23 March commemorates sixty years since the world premiere of The Legend of Love, one of the key choreographic texts of the Soviet era and the greatest ballet produced by Yuri Grigorovich. The Mariinsky Theatre, where this production was created, will be marking the anniversary with three performances – on 23, 24 and 25 March.

The Legend of Love (1961) was a child of "the thaw" under Khrushchev and denoted an aesthetic breakthrough in Leningrad ballet. The young choreographer Grigorovich, like his other Soviet colleagues living in isolation, experienced the most powerful artistic shock when the ballet company of the Opéra de Paris toured to the USSR. Balanchine's Le Palais de cristal was seen here for the first time – a ballet without a plot, without pantomime and without sets. In The Legend of Love Grigorovich was not about to reject the principles of Soviet drama-ballets, costumes and sets, though he did afford his opus laconism and dynamic sharpness. The choreographer's co-creator, the designer Simon Virsaladze, dressed the dancers in leotards, focussing the audience's attention on the dancers' bodies and lines.

MARIINSKY.TV shares the backstage of the rehearsals leading up to the anniversary performances and the comments of the participants.