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25-696: Founded in the 18th century and originally known as the Imperial Russian Ballet , the Mariinsky Ballet is one of the world's leading ballet companies . Internationally in some quarters, the Mariinsky Ballet continues to be known by its former Soviet name the Kirov Ballet . The Mariinsky Ballet is the parent company of the Vaganova Ballet Academy , a leading international ballet school. The Mariinsky Ballet

50-404: A performing dance company is similar to the musical director of an orchestra, the primary person responsible for planning a company's season. The artistic director's responsibilities can include (but are not limited to) choosing the material staged in a season, hiring creative/production personnel (such as directors ), and other theatre management tasks. He or she may also direct productions for

75-444: A separate administrative staff that deals with marketing, accounts, personnel issues, logistics and so on. Larger companies employ a permanent staff of craftsmen and craftswomen such as prop makers and costume makers, and technical staff such as lighting technicians and stage managers. Smaller companies hire freelancers for these roles as and when required. Some companies also have physiotherapists , masseurs , and physical trainers on

100-447: A very international staff. The head of a ballet company is called the artistic director . He or she is usually a retired dancer, and often they choreograph some of the company's productions themselves. In a large company, they will have one or more assistants. Day-to-day coaching of the dancers is the responsibility of one or more ballet masters and ballet mistresses . Some companies also employ répétiteurs and dance notators . There

125-529: A year-round basis, except in the United States, where contracts for part of the year (typically thirty or forty weeks) are normally offered. A company generally has a home theatre where it stages the majority of its performances, but many companies also tour in their home country or internationally. Ballet companies routinely make a loss at the box office and depend on external financial support of one kind or another. In Europe, most of this support comes in

150-554: Is often a resident choreographer . All but the smallest companies divide their dancers into at least three grades. The most common names for the two higher grades in English are principal and soloist and the junior dancers form the corps de ballet . Some companies (especially in North America) have trainees or apprentices, who rank below the corps de ballet and may be unpaid. Some companies further subdivide these grades, and

175-402: Is often shared with an opera company resident in the same theatre or opera house. Smaller companies hire a local orchestra on a contract basis for each season of performances, or hire a scratch orchestra for specific performances, e.g. when they are on tour. During company classes and rehearsals, music is provided by one or more staff or freelance pianists. All but the smallest companies have

200-414: Is responsible for recruiting performers to act as a talent pool for the company's productions. This ensemble may include actors and artists of various disciplines. The artistic director functions as leader of this group, with the aim to create and/or realize various new and established works. In ballet , the artistic director is the head of a ballet company . They have overall responsibility for training

225-401: Is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company or dance company , who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director , but not in the sense of a mogul , since the organization is generally a non-profit organization. The artistic director of a theatre company is the individual with the overarching artistic control of

250-413: Is usually prepared to assume the production should the director become unable to complete his/her duties. Artistic directors are frequently regarded as the artistic representatives of theatre companies and are often required to speak about their theatre to the press. In the United States, artistic directors often have fundraising responsibilities as well. In some ensemble companies, the artistic director

275-781: The European tradition, although some international companies also perform contemporary ballets that merge Western and Eastern themes and dance techniques. Algeria Egypt Tunisia South Africa Armenia Azerbaijan China Hong Kong Indonesia Iran Israel Japan Kazakhstan Mongolia Philippines Singapore South Korea Taiwan Thailand Uzbekistan Austria Belarus Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Greece Germany Hungary Ireland Italy Kosovo Latvia Lithuania Moldova Monaco Netherlands Artistic director An artistic director

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300-491: The Mariinsky Ballet and Mariinsky Opera. Both companies are now run by the theatre itself. The Director of the Mariinsky Ballet is Yuri Fateyev. The basis of the Mariinsky Ballet consists of the following artists: Ballet company A ballet company is a type of dance troupe that performs classical ballet , neoclassical ballet , and/or contemporary ballet in the European tradition, plus managerial and support staff. Most major ballet companies employ dancers on

325-745: The Mariinsky Theatre in 1895, the Petipa/Ivanov/Tchaikovsky production of Swan Lake was a success. 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

350-432: The company. Artistic directors work closely with the general manager of the theatre, and contribute to the artistic evaluation of projects and productions to be included in promotional, funding, and press materials. An artistic director also functions as a resource for the directors who are working to mount productions at the theatre and can provide support, counsel, and/or artistic input where requested. The artistic director

375-424: The dancers, as well as selecting and mounting productions. They are almost always a retired dancer. Often they also choreograph some of the company's productions. In some companies, the artistic director may also manage the day-to-day operations of the company, but in many (particularly larger) companies, the artistic director is often exempt from routine administrative duties, freeing him or her to concentrate on

400-476: The form of government subsidies, though private donations are usually solicited as well. In North America, private donations are the main source of external funding. Many ballet companies have an associated school which trains dancers. Traditionally the school would provide almost all of the company's dancers, something which helped to create clear distinctions in style between companies, but 21st-century ballet has open hiring practices, and many ballet companies have

425-472: The original productions of The Nutcracker , The Sleeping Beauty , 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 is perhaps his most famous work for the company. Originally choreographed by Julius Reisinger for the Bolshoi Theatre in 1877, Swan Lake

450-498: 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

475-606: The school re-opening later as the Leningrad State Choreographic School, both in their previous locations. After the assassination of prominent Soviet figure Sergey Kirov in 1934, the Ballet was renamed the Kirov Ballet in 1935, 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

500-527: The staff. The term " ballet " is sometimes used to refer to dance styles in any culture's classical tradition, mainly about classical styles of dance performed in parts of Asia. Classical Ramayana Hindu ballet is often performed in Indonesia . The Royal Ballet of Cambodia is an example of a ballet company in the Eastern tradition. The companies listed below are ballet companies that perform according to

525-658: The terminology used varies from company to company. In the 19th century and early to mid-20th century the top female dancer was often recognized as the prima ballerina , but this practice has ceased. Male and female dancers were historically split into separate hierarchies (for more information see ballerina ). Today, many companies choose to use a gender-neutral hierarchy. Some companies (mainly in Russia and countries strongly influenced by Russian ballet ) employ specialist character dancers : unlike ballerinas female character dancers do not dance en pointe . The largest ballet company in

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550-514: The theatre's production choices, directorial choices, and overall artistic vision. In smaller theatres, the artistic director may be the founder of the theatre and the primary director of its plays. In larger non-profit theatres (often known in Canada and the United States as regional theatres ), the artistic director may be appointed by the board of directors . The artistic director of

575-670: The world is the Bolshoi Ballet of Moscow, which employs over 240 dancers, as of 2010. The largest companies in Western Europe and North America employ around one hundred. Many companies have a music director , generally a conductor by profession, though this is often a part-time position. The music director has a lower status in ballet than they have in opera, where they are the head of the company. Freelance conductors are hired to conduct specific productions as and when required. Large companies have their own orchestra , which

600-590: 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

625-447: 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 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

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