Full ballet 02 · Bravura comedy in three acts
A sun-drenched chase in which Kitri and Basilio outwit convention—and an impossible dream helps real love find its way to the wedding.
Kitri · Act I
Watch from curtain to curtain
Follow the supplied Mariinsky recording once for the plot, then return to study Kitri’s entrances, the dream scene, the wedding variations, and the contrast between character dance and classical technique.
Supplied Mariinsky recording1:55:38 · playback is hosted by YouTube.
Open on YouTube ↗Variation marker · Act I · Barcelona Square
Kitri’s first entrance establishes her spirited character, fan work, and sparkling attack in the Barcelona square. These times are specific to the supplied production.
Variation marker · Act I · Barcelona Square
Mercedes brings mature theatricality and Spanish character to the square in this extended Act I solo. These times are specific to the supplied production.
Variation marker · Act I
Kitri takes the square in a compact Mariinsky solo. The marker begins with her cue and ends before the ensemble returns. These times are specific to the supplied production.
Variation marker · Act II · Dream Scene
The Queen’s complete solo runs from her first spacious phrase through her final pose and exit. These times are specific to the supplied production.
Variation marker · Act II · Dream Scene
Cupid follows the Queen in this production. The timing includes the opening music before her entrance and her finishing bow. These times are specific to the supplied production.
Variation marker · Act II · Dream Scene
Kitri appears as Don Quixote’s idealized Dulcinea in a serene dream-scene solo of delicate pointe work and noble classical phrasing. These times are specific to the supplied production.
Variation marker · Act III · Wedding
Basilio’s wedding variation combines confident elevation, turning, and buoyant bravura before Kitri’s solo. These times are specific to the supplied production.
Variation marker · Act III · Wedding
Kitri’s wedding variation begins after Basilio’s solo. The marker stops before the subsequent coda and fouettés. These times are specific to the supplied production.
The complete story
The prologue launches Don Quixote and Sancho on their quest. The ballet then follows Kitri and Basilio through Barcelona, a windmill adventure and dream, an ingenious deception, and a triumphant wedding.
Act I
Before the action reaches Barcelona, Don Quixote fills his imagination with tales of chivalry and sets out in search of adventure with Sancho Panza as his armour-bearer. In the city square, Kitri—spirited daughter of the innkeeper Lorenzo—teases and dances with Basilio, the barber she loves. Lorenzo rejects the penniless Basilio and favors the wealthy, self-important Gamache as a husband for his daughter.
Espada, the Street Dancer, and the toreadors make the square blaze with theatrical energy. When Don Quixote arrives, he mistakes Kitri for Dulcinea, his ideal lady, and treats her with courtly devotion. Amid the celebration and confusion, Kitri and Basilio escape together, leaving Lorenzo and Gamache to give chase.
Act II
Kitri and Basilio find shelter in a gypsy camp. The gypsies perform for their guests, but Don Quixote takes their puppet play for reality and rushes in to rescue its heroine. He then sees the turning sails of a windmill as the arms of a giant, attacks, and is thrown to the ground.
As he sleeps, the rough landscape becomes the Kingdom of the Dryads. Cupid welcomes him; the Queen of the Dryads reigns over the vision; and Kitri appears as Dulcinea. At daybreak, Kitri and Basilio flee again. Don Quixote tries to send their pursuers the wrong way, but Sancho innocently corrects him and the chase continues.
Act III
At an inn, Lorenzo finally corners the lovers and prepares to give Kitri to Gamache. Basilio appears to stab himself. Kitri instantly understands the trick and begs Don Quixote to secure her father’s blessing as Basilio’s final wish. Moved by the knight’s insistence, Lorenzo agrees—and Basilio springs back to life.
Gamache is sent away and the comedy resolves in celebration. Kitri and Basilio marry, dancing the brilliant wedding grand pas de deux. Don Quixote, honored by the happy couple, blesses their future and departs with Sancho in search of another adventure.
Meet the characters
The title belongs to Don Quixote, but Kitri and Basilio drive the ballet’s dancing, comedy, and emotional momentum.
The heroine
Quick-witted, proud, and joyfully theatrical. She knows what she wants and uses charm, nerve, and musical authority to win it.
Her beloved
A clever young barber whose humor matches Kitri’s fire. His apparent suicide is the comic gamble that finally changes Lorenzo’s mind.
The knight-errant
An idealist who sees ordinary life through the lens of chivalric romance. His mistaken vision ultimately helps the lovers.
The loyal companion
Practical, comic, and frequently overwhelmed by his master’s imagination. His grounded presence keeps the fantasy human.
Kitri’s father
The innkeeper who wants a financially secure match for his daughter and must be outmaneuvered before he accepts Basilio.
The unwanted suitor
Wealthy, pompous, and certain that status should win Kitri. His comic failure sharpens the lovers’ warmth and vitality.
For variation students
Don Quixote moves between the grounded theatricality of Barcelona, the pure classical dream world, and the mature celebration of the wedding. A convincing variation keeps the technique precise while making that dramatic world visible.
Find the Don Quixote variationsWatch how her fan, épaulement, eye line, and attack establish a bold young woman—not a generic “Spanish” pose.
Place the quick, playful solo inside Don Quixote’s dream: crystalline and magical, with the lower body bright beneath a calm upper body.
Contrast Cupid’s sparkle with the Queen’s breadth, authority, sustained balances, and spacious musical phrasing.
Let the wedding variation feel earned. Its balances, accents, and turns celebrate a heroine who has already won her future.
Behind the ballet
Ludwig Minkus and Marius Petipa created the original Don Quixote for the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow in 1869, drawing on an episode from Miguel de Cervantes's novel rather than attempting to stage the entire book.
Alexander Gorsky reworked the ballet for Moscow in 1900 and St Petersburg in 1902. His staging energized the crowd scenes and helped shape the three-act Petipa–Gorsky tradition performed today. Editions vary in scene order, interpolated music, choreography, and even the spelling Basil/Basilio.