‘Les Sylphides & Aurora’s Wedding’

Music by Frederic Chopin
Choreography by Mikhail Fokin
Staged by Elena Pankova
Saint Petersburg Classic Ballet
with the stars of the Mariinsky and Mikhailovsky theaters

Les Sylphides is a ballet created by the choreographer Mikhail Fokin for Anna Pavlova, a dancer with unique lyrical talent. It was first presented on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg in 1908, and soon Sergei Diaghilev selected it for his Ballets Russes project. In 1909, it was shown in Paris, in Théâtre du Châtelet; after that, throughout the 20th century, it found its way into the repertoire of the ballet companies all over the world.

Les Sylphides, a fantasy ballet evoking the romantic ballets of the early 19th century, takes the audience away into the world of dreams, reveries and fantasies. The story features a young enchanted poet, who meets incorporeal sylphides in a shady park, and their dance makes him forget the worries and the troubles of the real world. 
 

Music by Pyotr Tchaykovsky
Choreography by Marius Petipa
Revived by Mikhail Venshchikov

Aurora’s Wedding

This ballet, inspired by a fairy-tale by Charles Perrault, relates the story of the charming Princess who, having spent a hundred years in sleep, woke up to the kiss of the valiant Prince. The Sleeping Beauty was first presented in 1890 on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater, and met with the immediate acclaim of the ballet lovers. The fairies, elves and fairy-tale characters bring back the sweet childhood memories, immersing the audience in the enchanting mysterious atmosphere. Three decades later, Serge Diaghilev decided to offer the ballet to the European audience. The best episodes, put together in a one-act show, were added to the repertoire of the Ballets Russes as Aurora’s Wedding.