- Choreography by Marius Petipa
- Music by Ludwig Minkus
- Design by Gary Harris
- Lighting design by Jordan C. Tuinan
History of the Ballet
The first performance of Paquita took place at the Paris Opera in 1846 with choreography by Joseph Mazilier and music by E.M.E. Deldevez.
The story is set in Spain during the Napoleonic wars and tells of a French officer who falls in love with a gypsy girl Paquita.
In 1847 Marius Petipa who re-staged it again in 1881 mounted the ballet for the Imperial Theatres in St. Petersburg.
At this time Petipa added the famous Grand Pas for the leading dancers, a mazurka for children and a revised pas de trois in Act One. Paquita was soon forgotten in Paris but in Russia Petipa’s full-length version was performed until the 1920s.
Russian artists who had moved or fled kept Petipa’s pieces of choreography alive to the West- Balanchine, Daniliova and Nureyev. In 1978 the artistic director of the Kirov Ballet Oleg Vinogradev re-created the Grand Pas and the pas de trios into Paquita Variations, which is now performed in the West.
In 2001 the choreographer Pierre Lacotte revived the full length Paquita with the Paris Opera Ballet.
Learn More About...