As the Mariinsky press service told RIA, the revivals are intended as a tribute to Balanchine, a leading creative genius of 20th-century ballet, in the year of his birth centenary.
The three ballets will be shown as a prelude to the Mariinsky's Balanchine Centennial program, to be presented this summer as part of the Stars of White Nights festival.
Balanchine (1904-1983) emigrated to the United States in 1924. He worked with Serge Diaghilev, and in 1935 set up a ballet company of his own, which later became known as the New York City Ballet. In the course of his career, Balanchine mounted about 150 ballet productions. He was one of the first choreographers to use non-ballet music, like sonatas, concerti and symphonies. He also revised some classical ballets, rejecting the lavish sets and costumes of the original versions. Most of Balanchine's ballets are one-act productions.
