Founded as the Imperial Russian Ballet in 1740, the Mariinsky Ballet is home to some of Petipa's greatest masterpieces, including The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, and La Bayadère. Based at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, the company stands as the cradle of Russian Imperial ballet, nurturing artists such as Nijinsky, Pavlova, Nureyev, and Baryshnikov. The Mariinsky preserves and celebrates its extraordinary Imperial heritage while continuing to tour globally, maintaining an enviable classical foundation with select contemporary works.