The Brilliant Divertissement

Leonid Yacobson was a remarkable 20th century choreographer, likened to George Balanchine, Roland Petit, and Maurice Béjart. An alumnus of the Leningrad State Choreographic Institute (currently the Vaganova Russian Ballet Academy), Yacobson mastered the classics like a virtuoso, but then, driven by a desire for creative freedom, left academic conventions far behind. Thus, his very own theatre came into being: vibrant, bold, and endlessly whimsical and unique.

As the Choreographic Miniatures troupe (today known as the Leonid Yacobson Ballet Theatre) toured Paris, the local press wrote: ‘The troupe’s modernity is manifested both in its spirits, and in the choice of music — Honegger and Debussy — and in the appeal to visual art: Chagall, Rodin. Leonid Yakobson was, as we can surmise, not at all devoid of imagination and audacity. He chose the only possible path towards overcoming the dogma of the academic style: character dancing, ingenious and rich in gestures. This modern ballet company from Leningrad gives us good reason to believe that, as soon as Soviet artists are allowed to properly immerse themselves in modern dance, they will be a force to reckon with.’

Small-scale productions are where Yacobson's genius shines the most: his Rodin and Classicism-Romanticism miniature cycles, along with various one-act ballets (The Wedding Cortège, set to Shostakovich; Brilliant Divertissement, set to Glinka; and Exercise XX, set to Bach) have long since become cult classics.

To this day, his unique ballet productions can only be seen at the Leonid Yacobson Academic Ballet Theatre. The playbill for the 2023–2024 season will feature multiple programmes comprised from works that were created specially for the Leningrad ballet master’s one-of-a-kind troupe.