The **Bolshoi Ballet**, one of the world's premier classical ballet companies, delivers elaborate productions of 19th-century classics like *Don Quixote* and *Swan Lake*, blending virtuoso technique, dramatic flair, and Russian folk elements at Moscow's iconic Bolshoi Theatre.[1][2][5] Founded in 1776 by Prince Pyotr Urusov and English entrepreneur Michael Maddox as the Petrovsky Theatre—backed by Empress Catherine the Great—it drew early dancers from Moscow orphanages and opened its first venue in 1781, pioneering a style fusing ballet with melodrama and comedy.[1][4][7] Its history is marked by resilience: fires destroyed early wooden theaters in 1805 and later, leading to the grand neoclassical Bolshoi Theatre's completion in 1825, named for its "big" status housing noble arts like opera and ballet.[3][4][5] Imperial patronage flourished under figures like Marius Petipa, who premiered *Don Quixote* in 1869, while Alexander Gorsky's early 20th-century reforms introduced realism inspired by Stanislavsky.[2][4][5] Soviet control post-1917 elevated it as a propaganda tool via Social Realism, surviving the Cold War as a cultural export symbolizing Russian power.[1][4] Key achievements include global influence—non-Russian dancers adopted Slavic names for credibility—and nurturing stars through the Bolshoi Ballet Academy (formerly Moscow Academic Choreographic School since 1961).[3][5] Under Yuri Grigorovich (1964–1995), it became a top troupe known for athleticism and bold choreography.[5][6] Today, the Bolshoi operates a ten-month season of local and international tours, post a major 2011 reconstruction, maintaining its status as Moscow's landmark and a tech-savvy venue with advanced staging amid geopolitical challenges like the