Ivan Ivanovich Valberkh (1766 - 1819) was a Russian ballet master, choreographer and teacher.

His father was a theater tailor and his great-grandfather was a captured Swedish officer who earlier served in the army of Sweden during the reign of King Charles XII and decided to stay in Russia.

[6] He studied at the St Petersburg Ballet School under Gasparo Angiolini and Giuseppe Canziani and graduated in 1786.

In the 1786, he become soloist in court ballet troupe, a position which was almost never awarded to the Russians, at the Bolshoi Theatre in St Petersburg.

[10] In 1794, he was appointed to lead the St Petersburg School and promoted to post of ballet inspector to oversee the company.

There he criticised French ballet and recognized authorities such as Auguste Vestris and returned back to Russia disappointed.

[16][17] He succeeded Charles Didelot as ballet master of Bolshoi Theatre in St Petersburg after he left in 1811.

[27][28] In his ballet 'Militia', he invoked folk style, kazachok and khorovod, together with military marches to enhance a drama contrasting merry celebration with impassioned scenes of the militia's departure.

His creative work was filled with Russian themed ballets and established a distinctive type of national performance, divertissements which depicted ordinary people's life.

His productions had two titles - one told about the main character and the plot while the other directly deduced the moral that triumphed the last act.