Ratmansky Reconstructs The Original Steps Of Petipa’s ‘Harlequinade’

Marius Petipa created the commedia dell’arte-themed ballet in 1900, and it remained in repertory in St. Petersburg for almost 30 years; when later versions were choreographed by Lopukhov, Gusev, and Balanchine, the actual movement was a combination of steps passed down orally and newly created in Petipa’s idiom. For American Ballet Theater, Alexei Ratmansky went back to the Stepanov notation of the Petipa original made when it was new – and what he discovered was a surprise.