Raymonda is betrothed to Jean de Brienne, a gallant knight who pledged to go on a crusade led by the King of Hungary. When her beloved leaves, Abderakhman, a foreign knight, makes a bid for the hand of Raymonda and threatens her fate when she rejects him.

Raymonda is a must-see of the Bolshoi repertoire, a work of living dance history showcasing the ballerina as the ultimate virtuoso. Being one of legendary choreographer Marius Petipa’s final works, he fully armed this ballet with beautiful court scenes, romantic corps de ballet dances, Hungarian czardas and a title role suited for the most outstanding ballerina.

Created by Petipa at the age of 80, Raymonda brings together everything that was the best of the best that Petipa had done in the course of his long career as a choreographer. The role of Raymonda is one of the most demanding in the classical ballet repertoire; the ballerina performs five variations as well as incredibly beautiful adagios, the Pas d’action and the Grand pas.