes incorrectly used. After the end of Communist rule, the ballet company and opera company were renamed for the theatre, becoming in 1992 the Mariinsky Ballet and Mariinsky Opera. Both companies are now run by the theatre itself.

==Today==

The Director of the Mariinsky Ballet is Yuri Fateyev.

==Repertoire==
{{div col|colwidth=28em}}
<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mariinsky.ru/en/playbill/repertoire/ballet|title=BALLET|website=www.mariinsky.ru}}</ref>
*''[[Adagio Hammerklavier]]'' 
*''Anna Karenina''-[[Alexei Ratmansky]] version
*[[Apollo (ballet)|''Apollo'']]
*[[Ballet Imperial (ballet)|''Ballet Imperial (Ballet No 2)'']]
*''Bambi''
*''[[La Bayadère]]''
*''Bolero Factory''
*''The Bronze Horseman''
*''Camera obscura''
*[[Carmen Suite (ballet)|''Carmen Suite'']]
*[[Carnaval (ballet)|''Carnaval'']]
*''The Cat on the Tree''
*''[[Chopiniana]]''
*''Choreographic Game 3x3''
*''Cinderella''-Alexei Ratmansky version
*''Concerto DSCH''
*''[[Le Corsaire]]''
*''Le Divertissement du roi''
*[[Don Quixote (ballet)|''Don Quixote'']]
*''Elegy. Ophelia''
*''[[The Firebird]]''
*''[[Fountain of Bakhchisarai]]''
*''The Four Seasons''
*''[[Giselle]]''
*''Infra''
*''[[In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated]]''
*[[In the Night (ballet)|''In the Night'']]
*''In the Jungle''
*''Inside the Lines''
*[[Jewels (ballet)|''Jewels'']]
*''The Legend of Love''-choreography [[Yury Grigorovich]]
*''Leningrad Symphony''
*''The Little Humpbacked Horse''-Alexei Ratmansky version
*''[[Marguerite and Armand]]''
*[[A Midsummer Night's Dream (ballet)|''A Midsummer Night's Dream'']]
*''[[Les noces]]''
*''[[The Nutcracker]]''-[[Marius Petipa]] version
*''The Nutcracker''-[[Mihail Chemiakin]] version
*''[[Paquita]]''-Yuri Smekalov version
*[[Paquita Grand Pas Classique|''Paquita Grand Pas'']]
*''Pavlovsk''
*''Le Parc''
*[[Petrushka (ballet)|''Petrouchka'']]
*''Petrouchka''-Vladimir Varnava and Konstantin Fyodorov version
*[[Polovtsian Dances|''Polovtsian Dances (ballet)'']]
*[[The Prodigal Son (ballet)|''The Prodigal Son'']]
*''[[Raymonda]]''
*''[[Le Réveil de Flore]]''
*[[Romeo and Juliet (Prokofiev)|''Romeo and Juliet'']]-[[Leonid Lavrovsky]] version
*''Russian Overture''
*''[[Le Sacre Du Primtemps]]''
*''Sacre''
*[[Scheherazade (Rimsky-Korsakov)|''Scheherazade'']]
*''[[Scotch Symphony]]''
*''Second I''
*[[Serenade (ballet)|''Serenade'']]
*''Shurale''
*''Solo''
*[[Sleeping Beauty (ballet)|''Sleeping Beauty'']]-[[Konstantin Sergeyev|Konstantin Sergeev]] version
*''Sleeping Beauty''-[[Sergei Vikharev]] version
*[[Spartacus (ballet)|''Spartacus'']]-[[Leonid Yakobson]] version
*''[[Le Spectre de la rose]]''
*[[The Tale of the Stone Flower (Prokofiev)|''The Stone Flower'']]
*[[The Dying Swan|''The Swan'']]
*''[[Swan Lake]]''
*''[[La Sylphide]]''
*[[Sylvia (ballet)|''Sylvia'']]
*[[Symphony in C (ballet)|''Symphony in C'']]
*''Symphony in Three Movements''
*[[Tarantella (ballet)|''Tarantella'']]
*''Tchaikovsky Pas de deux''
*''[[The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude]]''
*''Variations for two couples''
*''Violin Concerto No. 2''
*''Without''
*''Yaroslavna. The Eclipse''
*''The Young Lady and the Hooligan''
*''5 Tangos''
{{div col end}}

== Dancers ==
The basis of the Mariinsky Ballet consists of the following artists:<ref name=mariinsky-ballet-soloists>{{cite web
 | url         = https://www.mariinsky.ru/en/company/ballet/soloists/
 | title       = Soloists of the ballet company
 | publisher   = Mariinsky Theatre
 | access-date  = 2017-01-02
}}</ref>

===Principals===

{{Div col}}
* Nadezhda Batoeva
* [[Ekaterina Kondaurova]]
* [[Olesya Novikova]]
* [[Renata Shakirova]]
* [[Oksana Skorik]]
* [[Viktoria Tereshkina]]
* [[Diana Vishneva]]
* Timur Askerov
* Yevgeny Ivanchenko
* Kimin Kim
* [[Vladimir Shklyarov]]
* [[Andrey Ermakov]]
{{Div col end}}

===First Soloists===

{{Div col}}
* Maria Ilyushkina
* Alexandra Khiteyeva 
* [[Maria Khoreva]]
* Anastasia Kolegova
* May Nagahisa
* Yekaterina Osmolkina
* Kristina Shapran
* [[Maria Shirinkina]]
* [[Elena Evseeva]]
* Elena Svinko 
* Roman Belyakov
* Even Capitaine
* Yevgeny Konovalov
* Nikita Korneyev 
* Alexander Sergeev
* Philipp Stepin
* Konstantin Zverev
{{Div col end}}

===Second Soloists===

{{Div col}}
* Vlada Borodulina
* [[Maria Bulanova (ballet dancer)|Maria Bulanova]]
* Alexandra Iosifidi
* Daria Kulikova
* Anastasia Lukina
* Valeria Martynyuk
* Camilla Mazzi
* Anastasia Nuikina
* Yana Selina
* Tatiana Tkachenko
* Yuri Smekalov
* Ruslan Stenyushkin 
* Alexei Timofeyev
* David Zaleyev
* Maxim Zyuzin
{{Div col end}}

===Character Soloists===

{{Div col}}
* Elena Bazhenova
* Olga Belik
* Alisa Rusina
* Islom Baimuradov
* Soslan Kulaev
* Dmitry Pykhachov
* Vasily Shcherbakov
* Andrei Yakovlev
{{Div col end}}

===Coryphées===
{{Div col}}
* Yesenia Anushenkova
* Yuliana Chereshkevich
* Maria Chernyavskaya 
* Tamara Gimadieva 
* Shamala Guseinova
* Daria Ionova
* Yekaterina Ivannikova
* Viktoria Krasnokutskaya
* Valeria Kuznetsova
* Bíborka Lendvai
* Anastasia Nikitina
* Zlata Yalinich
* Yaroslav Baibordin
* Ramanbek Beishenaliev
* Maxim Izmestiev
* Kian James Manghise
* Roman Malyshev
* Pavel Mikheyev
* Alexei Nedviga
* Aaron Osawa-Horowitz
* Grigory Popov
* Yaroslav Pushkov
* Andrei Solovyov
{{Div col end}}

==Notable dancers==
{{div col}}
*[[Altynai Asylmuratova]]
*[[Mikhail Baryshnikov]]
*[[Vakhtang Chabukiani]]
*[[Petra Conti]]
*[[Natalia Dudinskaya]]
*[[Pavel Gerdt]]
*[[Tamara Karsavina]]
*[[Maria Khoreva]]
*[[Irina Kolpakova]]
*[[Theodore Kosloff]]
*[[Mathilde Kschessinska]]
*[[Ninel Kurgapkina]]
*[[Pierina Legnani]]
*[[Larissa Lezhnina]]
*[[Ulyana Lopatkina]]
*[[Askold Makarov]]
*[[Natalia Makarova]]
*[[Varvara P. Mey]]
*[[Galina Mezentseva]]
*[[Vaslav Nijinsky]]
*[[Rudolf Nureyev]]
*[[Alla Osipenko]]
*[[Anna Pavlova]]
*[[Olga Preobrajenska]]
*[[Farukh Ruzimatov]]
*[[Leonid Sarafanov]]
*[[Marina Semyonova]]
*[[Konstantin Sergeyev]]
*[[Alla Sizova]]
*[[Yuri Soloviev (dancer)|Yuri Soloviev]]
*[[Olga Spessivtzeva]]
*[[Galina Ulanova]]
*[[Diana Vishneva]]
*[[Svetlana Zakharova (dancer)|Svetlana Zakharova]]
*[[Igor Zelensky]]
{{div col end}}

==See also==
*[[List of productions of Swan Lake derived from its 1895 revival]]
*[[Bolshoi Ballet]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Official website|http://www.mariinsky.ru/en/}} {{in lang|en}}
** {{Official website|http://www.mariinsky.ru}} {{in lang|ru}}
* [http://www.mariinsky.today Mariinsky Ballet International Tour Schedule]
* [http://www.for-ballet-lovers-only.com Additional Information/Pictures about the Mariinsky-Kirov Ballet]
* [http://www.kirov.com More information and interviews from the Kirov Ballet]
* {{Cite news
 |last        = Winston
 |first       = Rory
 |title       = Dance Review: The Kirov Ballet
 |work        = New York Resident
 |access-date  = 2008-10-04
 |date        = 2008-04-15
 |url         = http://74.54.115.114/node/1255
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20080801235520/http://74.54.115.114/node/1255
 |archive-date = 2008-08-01
}}
* [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/25/arts/25arts-DONKEYENDSCA_BRF.html NY Times article by Lawrence van Gelder, March 25, 2008]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070818231314/http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/index.cfm?fuseaction=offsiteDetails&entity_id=4708 Kennedy Center: Information about Mariinsky Ballet] accessed 4 October 2008

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[[Category:Mariinsky Ballet| ]]
[[Category:1740 establishments in the Russian Empire]]
[[Category:History of ballet]]
[[Category:National Dance Award winners]]