Dear friends! The Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, the A.A. Bakhrushin State Central Theatre Museum, the State Academic Bolshoi Theatre and the State Institute for Art Studies invite to take part in the International Scientific Conference «MARIUS PETIPA. THE BALLET EMPIRE: FROM RISE TO DECLINE». The conference is held in conjunction with the date of the contract conclusion between Marius Petipa and the Directorate of Imperial Theatres valid for one year at first, but then it became perpetual. The conference has six directions: 1. ON THE SERVICE OF HIS MAJESTY (reports covering various aspects of the Marius Petipa’s biography, politics, methods of negotiating, relationship of choreographers with imperial and theatrical bureaucracy; reports describing daily life in the Russian Empire, the French diaspora residing there, opportunities and restrictions for foreign subjects who moved to Russia. Preference is given to reports based on archival sources*). 2. DIPLOMACY, UNIONS AND WARS (Petipa’s works in the context of the world ballet art of his time, his predecessors, competitors and students – Didelot, Titus, Perrot, Bournonville, Saint-Léon, Justamand, Reisinger, Hansen, Lev Ivanov, Shiryaev, Gorsky, Fokin, etc.; Petipa's relations with coauthors, colleagues and performers – librettists, artists, actors; ways of resolving creative conflicts. Preference is given to reports based on comparison and (or) visual documents*). 3. ECONOMICS AND SOCIETY (power and art, administrative and financial bases of the ballet theatre functioning in the XVII-XXI centuries in documents, contracts and facts, performances costs, public status of ballet, ballet artists and audience from the time of Louis XIV to the present day). 4. WRITING AND FOLKLORE (Petipa’s masterpieces in choreographic scores, shows and stories. Preference is given to unknown video materials, reconstructions of Petipa's choreography in any form, as well as video and audio interviews with choreographers (classical dance and contemporary), composers, artists, critics about Petipa. The best materials may be included in the collection of video and audio materials of the Theatre Museum*). 5. GEOGRAPHY AND LANGUAGES (PETIPA ON THE WORLD MAP) (chronology and reviews of the Petipa’s tours as a choreographer and an artist; transfers of his ballets in Russia, Europe, North and South America, Australia, etc.; problem of adaptation and localization of choreography in new social conditions, in various choreographic schools and countries; figures of custodians and spreaders of Petipa's legacy in the USSR and in the West. Preference is given to reports with copies of posters and full texts of the performances reviews). 6. BRAND OR KITCH? (the perspectives of reconstruction, preservation and study of classical ballet in general and Petipa's ballets in particular; the potential of traditional models and digital storytelling). The conference is expected to cover a wide range of issues: the contribution of Marius Petipa to the history of the world ballet and its place in modern ballet art; the role of ballet master in the ballet art; the vectors of the ballet movement during its recent history; the process of development of new styles in ballet theatre; the emergence of new theatrical directions, the birth and the evolution of ballet theatres, as well as important trends of the ballet art evolution. Meetings with scientists and masters of modern ballet will be held within the conference. The representatives of various areas of scientific knowledge (ballet experts, musicologists, theatre experts, art critics, historians, culturologists, museum experts, archivists, philosophers, etc.), practice areas (choreographers, artists, stage designers, etc.), writers, journalists, students specializing in the ballet history are invited to participate in the conference. Conference working languages — Russian, English. Conference dates: 6-8 June, 2018. Conference venues: ● The State Academic Bolshoi Theatre: Moscow. Teatralnaya Square, 1; «Teatralnaya» metro station; ● The A.A. Bakhrushin State Theatre Museum, the Coach House: Moscow, Bakhrushina Street, 31/12; «Paveletskaya» metro station; ● The State Institute for Art Studies: Moscow, Kozitsky Lane, 5; «Chekhovskaya» metro station. The deadline for applications is 15 April, 2018*

Report duration — 15 minutes. Payment for travel, food, accommodation is made by the sending party. The list of reports selected by the Conference Organizing Committee will be published on the website of the Theatre Museum on 20 April, 2018. The deadline for articles is 31 December 2018. The conference materials will be published in the special collection in 2019. Application form should be sent by email to: [email protected] Scientific Coordinator of the Conference – Sergey Konayev, Candidate of Art Criticism ([email protected]). Curator of the Conference – Anna Kolesnikova, Candidate of Sociological Sciences, Deputy General Director for Research of the Theatre Museum (+7(495)9533977, [email protected]) * The museum can provide on the agreed terms the electronic copies of the Petipa Foundation documents necessary for the study completion and presentation to the foreign participants, whose applications will be noted by the Conference Organizing Committee.