List of historical ballet characters
A
Hans Christian Andersen, Danish author
- Lera Auerbach: The Little Mermaid (as the Poet)
Anna Anderson, impostor of Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia
- Ballet to music by Bohuslav Martinů, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Anastasia
Andrew II of Hungary, King of Hungary
- Alexander Glazunov: Raymonda
B
Bahram V, King of Persia
- Gara Garayev: Seven Beauties
Giovanni Boldini, Italian genre and portrait painter
- Lorenzo Ferrero: Franca Florio, regina di Palermo
William H. Bonney (Billy the Kid), frontier outlaw in the American Old West
- Aaron Copland: Billy the Kid
Lizzie Borden, American woman who was acquitted for murder
- Morton Gould: Fall River Legend
C
Marie Anne de Cupis de Camargo, French/Belgian dancer
- Ludwig Minkus: Camargo
Caravaggio, Italian Baroque painter
- Ballet to music by Bruno Moretti based on Claudio Monteverdi: Caravaggio
Caroline Matilda of Great Britain, Queen of Denmark and Norway, the wife of Christian VII of Denmark
- Peter Maxwell Davies: Caroline Mathilde
Fanny Cerrito, Italian ballet dancer and choreographer
- Ballet to music by John Field: Pas des Déesses
Cleopatra, last ruler of Ptolemaic Egypt
- Anton Arensky et al.: Cleopatra
Marcus Licinius Crassus, Roman general and politician
- Aram Khachaturian: Spartacus
Cyrano de Bergerac, French dramatist
- Marius Constant: Cyrano de Bergerac
D
Hugh Despenser the Younger, royal chamberlain and a favourite of Edward II of England
- John McCabe: Edward II
Sergei Diaghilev, Russian art critic, ballet impresario, and founder of the Ballets Russes
- Ballet to music by Chopin, Schumann, Rimsky-Korsakow and Shostakovich: Nijinsky
- Ballet to a collage of existing music arranged by Bob Zimmerman: Nijinsky – Dancer, Clown, God
Charles Didelot, French dancer and choreographer
- Ballet to music by William Boyce, arranged by Constant Lambert: The Prospect Before Us
Isadora Duncan, American dancer
- Richard Rodney Bennett: Isadora
E
Edward II of England, King of England
- John McCabe: Edward II
Edward III of England, King of England
- John McCabe: Edward II
Caroline Alice Elgar, English author
- Ballet to music by Edward Elgar: Enigma Variations
Edward Elgar, English composer
- Ballet to music by Edward Elgar: Enigma Variations
Empress Elisabeth of Austria, Empress consort of Austria
- Ballet to music by Franz Liszt: Mayerling
Elizabeth I of England, Queen of England and Ireland
- Ballet to music by Anton Webern: Episodes
F
Franca Florio, Italian noblewoman, socialite and a prominent protagonist of the Belle Époque
Ignazio Florio Jr., Italian entrepreneur
Saint Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscans
Franz Joseph I of Austria, Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary
- Ballet to music by Franz Liszt: Mayerling
G
Piers Gaveston, 1st Earl of Cornwall, English nobleman
- John McCabe: Edward II
Archduchess Gisela of Austria, second daughter of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria
- Ballet to music by Franz Liszt: Mayerling
Lucile Grahn, Danish ballerina
- Ballet to music by John Field: Pas des Déesses
Alfred Grünfeld, court pianist of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria
- Ballet to music by Franz Liszt: Mayerling
H
James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, Lord High Admiral of Scotland and 3rd husband of Mary, Queen of Scotland
- Ballet to music by Anton Webern: Episodes
Herodias, a princess of the Herodian Dynasty
- Paul Hindemith: Hérodiade
E. T. A. Hoffmann, German Romantic author
- Ballet to music by Jacques Offenbach: Tales of Hoffmann
I
Isabella of France, Queen of England as the wife of Edward II
- John McCabe: Edward II
Ivan the Terrible, Tsar of Russia
- Ballet to music by Sergei Prokofiev: Ivan the Terrible
J
August Jaeger, Anglo-German music publisher
- Ballet to music by Edward Elgar: Enigma Variations
Jiang Qing, Chinese figure, 4th wife of Mao Zedong
- John Adams: The Chairman Dances (as Chiang Ch'ing)
K
Frida Kahlo, Mexican painter
- Peter Salem: Broken Wings
Mathilde Kschessinska, Russian prima ballerina
- Ballet to music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Bohuslav Martinů: Anastasia
Andrey Kurbsky, Russian figure, political opponent of Ivan the Terrible
- Ballet to music by Sergei Prokofiev: Ivan the Terrible
L
Countess Marie Larisch von Moennich, niece of Empress Elisabeth of Austria
- Ballet to music by Franz Liszt: Mayerling
Louis XVI of France, King of France
Princess Louise of Belgium, wife of Prince Philipp of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
- Ballet to music by Franz Liszt: Mayerling
M
La Malinche, Aztec mistress of Hernán Cortés
- Norman Lloyd: La Malinche
Mao Zedong, Chinese leader
- John Adams: The Chairman Dances
Marie Antoinette, Queen of France and Navarre
Archduchess Marie Valerie of Austria, third daughter of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria
- Ballet to music by Franz Liszt: Mayerling
Mary, Queen of Scots, Queen of Scotland
- Ballet to music by Anton Webern: Episodes
Léonide Massine, Russian ballet dancer and choreographer
- Ballet to music by Chopin, Schumann, Rimsky-Korsakow and Shostakovich: Nijinsky
George "Bay" Middleton, English horseman
- Ballet to music by Franz Liszt: Mayerling
Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, English nobleman
- John McCabe: Edward II
N
Vaslav Nijinsky, Russian ballet dancer and choreographer
- Ballet to music by Pierre Henry and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Nijinsky, clown de Dieu
- Ballet to music by Johann Sebastian Bach: Vaslav
- Ballet to music by Chopin, Schumann, Rimsky-Korsakow and Shostakovich: Nijinsky
- Ballet to a collage of existing music arranged by Bob Zimmerman: Nijinsky – Dancer, Clown, God
Jean-Georges Noverre, French dancer and ballet master
- Ballet to music by William Boyce, arranged by Constant Lambert: The Prospect Before Us
O
P
Niccolò Paganini, Italian violinist, violist, guitarist, and composer
- Ballet to music by Sergei Rachmaninoff: Paganini
Denis Papin, French physicist, mathematician and inventor
- Romualdo Marenco: Excelsior
Philippa of Hainault, Queen of England as the wife of King Edward III
- John McCabe: Edward II
Prince Philipp of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
- Ballet to music by Franz Liszt: Mayerling
Q
R
Jacques Renaudin (Valentin le désossé), French can-can dancer
- Ballet to music by Emmanuel Chabrier: Bar aux Folies-Bergère
Arthur Rimbaud, French poet
- Ballet to music by Benjamin Britten: Illuminations
Diego Rivera, Mexican painter
- Peter Salem: Broken Wings
Anastasia Romanovna, Tsaritsa consort, first wife of Ivan the Terrible
- Ballet to music by Sergei Prokofiev: Ivan the Terrible
Salvator Rosa, Italian Baroque painter, poet, and printmaker
Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria, Crown Prince of Austria
- Ballet to music by Franz Liszt: Mayerling
S
Arthur Saint-Léon, French dancer and choreographer
- Ballet to music by John Field: Pas des Déesses
Katharina Schratt, Austrian actress
- Ballet to music by Franz Liszt: Mayerling
Clara Schumann, German musician
- Ballet to music by Robert Schumann: Robert Schumann's Davidsbündlertänze
Robert Schumann, German composer
- Ballet to music by Robert Schumann: Robert Schumann's Davidsbündlertänze
George Robertson Sinclair, English cathedral organist
- Ballet to music by Edward Elgar: Enigma Variations
Princess Sophie of Bavaria, Archduchess of Austria
- Ballet to music by Franz Liszt: Mayerling
Spartacus, Thracian gladiator
- Aram Khachaturian: Spartacus
Princess Stéphanie of Belgium, Crown Princess of Austria, Hungary and Bohemia
- Ballet to music by Franz Liszt: Mayerling
Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, King consort of Scotland
- Ballet to music by Anton Webern: Episodes
T
Eduard Taaffe, 11th Viscount Taaffe, Austrian statesman
- Ballet to music by Franz Liszt: Mayerling
Marie Taglioni, Italian/Swedish ballet dancer
- Ballet to music by John Field: Pas des Déesses
Tancred, Prince of Galilee, Norman Crusade leader
- Ballet to music by Raffaello de Banfield: Le combat
U
V
Baroness Mary Vetsera, Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria's mistress
- Ballet to music by Franz Liszt: Mayerling
François Villon, French poet
- Robert Starer: Villon
Alessandro Volta, Italian physicist
- Romualdo Marenco: Excelsior
W
Louise Weber (La Goulue), French can-can dancer
- Ballet to music by Emmanuel Chabrier: Bar aux Folies-Bergère
X
Y
Z
George Zorbas , Greek miner
- Ballet to music by Mikis Theodorakis: Zorba the Greek (ballet)
See also
- v
- t
- e
- Aplomb
- Arabesque
- Ballon
- Barre
- Battement
- Divertissement
- Entrée de ballet
- Grand pas
- Pas de deux
- Pas de quatre
- Pas de trois
- Pièce d'occasion
- Pointe
- Turnout
- Variation
- Balanchine
- Bournonville
- Cecchetti
- Pointe technique
- Positions (arms)
- Positions (feet)
- Vaganova
- Ballet (documentary film)
- Ballet and fashion
- Choreography
- Royal Academy of Dance
- Western stereotype of the male ballet dancer