Paquita

Paquita is a ballet in two acts and three scenes with music by Édouard Deldevez and Ludwig Minkus, originally choreographed by Joseph Mazilier.

Paquita is the creation of French composer, Édouard Deldevez and Paris Opéra Ballet Master, Joseph Mazilier. It was first presented at the Salle Le Peletier by the Paris Opera Ballet on 1 April 1846 and was retained in the repertory of the Opéra until 1851.

In 1847, Paquita was staged for the first time in Russia for the Imperial Ballet of St. Petersburg by Marius Petipa and Pierre-Frédéric Malavergne, being the first work ever staged by Petipa in Russia. In 1881, Petipa produced a revival of the ballet for which he added new pieces specially composed by Ludwig Minkus. This included the Paquita Pas de trois for the first act and the Paquita Grand pas classique and the Mazurka des enfants for the last act. Petipa's version of Paquita was retained in the repertory of the Mariinsky Theatre until 1926.

Petipa's 1881 additions for Paquita survived long after the full-length ballet left the stage. Today these pieces, particularly the Grand pas classique, are major cornerstones of the traditional classical ballet repertory and have been staged by ballet companies throughout the world.

Petipa's choreography for the Imperial Ballet's production of Paquita was notated in the Stepanov method of choreographic notation around 1902. The notations were made while Petipa himself taught and rehearsed the great Anna Pavlova for her début in the title rôle. Today, this notation is part of the Sergeyev Collection, a cache of notations and other materials that document many of the works in the Imperial Ballet's repertory during the twilight of the Russian Empire.

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