By the time Peter the Great ascended the throne, the Russian Orthodox church was much stronger then by the time of his death. The weakening of the church was necessary in order for Peter to initiate his radical transformation of the country.

Russia became a much more modern country based on the Western European model of Peter's era. Because the church had traditionally held that dancing amounted to little more than a satanic rite, it was considered sinful to participate in such an activity. The Boyar class was particularly set against dance in general. However, as a result of Peter's many reforms, dance salons became an important aspect of social activity. By the time of his death Peter had ingrained into society that dance was not only acceptable but highly desirable. Soon dance in the country of Russia rivaled that of any country in Western Europe.

Peter established dancing assemblies as early as 1717. By 1722 a soiree was established by decree in the capital which called for dances to be performed on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. In addition there were private balls which were very merry in spite of fewer people taking part than the formal soirees. It was a rare event when these private balls did not last until three in the morning.

Peter the Great's niece Anne had become Tsarina by 1738, and she brought a French Master, Jean Baptiste Lande to Russia and ordered that he establish a school of dance in St. Petersburg, and Russian ballet was born!

Jean Baptiste Lande was a French dancer and maitre de ballet or ballet master brought to Russia for the express purpose of introducing ballet to poor children. Tsarina Anne was very fond of dance and Lande was tasked with the job of composing, arranging, and producing dances for the enjoyment of the court.

In 1738 his school became the Imperial Theatre School in St. Petersburg. The school was situated in the Winter Palace and had 12 boys and 12 girls; all of whom were the children of the servants.

In 1744, an important event in the history of Russian dance took place. Lande was able to produce the first true Russian dance on the court stage. He choreographed the performance in the high genre of serious dance which was vastly different than the comic-grotesque style of Western Europe.

The occasion was the celebration of the wedding of Peter III to the future Catherine the Great. The subject of the performance was dedicated to the "Opera the Union of Love and Matrimony" and included the Ballet of Flowers. This marked the first time a Russian ballerina performed on the court stage of Russia.

It was the Empress Catherine II who created the first lyric theatre in St. Petersburg, when she ordered the creation of the Grand (Bolshoi) Theatre (actually the future Mariinsky) as a home for the developing arts of opera and ballet in the capital city of her empire.

It was here that the influence of outstanding ballet-masters from Western Europe created true Russian ballet. The most famous 18th-century advocate of the dramatic ballet was the Frenchman Jean Georges Noverre, who's Letters on Dancing and Ballets (1760) influenced many choreographers both during and after his lifetime. He advised using movement that was natural and easily understood and emphasized that all the elements of a ballet should work in harmony to express the ballet's theme.

Later, Charles Louis Didelot, a student of Jean George Noverre, became the first real architect of ballet in St. Petersburg during the early decades of the 19th century. Didelot came to Russia in 1801 and spent his entire adult life devoted to the Imperial ballet school. He taught at the school for more than 20 years. It was Didelot who established the system of classical ballet dance and made Russian ballet competitive among other European companies. Thus, it may be said, that all Russian ballet can be divided into "before Didelot and after Didelot".

Toe dancing began to develop at about this time, although the dancers balanced on their toes only for a moment or two. Blocked toe shoes had not yet been invented, and dancers strengthened their light slippers with darning.