Classical Ballet

Who governs Classical Ballet

Federations, councils and examining bodies with a recorded role in this style. No single organisation can tell you this — each one knows only itself.

Legends of Classical Ballet

Dancers, choreographers and teachers whose work shaped this style.

Classical Ballet on screen

Films and television where Classical Ballet appears, with the sequences worth watching for.

First Position (2011)24 sequences indexedAran Bell rehearsalMichaela DePrince competition soloJoan Sebastian Zamora variationBlack Swan (2010)21 sequences indexedOpening dream ballet — Rothbart's spell · chor. Benjamin MillepiedMorning ballet exercises in the apartment · chor. Benjamin MillepiedCompany class and Swan Queen selection · chor. Benjamin MillepiedThe Red Shoes (1948)16 sequences indexedThe Red Shoes — studio rehearsal with the Shoemaker · 00:54:03 · chor. Robert Helpmann; Léonide Massine (Shoemaker role)Morning-after company class · 01:24:06 · chor. Robert HelpmannTour montage — La Boutique Fantasque · 01:28:19 · chor. Robert HelpmannThe Turning Point (1977)14 sequences indexedRomeo and Juliet balcony rehearsal — first cast · 00:43:39 · chor. Kenneth MacMillanDon Quixote Act III pas de deux and final variations · 01:47:22 · chor. Marius Petipa; Frederick Ashton (Leslie Browne's final solo)Emilia joins company class and Ethan takes scholarship class · 00:24:48Billy Elliot (2000)10 sequences indexedBilly joins his first ballet class · 00:11:28 · chor. Peter DarlingArabesque and pirouette spotting practice · 00:20:36 · chor. Peter DarlingPas-de-bourrée class interrupted by Jackie · 00:26:04 · chor. Peter DarlingCenter Stage (2000)10 sequences indexedWorldwide American Ballet Academy auditions · 00:00:33 · chor. Susan Stroman; Christopher WheeldonFirst ABA technique class · 00:09:56 · chor. Susan Stroman; Christopher WheeldonCooper and Kathleen perform Romeo and Juliet · chor. Susan Stroman; Christopher WheeldonPessi and Illusia (1954)6 sequences indexedPessi’s Spring Dance · chor. Irja KoskinenSpider’s Dance · chor. Irja KoskinenIllusia’s Dance and Flower Ensemble · chor. Irja KoskinenBlack Ballerina (2016)5 sequences indexedDelores Browne Bluebird pas de deux archival sequenceRaven Wilkinson Les Sylphides waltz archival sequenceLauren Anderson Firebird performance footageHigh Strung (2016)5 sequences indexedKyle and April’s competition entry · chor. Dave ScottRuby’s first ballet class · 00:19:01 · chor. Dave ScottMorning ballet class after Killarney’s · 00:43:40 · chor. Dave ScottOn Pointe (2020)5 sequences indexedCitywide children's ballet auditionsNutcracker children's casting classKai and Sophia rehearse the Nutcracker party scene · chor. George BalanchineThe Red Detachment of Women (1970)5 sequences indexedDungeon escape and coconut-woods rescue · chor. Li Chengxiang; Jiang Zuhui; Wang XixianRed-area founding celebration and rifle presentation · chor. Li Chengxiang; Jiang Zuhui; Wang XixianCourtyard raid and granary liberation · chor. Li Chengxiang; Jiang Zuhui; Wang XixianDance Dance Danseur (2022)4 sequences indexedSwan Lake pas de deux attempt and Luou's reply · chor. Naoya HomanStudio basics and ballet-festival pas de deux rehearsal · chor. Naoya HomanGodai Ballet Studio's Swan Lake festival performance · chor. Naoya HomanDancing Chaplin (2011)4 sequences indexedBonino coaches Kusakari and the male dancers · chor. Roland PetitThe Kid — Tramp and urchin ballet · chor. Roland PetitOpen-air park comedy with cop and girl · chor. Roland PetitLeap! (2016)4 sequences indexedOdette’s private ballet training · chor. Aurélie DupontOpera Ballet School training and cuts · chor. Aurélie DupontThe Nutcracker audition · chor. Aurélie DupontNavillera (2021)4 sequences indexedChae-rok's opening studio practiceDeok-chul's first ballet recitalChae-rok's snow-street soloThe White-Haired Girl (1972)4 sequences indexedNew Year's Eve at Yang Bailao's home · chor. Hu Rongrong; Fu Aidi; Cheng Daihui; Lin YangyangXi'er flees into the mountains and becomes the White-Haired Girl · chor. Hu Rongrong; Fu Aidi; Cheng Daihui; Lin YangyangTemple confrontation with Huang Shiren and Mu Renzhi · chor. Hu Rongrong; Fu Aidi; Cheng Daihui; Lin YangyangA Ballerina's Tale (2015)3 sequences indexedLandmark Swan Lake performance · chor. Kevin McKenzieFirebird at the Metropolitan Opera House · chor. Alexei RatmanskyRehabilitation and return-to-ballet trainingBolshoi Babylon (2015)3 sequences indexedLa Bayadère: Kingdom of the Shades openingSwan Lake performanceSpartacus performanceCuban Dancer (2020)3 sequences indexedHavana street chassés and leaps with YeleniaHarid Conservatory technique resetHavana stage performanceGirl (2018)3 sequences indexedOpening blue-clad ensemble ballet class · chor. Sidi Larbi CherkaouiIndividual pointework catch-up lessonStage rehearsal and collapseMao's Last Dancer (2009)3 sequences indexedLi meets Liz in the rehearsal studio · chor. Graeme MurphyDon Quixote pas de deux · chor. Graeme Murphy; Janet VernonSwan Lake Act II · chor. Graeme Murphy; Janet VernonThe White Crow (2018)3 sequences indexedPushkin's male ballet class · chor. Johan KobborgLe Corsaire stage excerpt · chor. Johan KobborgNatalia Dudinskaya rehearsal · chor. Johan KobborgYuli (2018)3 sequences indexedCuba National Ballet School training arc · chor. María RoviraPrix de Lausanne gold-medal variation (archival footage)Royal Ballet Romeo balcony pas de deux (archival footage)Angel's Last Mission: Love (2019)2 sequences indexedSwan Lake opening performance · chor. Choi Soo-jinOpening “Swan Lake” solo and corps · chor. Choi Soo-jinBallet 422 (2014)2 sequences indexedPaz de la Jolla principal rehearsals · chor. Justin PeckPaz de la Jolla premiere — waves and geometric ensemble · chor. Justin PeckBarbie of Swan Lake (2003)2 sequences indexedOdette receives a dance lesson from the Fairy Queen · chor. Peter MartinsPrince Daniel dances with Odile at the ball · chor. Peter MartinsBreaking Pointe (2012–2013)2 sequences indexedPaquita Grand Pas opening-night partnership · chor. Elena Kunikova (staging, after Marius Petipa)Cinderella gala pas de deux · chor. Frederick AshtonDance Academy (2010–2013)2 sequences indexedThe Nutcracker at the Sydney Opera HouseSammy's revised Prix de Fonteyn soloDancing Across Borders (2010)2 sequences indexedOlga Kostritzky's private ballet coachingVarna International Ballet Competition variationsFeel the Beat (2020)2 sequences indexedRecommitted team returns to first position · chor. Mia MichaelsFootball-field ballet cross-training · chor. Mia MichaelsFind Me in Paris (2018–2020)2 sequences indexedBrussels ballet battleParis Opera Ballet Company auditionsFlashdance (1983)2 sequences indexedConservatory class glimpseBallet benefit performanceLa Danse: The Paris Opera Ballet (2009)2 sequences indexedCasse-Noisette performance duet · 02:02:04 · chor. Rudolf NureyevPaquita rehearsal · 01:41:54 · chor. Pierre LacotteLift (2022)2 sequences indexedSteven Melendez teaches ballet at the shelterYolanssie dances home after Le Corsaire rehearsalPas de deux (1968)2 sequences indexedMargaret Mercier's multiplied solo · chor. Ludmilla ChiriaeffMercier and Vincent Warren pas de deux · chor. Ludmilla ChiriaeffBallet in the Flames of War (2015)1 sequence indexedE’er’s “Swan Lake” pointe solo and battlefield intercutBunheads (2012–2013)1 sequence indexedSasha's Istanbul (Not Constantinople) solo · chor. Marguerite DerricksDance Dreams: Hot Chocolate Nutcracker (2020)1 sequence indexedBallet rehearsal and performance excerpts · chor. Debbie AllenDance, Subaru! (2009)1 sequence indexedShanghai international ballet competition · chor. Yukio UeshimaFlesh and Bone (2015)1 sequence indexedClaire's day-long ABC auditionFlower (2023)1 sequence indexedRose teaches ballet to Oakland youthIn the Heights (2021)1 sequence indexed96,000 — underwater ballet figures · chor. Christopher ScottLil' Buck: Real Swan (2019)1 sequence indexedBallet-school pointe work in sneakersNeneh Superstar (2022)1 sequence indexedFormal ballet-school pirouetteOnly When I Dance (2009)1 sequence indexedOpening rooftop arabesqueRestless Creature: Wendy Whelan (2016)1 sequence indexedLouisville childhood and student-era dance archiveRise (2022)1 sequence indexedOpening La Bayadère performance and fall · chor. Florence Clerc (after Marius Petipa)Swan Lake (1981)1 sequence indexedLittle swan birds danceThe Dying Swan (1925)1 sequence indexedAnna Pavlova’s complete “Dying Swan” solo · chor. Michel FokineTiny Pretty Things (2020)1 sequence indexedNeveah and Oren's partner-class pas de deux · chor. Jennifer NicholsWhite Nights (1985)1 sequence indexedEleven-pirouette wager

Classical Ballet in performance

101 staged works in the Limelight catalogue contain Classical Ballet, 1789–2024 — 45 of them in a named act or number.

• Paquita1846
  Ballet · Joseph Mazilier, Marius Petipa · defining style
  Act II · Paquita grand pas classique

  the Grand pas classique added to the final act in Petipa's 1881 revival — A grand-pas structure of entrée, adagio with solo-violin cadenza, solo variations and coda for a principal ballerina and demi-soloists, in the codified vocabulary that made it a stand…

• Flower Festival in Genzano1858
  Ballet · August Bournonville · defining style
  Flower Festival in Genzano pas de deux

  The surviving pas de deux — Follows the standard classical pas de deux architecture: entrée for solo violin, adagio, separate male and female variations, and a closing coda, the conventional four-part structure of nineteenth-century classical pas de deux re…

• Coppélia1870
  Ballet · Arthur Saint-Léon, George Balanchine · defining style
  Act II

  Act II, in Balanchine's 1974 New York City Ballet production — the automata workshop scene, the drinking-scene mime, and Swanhilda's impersonation of the doll were staged by Danilova using Petipa's original classical choreography rather than newly made Sour…

• La Bayadère1877
  Ballet · Marius Petipa · defining style
  Act III · Scene 2 · The Kingdom of the Shades

  Act III, scene 2: The Kingdom of the Shades, Solor's opium vision — A corps of shades files onstage repeating a single two-phrase arabesque cambré port de bras motif in strict unison before soloists' variations and a scarf duet for Nikiya, building diagonal…

• Swan Lake1877
  Ballet · Julius Reisinger, Lev Ivanov, Marius Petipa · defining style
  Act II · Dances of the Swans

  Act II, Dances of the Swans — the Allegro moderato number later famous as the Dance of the Little Swans: four swans in a linked line, hands crossed, dancing tightly synchronised petit allegro in unison, the repertoire's best-known test of corps precision. S…

• Les Deux Pigeons1886
  Ballet · Louis Mérante · defining style
  Act I

  Original 1886 version, Act I, the opening pas de deux between Pépio and Gourouli — A partnered pas de deux danced as a literal enactment of two pigeons — small, irritated head movements standing in for a quarrel, resolving into a coming-together; the sequen…

• The Talisman1889
  Ballet · defining style
  Act II · Grand pas d'action / Grand ballabile — La Rose de Bengale

  Act II, the Grand pas d'action for Noureddin and Princess Damayanti — Built with the classical pas de deux form of andante, two solo variations and a coda, per the résumé of dances listing under this number. Source: "Noureddin and the Princess Damayanti per…

• The Sleeping Beauty1890
  Ballet · Marius Petipa · defining style
  Act I · Les quatre fiancés de la Princesse Aurore

  Act I, the Rose Adagio — A sustained adagio in which the ballerina is partnered in succession by four suitors through balances, promenades and supported turns, a classical technical set piece. Source: "Aurora and the suitors perform the famous Rose Adagio."

• The Nutcracker1892
  Ballet · Lev Ivanov, Marius Petipa · defining style
  Act II · The Land of Sweets

  Act II, the Grand Pas de Deux of the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier — Virtuoso pointe work for the ballerina in a classical pas de deux structure, singled out by contemporary reviewers of the role's originator. Source: "some critics praised Dell'Era on h…

• Cinderella1893
  Ballet · Enrico Cecchetti, Lev Ivanov · defining style
  Act II · Grand pas d'action

  Act II, the Grand Pas d'action during the ball — A full classical ensemble structure — principal couple (Cinderella and the Prince), soloists and corps de ballet — staged as the ball's centrepiece before the midnight transformation. Source: "which included…

• The Magic Flute1893
  Ballet · defining style
  Grand ballabile

  No. 4, Pas de deux, leading into No. 5, Grand ballabile (the closing sequence of the ballet) — The program moves from a principal pas de deux into a grand pas structure — an adagio, solo variations for the two leads and four demi-soloists, and a concluding…

• Le Réveil de Flore1894
  Ballet · Lev Ivanov, Marius Petipa · defining style
  Scene Tableau 4 · Entrées d'Apollon, de Zéphyr, de Cupidon / Pas d'action

  Tableau 4, the pas d'action following the entrées of Apollo, Zephyr and Cupid — A pas d'action built from an ensemble scene, a solo variation for Zephyr, a solo variation for Flora and a grande valse-coda, the standard adagio/variations/coda skeleton of aca…

• Swan Lake1895
  Ballet · defining style
  Act I · Scene 1

  Act I (Act I-Scene 1), the Pas de trois — Classical pas de trois vocabulary, danced largely en pointe with multiple turns for two women and a man; considered technically difficult even in press accounts of the premiere. Source: "a captivating Pas de Trois,…

• Barbe-Bleue1896
  Ballet · Marius Petipa · defining style
  Act III · Scene 2 · Grand pas de deux électrique

  Act III, Scene 2 — the Grand pas de deux électrique for Ysaure and Arthur — A principal pas de deux built as adagio, separate solo variations for the danseur and danseuse, and a closing coda — the standard classical grand pas de deux template. Source: "feat…

• Raymonda1898
  Ballet · Marius Petipa · defining style
  Act III · Le festival des noces

  Act III, the Pas classique hongrois (Raymonda Pas de dix) — A self-contained classical grand pas — entrée, grand adage, a run of contrasting solo variations for named dancers, and a grande coda — frequently extracted and performed independently of the full…

• The Seasons1899
  Ballet · defining style
  Act I · Scene 4 · Grande bacchanale des saisons / Petit adage / Variation du Satyre / Coda générale

  Tableau IV, the Grande bacchanale des saisons — A massed ensemble dance for the Seasons together with Bacchantes, Satyrs, Fauns and the Spirit of the Corn, staged as a revel with falling stage leaves, followed by a petit adage and a general coda. Source: "T…

• Les Millions d'Arlequin1900
  Ballet · Marius Petipa · defining style
  Act I · Le rendezvous des amoureux (Pas d'ensemble)

  Throughout, in the numbered pas d'ensemble, pas d'action, ballabili and codas of the printed programme — The ballet is built from the standard Petipa vocabulary of the period: an andante leading to a corps ballabile, solo variations for the ballerina and pr…

• Aschenbrödel1901
  Ballet · defining style
  Act II · Welcome with Flowers

  Act II, Flora's floral divertissement leading into the "Flowertorch Polonaise" — A dedicated prima-ballerina guest role appearing only for this divertissement, danced against soloists, corps and student dancers in a large-scale grand-pas structure typical o…

• La Péri1912
  Ballet · Ivan Clustine · defining style
  Act one act · Scene one tableau

  Single tableau, the closing scene in which the Peri reclaims the Flower from Iskender — The Peri's recapture of the Flower is staged as a dance that closes physical distance on Iskender step by step until she is able to take the object from his hand, functi…

• Les biches1924
  Ballet · defining style
  Act I · Adagietto

  Adagietto tableau, the garçonne's solo — The garçonne dances a slow solo danced largely en pointe, watched by the assembled cast, before a formal pas de deux with an athlete. Source: "performs a slow dance, largely en pointe, watched by the women and the at…

• Carnaval1926
  Ballet · Michel Fokine · defining style
  Harlequin solo

  The Harlequin solo — The one number the source distinguishes from the ballet's otherwise 'almost simplistic' steps, implying a more technically demanding classical solo variation. Source: "if one looks at just the steps (except for the one Harlequin solo) t…

• The Red Poppy1927
  Ballet · defining style
  Act II · Scene Third to Fifth Tableaux

  Act II, Third to Fifth Tableaux — Taï-Choa's opium-dream sequence — A full academic grand-pas sequence embedded in a fantastical dream vision: a Grand Adagio, a solo Poppy Dance, a Phoenix Variation with a solo instrumental accompaniment, and a closing brav…

• Les Patineurs1937
  Ballet · Frederick Ashton · defining style
  Pas seul (Blue Boy)

  Pas seul for the Blue Boy — A virtuoso solo built on turning and elevation for the technically strongest male dancer in the company, described as one of the hardest roles in the repertory. Source: "The Blue Boy is an exceptionally difficult role to perform,…

• Gaîté parisienne1938
  Ballet · Léonide Massine · defining style
  Act I

  The pas de cinq around La Lionne, and the closing group ballabile — Named classical-ballet structures — an explicit pas de cinq with overhead lifts, and a full-company ballabile — frame the social dances as formal balletic ensemble and partnering work. Sour…

• Graduation Ball1940
  Ballet · defining style
  Dance-Step Competition

  Dance-Step Competition duet — Single and double fouettés en tournant combined with pirouettes en attitude, à la seconde, and en arabesque with varying arm positions. Source: "single and double fouettés en tournant combined with pirouettes en attitude, á la…

• Gayane1942
  Ballet · Nina Aleksandrovna Anisimova · defining style
  Act IV

  The wedding pas de deux for Gayane and Kazakov (placed in Act IV by the plot synopsis, but described in the Analysis section as 'the wedding in the second act' — see uncertainties) — Classical pas de deux format with named solo variations for the two princi…

• Rodeo1942
  Ballet · Agnes de Mille · defining style
  Buckaroo Holiday

  Buckaroo Holiday, the opening section — Men dance solo and in groups while pantomiming riding and roping, an unusual assignment for male ballet dancers, performed in stylized western costume. Source: "the first scene requires men to pantomime riding and rop…

• Fancy Free1944
  Ballet · Jerome Robbins · defining style
  Pas de Deux

  The central duet between the third sailor and the second girl — A formal partnered duet ('pas de deux') built on lifts and adagio partnering, following a mimed exchange, contrasting the comic ensemble sections around it. Source: "they dance a passionate pas…

• Danses concertantes1944
  Ballet · George Balanchine · defining style
  Pas de trois sequence

  1944 premiere for the Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo, framed by opening and closing parades — Company parades open and close the piece; between them come several rhythmically quirky pas de trois for soloists and a demanding academic pas de deux for the princip…

• Zoluška1945
  Ballet · Rostislav Zakharov · defining style
  Act II · Duet of the Prince and Cinderella

  Act II, No. 36 'Duet of the Prince and Cinderella' — A romantic pas de deux for the two principals in the palace garden, built around partnered dancing that carries the ballet's central love story rather than mime. Source: "The Prince takes Cinderella out t…

• Scotch Symphony1952
  Ballet · George Balanchine · defining style
  Third movement (finale)

  Third movement finale — Lead couple perform a formal pas de deux and variations before soloists and corps de ballet join for a classical ensemble finale. Source: "the two lead dancers perform a pas de deux and variations, before the soloists and corps de ba…

• Homage to the Queen1953
  Ballet · defining style
  Air

  The 'Air' section, the pas de deux for Margot Fonteyn and Michael Somes — A classical pas de deux for a principal ballerina and danseur, singled out by a critic as top-rank academic choreography; the surviving passage that has been revived on its own indepe…

• The Tale of the Stone Flower1954
  Ballet · defining style
  Act I · Scene 1

  Act I, Scene 1, 'Scene and Duet of Katerina and Danila' — A partnered duet for the two leads, the classical pas de deux convention used to develop the central romance. Source: "Scene and Duet of Katerina and Danila"

• Western Symphony1954
  Ballet · George Balanchine · defining style
  Adagio (Waltz)

  Adagio (Waltz), the second movement — A duet built around pointe-based partnering that directly quotes Romantic-era ballet vocabulary, staged as parody rather than tragedy, with a corps standing in for a classical ensemble. Source: "It is almost a satire on…

• Ondine1958
  Ballet · Frederick Ashton · defining style
  Act III · Divertissement

  Act III, the wedding divertissement — The one conventional classical set-piece sequence in the ballet: pas de seize, pas de six, two pas de trois, a pas de dix-huit, a valse d'ensemble and a closing pas de deux, contrasting with the looser, flowing structur…

• Stars and Stripes1958
  Ballet · George Balanchine · defining style
  The Liberty Bell / El Capitan

  Fourth campaign, the pas de deux ('The Liberty Bell' / 'El Capitan') — A partnered classical pas de deux with bravura extensions, turns, and lifts, built on standard classical pas de deux structure but pushed to extreme difficulty. Source: "follows the stru…

• A Midsummer Night's Dream1962
  Ballet · George Balanchine · defining style
  Act II

  Act II, the wedding celebration — Act II abandons the narrative of Act I entirely for a suite of formal classical dance built as a wedding celebration, functioning as a plotless classical divertissement independent of the story. Source: "Act I tells Shakesp…

• Jewels1967
  Ballet · George Balanchine · defining style
  Act III · Diamonds

  Act III, Diamonds — Costumed in the flat classical tutu of the Imperial Russian Ballet, an explicit citation of Petipa-era grand classical vocabulary, danced to symphonic Tchaikovsky. Source: "the flat, classical tutu of the Imperial Russian Ballet for Diam…

• Oscar2024
  Ballet · Christopher Wheeldon · defining style
  Act II

  Act 2, centred on the Wilde–Douglas relationship — A named pas de deux for Wilde and Lord Alfred Douglas, praised as a major romantic partnering set-piece within the ballet's classical duet structure. Source: "the pas de deux between Oscar Wilde and Lord Al…

• The Golden Age1930
  Ballet · Leonid Yakobson, Vasili Vainonen
  Act I · Scene 2 · Exhibition Hall

  Act I, Scene 2, Exhibition Hall — The Diva's number is titled 'Adagio,' the standard classical-ballet term for a slow duet or solo display section, distinguishing it from the surrounding character numbers. Source: "Act I, Scene 2, Exhibition Hall: Dance of…

• La Valse1951
  Ballet · George Balanchine
  Eighth Waltz

  Eighth Waltz of Valses Nobles et Sentimentales, pas de deux for the ballerina in white and her partner — Duet opening with backbends between two figures who seem unfamiliar with each other, danced with formal elegance and closing in a partnered lift as they…

• Raymonda Variations1961
  Ballet · George Balanchine
  Nine variations

  The adagio and the nine variations — A central pas de deux adagio for the two principals followed by nine separate solo variations for five corps women and the principals, mirroring the classical Petipa grand pas de deux format of entrée-adagio-variations-c…

• Jazz Calendar1968
  Ballet
  Wednesday

  Wednesday section — Reworks the sustained balances, supported promenades and pointe technique of the Rose Adagio from The Sleeping Beauty, pushed toward comic distortion while keeping the classical partnering structure. Source: "Wednesday's woe is in the fo…

• Vienna Waltzes1977
  Ballet · George Balanchine
  Scene 2 · Voices of Spring

  Voices of Spring and Tales from the Vienna Woods sections — Corps de ballet formation dancing in pastel tutus alongside a lead couple, using classical ensemble grouping typical of a ballet corps. Source: "They dance with eight women in pastel tutus."

• Ballo della Regina1978
  Ballet · George Balanchine
  Variations

  The ballerina's variations — Bravura pointe-work display built on classical technique, described as a showcase of virtuoso talent rather than dramatic expression. Source: "a display piece, spotlighting the bravura talent of Merrill Ashley."

• La fille mal gardée1789
  Ballet · Jean Dauberval · defining style

  Across its successive stagings from Dauberval through Petipa/Ivanov, Gorsky and Ashton — The ballet's identity is carried by ballerina showpieces added at each revival — grand pas de deux and variations for star dancers such as Fanny Elssler and Virginia Zu…

• La Esmeralda1844
  Ballet · Jules Perrot · defining style

  The surviving excerpted numbers performed outside the full ballet: the La Esmeralda pas de deux, La Esmeralda pas de six, and the frequently paired (though unrelated) Diane and Actéon pas de deux — Partnered adagio-allegro pas de deux and ensemble pas de si…

• Pas de Quatre1845
  Ballet · Jules Perrot · defining style

  Throughout the piece, across the opening, variations and finale — The choreography is built to run every core area of classical technique: adagio work, petite and grand allegro, fast footwork, changes of position, and fluid arm movements. Source: "These are…

• Le Corsaire1856
  Ballet · Joseph Mazilier · defining style

  The Le Corsaire pas de deux, an excerpt performed independently of the full ballet — A bravura display pas de deux of the kind built for virtuoso partnering, turns, balances and jumps, treated as a stand-alone classical showcase. Source: "the so-called Le C…

• The Pharaoh's Daughter1862
  Ballet · Marius Petipa · defining style

  the whole production, staged as a large-scale four-hour spectacle — A grand multi-act ballet à grand spectacle using roughly 400 performers, mixing dramatic mime with ensemble and soloist dancing across strongly contrasted dramatic episodes, the format Peti…

• Don Quixote1869
  Ballet · Marius Petipa · defining style

  the ballet as a whole, across its 19th-century Russian imperial stagings — a full-length Petipa/Minkus narrative ballet with soloist variations, corps ensembles and a climactic grand pas de deux, described by the article as among the great classics of the c…

• Sylvia1876
  Ballet · Frederick Ashton, Louis Mérante · defining style

  the whole ballet, across all three acts — a full-length narrative work built on classical mime, corps de ballet ensembles, character divertissements and set pas de deux, staged by the Paris Opera's own maître de ballet Source: "Sylvia, originally Sylvia, ou…

• The Magic Pills1886
  Ballet · defining style

  Whole work — three acts, thirteen scenes — Constructed act by act as chains of dance numbers (games in Act II, national 'lace' dances in Act III) under Petipa's choreography for the Imperial Ballet, the house style of which was classical ballet built from s…

• The Vestal1888
  Ballet · Marius Petipa · defining style

  the whole ballet, as staged in 1888 for the Imperial Ballet — Described by contemporaries as the epitome of grand-spectacle Imperial ballet and by later historians as the direct predecessor of The Sleeping Beauty, placing it in the classical vocabulary and…

• The Whims of the Butterfly1889
  Ballet · Marius Petipa · defining style

  the whole one-act ballet — Made by Petipa for the Imperial Ballet in 1889, in the same institutional and stylistic context as his grand classical repertory, with a ballerina-led principal pairing (Butterfly/Phoenix Moth) typical of the Petipa era's pointe-b…

• Danse des petits cygnes1895
  Ballet · defining style

  The entire number: four dancers performing the linked pas de quatre within Act II, No. 13 of Swan Lake — Four dancers move sideways in a linked chain performing sixteen pas de chat in strict unison, arms crossed and hands held, ending with a broken-chain fa…

• The Dying Swan1905
  Ballet · Michel Fokine · defining style

  The entire four-minute solo — A solo built on continuous traveling steps and a signature rippling port de bras ('Dying Swan arms') representing a swan's wings and decline, performed by a ballerina in the classical Imperial Russian tradition. Source: "is a s…

• The Firebird1910
  Ballet · Michel Fokine · defining style

  The Firebird's own appearances throughout the ballet (capture, supplication, lullaby), as distinct from Koschei's court and the princesses — danced with exaggerated classical steps and deep bending at the waist, built to be 'powerful, hard to manage, and re…

• Petrushka1911
  Ballet · Michel Fokine · defining style

  The Ballerina's role throughout all four tableaux — The Ballerina's characterization is built on sustained pointe technique, held constant across her appearances as the classical counterpoint to Petrushka's deliberately un-classical, wooden movement. Source…

• Les noces1923
  Ballet · defining style

  The whole ballet, across the four scenes performed without a break — Massed corps work on pointe used as a percussive, unison device — dancers 'huddled together' strike the floor with pointe shoes with rigid intensity rather than performing individual lyric…

• La Boutique fantasque1926
  Ballet · Léonide Massine · defining style

  Throughout, framing and linking the character numbers — The scenario explicitly combines comic mime and named folk dances with classical ballet technique as the connecting vocabulary of the whole piece. Source: "incorporating elements of comedy, national fo…

• Apollo1928
  Ballet · Adolph Bolm, George Balanchine · defining style

  The whole ballet, per Stravinsky's and Balanchine's stated intent — Dancing kept 'essentially classical' throughout, with traditional tutus for the Muses and Apollo in toga and sandals, conceived as a ballet blanc. Source: "the style of dancing was essentia…

• L'éventail de Jeanne1929
  Ballet · defining style

  The whole ten-movement suite as staged, danced by pupils of a children's ballet school — Staged as a formal ballet with a costumed corps of children and at least one featured child soloist dancing a lead role at the Paris Opera Source: "is a children's ball…

• Façade1931
  Ballet · Frederick Ashton · defining style

  The whole ballet, across all its divertissements — A plotless suite of numbers performed by classically trained dancers of the Camargo Society, described as choreographic satires on popular dance forms and the performers associated with them, rather than li…

• Flames of Paris1932
  Ballet · Vasili Vainonen · defining style

  Versailles court scene, pas de deux for the actors Mireille de Poitiers and Antoine Mistral, and the parallel pas de deux for Jérôme/Philippe and his bride — A Petipa-derived display pas de deux with variations and coda, danced by virtuoso principals (Dudin…

• The Green Table1932
  Ballet · Kurt Jooss · defining style

  Throughout, as the technical substrate beneath every scene — Turn-out, demi-pointe, extensions, turns and arabesques are used as vocabulary throughout, though pointe work and formal display are deliberately excluded in favour of expressive intent. Source: "…

• Les Rendezvous1933
  Ballet · Frederick Ashton · defining style

  the whole ballet, across its succession of promenade, variation and ensemble numbers — A plotless suite of pas de quatre, solo variations, an adage for the leads, a pas de trois and a pas de six built entirely on academic classical steps, designed to displa…

• Serenade1934
  Ballet · George Balanchine · defining style

  throughout, culminating in the 'Waltzing Girl' passage — Corps formations and partnering built up in difficulty across the piece, from a simple opening gesture phrase to complex ensemble patterns and technical partner work. Source: "the ballet then explores…

• The Limpid Stream1935
  Ballet · defining style

  Whole work — The narrative's resolution depends on a ballerina and her male dance partner exchanging costumed identities to deceive onlookers, a device that stages the swap through danced performance by named ballet roles (ballerina, dance partner) rather t…

• Zenobia1936
  Ballet · George Balanchine · defining style

  the whole ballet (originally titled La Princesse Zenobia Ballet within On Your Toes) — Built on classical ballet technique but staged as knowing pastiche of Orientalist ballet convention — exaggerated exotic posing, stylized gesture, and theatrical excess i…

• The Wise Virgins1940
  Ballet · defining style

  the whole one-act ballet — Ashton shaped the dancers' bodies to evoke baroque sculptural form and elaborate contortion within a classical stage-ballet frame, for a Vic-Wells company premiere. Source: "Ashton was also inspired by 18th century sculpture and a…

• Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 21941
  Ballet · George Balanchine · defining style

  The whole ballet, in both the Ballet Imperial and Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2 versions — Academic pointe-work vocabulary built explicitly on Petipa's classical steps, with a demanding first-ballerina role, a second ballerina for cadenza passages, and…

• Circus Polka1942
  Ballet · George Balanchine · defining style

  The full 1942 elephant-and-ballerina ballet at its Madison Square Garden premiere — Corps de ballet patterning among the elephants' legs, held poses, elephants lifting dancers overhead, and a featured solo for Zorina built on classical port de bras and part…

• The White-haired Girl1945
  Ballet · defining style

  The 1964 Shanghai Ballet Academy ballet-opera adaptation — Described as drawing on Western ballet technique alongside traditional Chinese dance, folk dance, martial arts and Chinese musical drama to stage the narrative. Source: "It drew on a variety of arti…

• Theme and Variations1947
  Ballet · George Balanchine · defining style

  the entire ballet, for the lead couple, four soloists and corps de ballet — Choreography built explicitly as homage to Imperial Russian classical ballet and The Sleeping Beauty, with grand formal partnering for the principal couple and ensemble patterning f…

• Fall River Legend1948
  Ballet · Agnes de Mille · defining style

  The pas de deux between The Accused and the Pastor — A partnered duet form (pas de deux) built to echo an earlier pas de deux between the Mother and Father characters, using musical repetition to link the two couples choreographically. Source: "In one affec…

• Cinderella1948
  Ballet · Frederick Ashton · defining style

  Whole ballet — Ashton's choreography is built throughout as an homage to Petipa's classical vocabulary, scaled to a full-evening ballet with variations, adagios and a pas de deux structure. Source: "The choreography of Cinderella is Ashton's homage to the c…

• Carmen1949
  Ballet · Roland Petit · defining style

  Whole ballet — Partnering, lifts and a formal pas de deux structure sit alongside mime and Spanish-idiom footwork, per the article's own description of the blend. Source: "represents a striking admixture of classical ballet, Spanish-style movement, mime, an…

• Birthday Offering1956
  Ballet · Frederick Ashton · defining style

  the whole ballet, across the entrance, seven variations, mazurka, pas de deux and finale — Structured as a classical grand divertissement: a massed entrance of seven couples, seven individuated ballerina variations, a men's demonstration mazurka, a formal p…

• Moves1959
  Ballet · defining style

  The whole ballet, an ensemble piece with no divided scenes or acts — Robbins specified the underlying vocabulary directly: classical ballet technique as danced by an American company, built into a plotless, decorative ensemble showcase rather than a narrati…

• Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux1960
  Ballet · George Balanchine · defining style

  The entire pas de deux — Built on the nineteenth-century grand pas de deux skeleton - entrée, adage, solo variations, coda - with fish-dive lift, high overhead carries and a virtuosic solo built on big jumps and turns. Source: "It was a standard pas de deux…

• La fille mal gardée1960
  Ballet · Frederick Ashton · defining style

  Whole ballet, across both acts — A full-length narrative comic ballet built from classical pas de deux, corps de ballet ensembles, mimed narrative passages inherited from Imperial Ballet practice, and named virtuoso set-pieces (ribbon dance, grand adage) in…

• Liebeslieder Walzer1960
  Ballet · George Balanchine · defining style

  Second part of the ballet, after the women change into tutus and pointe shoes — Women dance in romantic tutus and pointe shoes and the choreography adopts classical ballet vocabulary, described directly as resembling classical ballet in style. Source: "This…

• Marguerite and Armand1963
  Ballet · Frederick Ashton · defining style

  The whole ballet, built as a single continuous flashback structure centred on the Marguerite–Armand duet — The work is organised around an extended dramatic pas de deux rather than ensemble or divertissement dancing; the flower-drop, necklace-tearing and fi…

• Romeo and Juliet1965
  Ballet · Kenneth MacMillan · defining style

  the ballet as a whole, planned around the lead couples' duets — The ballet was structured around a sequence of pas de deux for the principal characters, with the balcony duet as its choreographic and dramatic core, in the classical narrative ballet idiom of…

• The Taming of the Shrew1969
  Ballet · John Cranko · defining style

  Throughout, centred on the Katherina–Petruchio partnership — Lead role built around partnering technique and dance virtuosity rather than mime alone, per contemporary critical description of the Petruchio role's demands. Source: "provided a first-class show…

• L'histoire de Manon1974
  Ballet · Kenneth MacMillan · defining style

  Throughout all three acts, in the sequence of duets for Manon and Des Grieux — The relationship is built through 'a series of pas de deux' rather than divertissement, structured like MacMillan's Romeo and Juliet, implying classical partnering vocabulary car…

• A Month in the Country1976
  Ballet · Frederick Ashton · defining style

  the whole ballet, structured as a chain of duets — the drama is carried entirely by a sequence of classical pas de deux between shifting pairs of characters, rather than by mime or ensemble scenes Source: "The ballet contains a series of pas de deux (dance…

• Other Dances1976
  Ballet · defining style

  Whole work, organized as duet, two solos and coda — Danced in academic pas-de-deux form — a duet, a solo apiece, and a coda — built for two classically trained principal dancers with no mime or narrative gesture. Source: "While the ballet follows the struct…

• Voices of Spring1978
  Ballet · Frederick Ashton · defining style

  the whole piece — a single continuous pas de deux with no scene divisions — described as having 'a strong sense of effortless and joyful movement, strongly influenced by the boldness of the Bolshoi Ballet', indicating bravura, classically-schooled partnerin…

• Arabian Nights1979
  Ballet · Nelya Nazirova · defining style

  Throughout the ballet, in the danced frame story and the Act II tale-suites alike — Classical partnering and pointe-based female roles (Shahrizade, Nurida, Budur, Marjana) and ensemble set pieces run on a classical ballet base throughout, deliberately fused…

• Pas de légumes1982
  Ballet · defining style

  the central pas de deux for the Prince and Princess of Vegetables, framed by the vegetable ensemble — a traditional pas de deux structure with classical partnering, plus chaine turns used elsewhere in the piece for the comic ensemble Source: "is replaced on…

• Les Gentilhommes1987
  Ballet · defining style

  Throughout the ballet, per Martins's own description of its aims — Choreographer's stated vocabulary includes beats (batterie) and double air turns, classical academic ballet technique, deployed across ensemble, trio and solo sections Source: "showing beats…

• An American in Paris2005
  Ballet · Christopher Wheeldon · defining style

  the whole one-act ballet — Wheeldon rejected putting a dancer off pointe specifically because the piece is a ballet, indicating the work was built and performed throughout on pointe in classical technique rather than a looser, filmic dance style. Source: "H…

• Pulcinella Variations2017
  Ballet · Justin Peck · defining style

  Throughout the one-act ballet — The choreography is described as leaning toward classical ballet vocabulary rather than Peck's usual more contemporary idiom, implying academic line, formal partnering and pointe work rather than syncopated athleticism. Sourc…

• The Queen of Nori
  Ballet · Holly Stone · defining style

  The production's mission page describes the work as classical ballet combined with a contemporary dance vocabulary, making classical technique the base on which the contemporary material is built.

• Die Puppenfee1888
  Ballet · Joseph Haßreiter

  the added Fairy Doll Pas de Trois (1903 Mariinsky staging) — a formal classical pas de trois for the Fairy Doll and two Pierrots, composed by Drigo and first danced by the Legat brothers, later detached as independent repertory Source: "who composed music f…

• Allegro Brillante1956
  Ballet · George Balanchine

  the entire ballet — Balanchine described the work as a distillation of the full range of classical technique compressed into one short concerto movement Source: "the ballet "contains everything I knew about classical ballet – in thirteen minutes.""

• Square Dance1957
  Ballet · George Balanchine

  1976 revival, the added solo to the Corelli Sarabanda — A soloistic passage for the male principal ('premier danseur'), a classical-ballet role designation, set to Corelli's Sarabanda and added independently of the surrounding concerto grosso material. Sour…

• Concerto1966
  Ballet · Kenneth MacMillan

  Corps de ballet passages across the work — A large ensemble of women and men dances in strict unison, a classical corps-de-ballet convention of aligned, drilled group patterning. Source: "The ballet also includes a corps de ballet, that dances in unison, or…

• Rhapsody1980
  Ballet

  The ensemble sections danced by the corps de ballet — A corps de ballet of six men and six women dances material distinct from the principal couple's, described as the ensemble having its own dances within the classical structure. Source: "The ballet is dan…

Every claim above is quoted from a cited source and names where in the work the style appears. Claims we could not place or could not quote are held back from this list and shown on the work’s own page instead. Browse the full performance catalogue →