Plot synopsis

Born in 1818, 2018 celebrates the bicentenary of his birth. True father of classical dance as we know it today, Marius Petipa is one of the great figures of universal cultural heritage; from Paris to New York, via Berlin, Saint Petersburg, Moscow or Milan, all the great opera houses in the world still perform his ballets which are considered masterpieces of the classical repertoire. The events of Petipa's life and his choreographic creations are closely linked to the socio-political context of the 19th century highlighted in the film. To better understand it, we dissect the greatest variations of the master's creations, and thus the art of dance and its transmission appears to us. The film reveals an iconography of exceptional rarity, including one of the first animated cartoons on dance. Director Denis Sneguirev gives voice to the great names of ballet, choreographers, dancers, conductors, to those who, today, are once again revealing Marius Petipa to the world in reconstructions of his choreographies and dance historians provide the scientific and historical structure. Finally, Marius Petipa's great steps are danced in a staging that analyzes as closely as possible the evolutions of the choreography of each great ballet of the