Balanchine describing the Garland Dance as he performed in it at the Mariinsky Theater as a child: "The waltz with the garlands was begun by thirty-two couples, then, as Petipa conceived it, sixteen pairs of children would appear. The men lined up in corridors, while the dancers held the garlands over us. Then the men left the stage. They carried the garlands, the ladies followed, and after them came we children with baskets in our hands. The audiences went wild."
— Balanchine's Tchaikovsky by Solomon Volkov (affiliate link)
(left) The Garland Dance as choreographed by George Balanchine pictured here within the context of Peter Martins' 1991 production. Photo by Martha Swope, 1991.
(right) The Garland Dance as it appeared in 1981 during the Tchaikovsky Festival...borrowing costumes from other ballets! The costumes from the "Diamonds” in the back, the kneeling girls are wearing “Chaconne” and the children in front of wearing costumes from Coppelia’s “Waltz of the Hours”.
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