Today, the Stanislavsky Theatre, located in XIX century historical building just 750 metres (9-minute walk) from the Bolshoi, remains the only theatre in Russia where audiences can experience Taglioni–Lacotte’s legendary La Sylphide — a ballet that not only made history but continues to enchant with its ethereal beauty. Adding to the magic, the performance features outstanding dancers who have graced the stage of the Bolshoi Theatre and trained at the same world-renowned academies as Bolshoi artists, bringing with them the same school of excellence, mastery, and artistic depth. Ballet at the Stanislavsky Theatre is the great and affordable alternative to the Bolshoi.
In 1832, a momentous event changed the course of classical dance forever: for the first time, a ballerina rose en pointe. This historic moment took place in La Sylphide, staged in France by Filippo Taglioni especially for his daughter, the legendary Marie Taglioni.
Just four years later, a different version appeared in Copenhagen: August Bournonville’s La Sylphide, created for the Royal Danish Ballet. It was intended as a “substitute” — the theatre wished to stage Taglioni’s celebrated ballet but was denied permission. Economical as they were, the Danes preserved Bournonville’s version, which went on to dominate the stages of the 20th century.
Taglioni’s La Sylphide, however, seemed lost to history, surviving only as a symbol of Romantic ballet. As the ballet historian André Levinson once wrote:“Marie Taglioni — with her Nordic blood — danced what Kant thought, what Novalis sang, what Hoffmann dreamed.”
Then, in 1972, French choreographer Pierre Lacotte achieved the impossible: through meticulous research in archives, eyewitness accounts, and old engravings, he reconstructed the legendary original production. His work became the first — and most renowned — in a line of revivals of the great ballets of the past.
In 2011, Lacotte himself brought La Sylphide to Moscow, personally overseeing every rehearsal at the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Music Theatre with uncompromising precision. The production was later revived in 2021 under the direction of Laurent Hilaire.