Gold Rush is a series of pieces in a variety of dance genres celebrating The American Frontier. Paquita is a 19th century ballet set in Spain, featuring a young girl named Paquita who was kidnapped by the Roma King Inigo as a small child. She is unaware of her noble lineage, but meets, falls in love with, and saves the French officer Lucien D’Hervilly from a deadly plot by Inigo and the Governor Don Lopez de Mendoza. Paquita, in possession of a locket with a photo of her father, discovers upon arrival at the palace, a portrait of her father on the wall that matches her locket. The nobles then realize her identity, and she and Lucien are free to marry as they are no longer separated by the social constraints of class and wealth. There is a huge celebration of dance, The Grand Pas Classique, which is often performed as a stand alone piece world wide.