The ballet marked Petipa’s debut as a dancer and a choreographer in St. Petersburg. But only the last scene of the original three act ballet, the famous Grand pas classique, representing the dances at the wedding of the main characters, remained in the repertoire of ballet companies. Until recently it was part of the Ural Ballet repertoire as well. Nowadays the theatre has returned to the original three act version.
The new production uses the original libretto of Paquita, with a French officer Lucien and a gipsy girl Paquita, who finds out about her noble birth in the finale. The choreography of 1881 was reconstructed according to the notations kept in the Harvard Theatre Collection. However, it has been updated: the original libretto collision was reconsidered through the eyes of today’s 20th century cultural experience. The original score was rearranged by the famous St. Petersburg composer, Yuri Krasavin.