On May 4th, 1738 in St. Petersburg, the young capital of Russia, an event took place which was to have great significance to the culture of the world. By Imperial Decree of the Empress Anna, the first Russian School of Theatrical Dance was founded. Known as the Imperial Theatre School it was the initiative of the French ballet master and teacher, Jean-Baptiste Lande. Twelve girls and twelve boys began to study "the foreign steps" on one of the upper floors of the Winter Palace.

The early teachers were from western Europe - Lande himself and later Franz Hilferding and Giovanni Canzianni. The first Russian teacher to emerge from the school was Ivan Valberg, who produced many notable ballets and whose teaching really prepared the way for the great Charles Didelot.

Didelot came to St. Petersburg in 1801 and took over the direction of the ballet. He taught at the Imperial Theatre School for over twenty years, spending two long periods in Russia (1801-1811, 1816-1837), producing many ballets, and raising the level of ballet education to a very high standard.

Following Didelot, more teachers of the French School came to St. Petersburg. Jules Perrot, whose ballets "Giselle" and "Esmeralda" are still performed today. Another Artur Saint Leon, who produced "Coppelia" and "The Little Humpbacked Horse". And then in 1847, a teacher who was to profoundly influence the school: Marius Petipa.

During the second half of the 19th Century, the great ballet master Marius Petipa created 46 original ballets, many of which are still performed today on the stage of the Mariinsky Theatre, and throughout the world. Together with Lev Ivanov, Petipa collaborated with the great composer Petr Tchaikovsky, and his ballets "Swan Lake", "The Sleeping Beauty" and "The Nutcracker" form the cornerstone of the repertoire of the classical ballet companies.

The French influence on the Imperial Ballet School was enhanced by the teaching of Christian Johannson, Swedish by birth and a pupil of August Bournonville. Johannson taught at the school for over 30 years from 1860, bringing refinement to the classical style in a clear and codified form. One of his pupils was Pavel Gerdt who became a famous dancer and teacher.

But it was the appearance of three Italian dancers which amazed St. Petersburg audiences. The sheer virtuosity of Enrico Cecchetti, Carlotta Brianza and Pierina Legnani, with their brilliant pirouettes and astonishing speed of footwork brought new vigour to the Russian Ballet.

Cecchetti was engaged as ballet master to the Imperial Theatre and this blending of Johannson's Franco-Russian style with the exhilaration of the Italian school produced some of the greatest dancers of all time. The names of Anna Pavlova, Tamara Karsavina, Vaslav Nijinsky, Mathilde Kschesinskaya, Olga Preobrajenskaya, Sergey and Nicolay Legat, and Olga Spesivtseva, are famous the world over. All of them have contributed to the history of ballet.

Fokin was a great innovator. He believed that natural movements were the fundamentals of ballet forms. He had a great influence on the school where he created several ballets. One of these "Chopiniana" - renamed "Les Sylphides" by Diaghilev - is still performed regularly by the school.

Fokin's ideas on choreography met with some resistance from the conservative establishment of the Imperial Theatre, but he found great support from Sergey Diaghilev with whom he produced many of his most famous ballets including "The Firebird" and "Petrushka".In the years after the Revolution, the teaching traditions of the oldest ballet school in Russia progressed greatly. The work resulting from the great teacher Agrippina Vaganova formed a new era in ballet education.