Petipa, Marius

(1818-1910)

   dancer, choreographer

   Marius Petipa, whose works represent the culmination of classical ballet, was born in Marseille, the brother of the dancer Joseph-Lucien Petipa and the son of the dancer and choreographed Jean Petipa, with whom he studied. Marius Petipa debuted in Brussels and soon appeared in Paris at the comédie-française (1840) with the noted Carlotta Grisi (1840). He then danced and choreographer in Bordeaux, then in Madrid, where he studied Spanish dance. Invited to be first dancer at the Imperial Theater in St. Petersburg, Russia (1847), he later succeeded jules perrot as ballet master (1859). Thereafter began a long career as a choreographer in Russia, which he would never leave. Petipa's works, often inspired by the romantic spirit, include Don Quixote, La Bayadere, and, among his masterpieces, La Vestale, La Belle au hois dormant (Sleeping Beauty), Cinderella, Bluebeard, The Seasons, and Swan Lake. Born of the synthesis of French technique, Italian virtuosity, and Russian lyricism, the compositions of Petipa would influence many later artists, including those of Sergey Diaghilev's Ballets-russes.