La Vivandière or Markitenka
Encyclopedia
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
in one act, with choreography by Arthur Saint-Léon
Arthur Saint-Leon
Arthur Saint-Léon was the Maître de Ballet of St. Petersburg Imperial Ballet from 1859 until 1869 and is famous for creating the choreography of the ballet Coppélia.-Biography:...
and Fanny Cerrito
Fanny Cerrito
Fanny Cerrito, originally Francesca Cerrito , was an Italian ballet dancer and choreographer.Born in Naples, she studied under Carlo Blasis and the French choreographers Jules Perrot and Arthur Saint-Léon, to the latter of whom she was married from 1845–1851. Notable roles included Ondine and a...
, and music by Cesare Pugni
Cesare Pugni
Cesare Pugni was an Italian composer of ballet music, a pianist and a violinist. In his early career he composed operas, symphonies, and various other forms of orchestral music. Pugni is most noted for the ballets he composed while serving as Composer of the Ballet Music to Her Majesty's Theatre...
.
The ballet was first presented on May 23, 1844, by the Ballet of Her Majesty's Theatre, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The principal dancers were Fanny Cerrito
Fanny Cerrito
Fanny Cerrito, originally Francesca Cerrito , was an Italian ballet dancer and choreographer.Born in Naples, she studied under Carlo Blasis and the French choreographers Jules Perrot and Arthur Saint-Léon, to the latter of whom she was married from 1845–1851. Notable roles included Ondine and a...
(as Kathi, the Vivandière
Vivandière
Vivandière may refer to:*Vivandière a generic name for women attached to military regiments*La Vivandière, a ballet choreographed by Arthur Saint-Léon.*La Vivandière , an 1867 musical play by W. S. Gilbert...
), and Arthur Saint-Léon (as Hans).
Revivals/Restagings
- Revivals by Arthur Saint-Léon for the Ballet of Her Majesty's Theatre - 1845, 1846, and 1848.
- Restaging by Jules PerrotJules PerrotJules-Joseph Perrot was a dancer and choreographer who later became Balletmaster of the Imperial Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia...
for the Imperial BalletMariinsky BalletThe Mariinsky Ballet is a classical ballet company based at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. 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...
under the title Markitenka, first presented on December 13/25 (JulianJulian calendarThe Julian calendar began in 45 BC as a reform of the Roman calendar by Julius Caesar. It was chosen after consultation with the astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria and was probably designed to approximate the tropical year .The Julian calendar has a regular year of 365 days divided into 12 months...
/Gregorian calendarGregorian calendarThe Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter...
dates), 1855 at the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre, in St. Petersburg, Russia. Principal Dancers - Maria Surovshchikova-Petipa (as Kathi, the Vivandière), and Jules Perrot (as Hans).
- Revival by Marius PetipaMarius PetipaVictor Marius Alphonse Petipa was a French ballet dancer, teacher and choreographer. Petipa is considered to be the most influential ballet master and choreographer of ballet that has ever lived....
for the Imperial Ballet, first presented on October 8–20, 1881 at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre, in St. Petersburg, Russia.
The La Vivandière Pas de Six
- A Pas de Six from Saint-Léon's original version of this ballet was notated in his own method of dance notationDance notationDance notation is the symbolic representation of dance movement. It is analogous to movement notation but can be limited to representing human movement and specific forms of dance such as Tap dance...
known as La Sténochorégraphie as an example, in a manual book that was published in Paris (1848). In 1975 the Pas de Six was reconstructed, along with Pugni's original music, by the dance notation expert Ann Hutchinson-Guest and Pierre Lacotte for the Joffrey BalletJoffrey BalletThe Joffrey Ballet is a dance company in Chicago, Illinois, founded in 1956. From 1995 to 2004, the company was known as The Joffrey Ballet of Chicago. The company regularly performs classical ballets including Romeo & Juliet and The Nutcracker, while balancing those classics with pioneering modern...
. In 1978 Lacotte staged the piece for the Kirov/Mariinsky Ballet (the former Imperial Ballet), who still retain the piece in their repertory. The Pas de Six has since been staged by many ballet companies all over the world, and is known as either the La Vivandière Pas de Six, or the Markitenka Pas de Six (as it is known is Russia).