Welcome to the website of the St. Petersburg State Children’s Ballet Company!

The St. Petersburg State Children’s Ballet Company was founded in 1992 by Anatoly Nikiforov and Irina Aleksandrovna Safonova, former performers of the Mariinsky Theatre. Anatoly Sergeevitch Nikiforov was a friend of the legendary dancer Rudolf Nureev.

A theatre in the classical tradition. About 100 children from ages 9 to 17 make up the theatre company. The teachers are all graduates of the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet and the Mariinsky Theatre. Students who successfully complete the 8-year training of the school receive a state diploma from the St. Petersburg State Children’s Ballet Company School of Ballet.
Students take part in performances in theatres of St. Petersburg and abroad for students.

The repertoire of the St. Petersburg State Children’s Ballet Company consists of six classical two-act ballets and a class concert to the music of Rossini. The productions of the Children’s Ballet Company are all produced and choreographed by Irina Aleksandrovna Safonova. The company has regular performances at theatres throughout the city of St. Petersburg, as well as, touring internationally. The company has been on tour in Germany, Finland, France, China, Cyprus, and Estonia.

The sets and costumes of the company are designed in the workshops of the Mariinsky and Aleksandrinsky Theatres. Performances are accompanied by soundtrack, but scores for live orchestras can also be provided. The decor is mobile, each set weighing approximately 200 kg, and measuring 10m high by 16m wide. If necessary, the stage sets may be miniaturized. The duration of each performance is one and a half hours.

View video clip (7 MB)

Highlights of the Company

In 1997 the artists of the St. Petersburg State Children’s Ballet Company
danced on stage at the Mariinsky Theatre with Maya Plisetskaya.

In 1998 the St. Petersburg State Children’s Ballet Company was the winner of the VII Festival “St. Petersburg Theaters for Children” with the premiere of Irina Aleksandrovna Safonova’s two-act ballet Thumbelina, set to the music by J. Beyer and K. Weber. In the same year the St. Petersburg State Children’s Ballet Company took part in the tour of the Bolshoi Theatre on the Mariinsky stage, where children performed the waltz in the ballet Swan Lake (directed by Vladimir Vasilev).

In December of 1998 the St. Petersburg State Children’s Ballet Company went on tour to Germany, and the press took note of “the exceptional company which has no equivalent in Europe.”

In April 2000 the International Competition of Children’s Ballet took place in Montpellier, France with 150 children of varying ages competing from ballet schools from France, Spain, and Russia. Participants from the St. Petersburg State Children’s Ballet Company demonstrated a high level of mastery, bringing home 2 gold and 1 silver medal.

In December of 2000 the St. Petersburg State Children’s Ballet Company again went on tour to Germany, with the premiere of the two-act ballet the Nutcracker. The performances, held in 5 cities, met with great success.

In 2001, the St. Petersburg State Children’s Ballet Company won the X Festival “St. Petersburg Theaters for Children” with the new production of I. A. Safonova’s two-act ballet the Nutcracker.

In November of 2002 the premiere took place of the two-act ballet Sleeping Beauty, to the music of P. I. Tchaikovsky.
The artistic director was Vacheslav Okynev and choreography by I. A. Safonova.

In both 2004 and 2005 the St. Petersburg State Children’s Ballet Company’s production
of the Nutcracker was named the “Best Production of the Year.”

Between the years 2003 and 2005 the company went on several tours,
performing in China, Germany, and Cypress.

In 2006 the St Petersburg State Children’s Ballet Company performed alongside 3 adult ballet
companies in a televised New Year’s “Nutcracker Festival” at the Conservatory.

With the aid of a grant from the deputies and administration of the Kirovsky region, a new contemporary ballet studio was opened on October 1, 2006 at Ul. Novostroek 25, consisting of 3 large studios with mirrors, barres, and dance floors.

In 2006, I. A. Safonova was honoured with a prize from the Municipal Ministry of Culture and the
St. Petersburg Union of Theatres for her original arrangement of Sleeping Beauty.

In 2007, A. S. Nikiforov was honoured with a prize from the Municipal Ministry of Culture and the
St. Petersburg Union of Theatres for his contribution to the promotion of classical ballet.

The 2007-2008 season began with a tour to Helsinki, Finland with performances of Sleeping Beauty and the Nutcracker at the Aleksanterin Theatre, and a tour of the Nutcracker to Estonia.

The season will continue with the debut of a two-act ballet the Princess and the Pea, following the tale by Hans Christian Anderson and set to the music of Mozart.

The classical ballet studio of the St. Petersburg State Children’s Ballet Company wishes to announce openings for children aged 7-8 for the entry year, as well as, children with previous choreographical training for the middle and upper classes of the school. Lessons are held at the two ballet studios located at Dom Kultury Gorky, Pr. Stachek 4, and Ul. Novostroek 25. For information about classes, please call the school’s administration at 784 6203.