Russian Companies – Page 2 – Landgraf on Dance

22. February 202623. February 2026

“I’m a supporter of talented people”

“Marco Spada”
Bolshoi Ballet
Bolshoi Theatre (Historic Stage)
Moscow, Russia
February 15, 2026

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2026 by Ilona Landgraf

The Bolshoi Ballet has two choreographies by Pierre Lacotte (1932-2023) in its repertory: his recreation of Petipa’s La Fille du Pharaon (which he entrusted to no other company) and Marco Spada, a 1857 ballet d’action for the Paris Opéra by Joseph Mazilier to music by Daniel Auber, which was lost except for a few sketches and reviews. In 1981, Lacotte choreographed and staged it from scratch for the Teatro Dell’Opera di Roma with Rudolf Nureyev in the title role. Despite being peripatetic, Nureyev was so eager to participate in the production that he signed a contract on the tablecloth during a restaurant outing with Lacotte. “I, Rudolf Nureyev, guarantee that for the duration of a month I will attend daily rehearsals in Rome for the ballet Marco Spada,” he wrote.

Continue reading ““I’m a supporter of talented people””

15. February 202622. February 2026

Traumata

“Planida” (“Russian Character”/“Nerve”/“Francesca da Rimini”)
MuzArts
Maly Theatre/Alexandrinsky Theatre
Moscow/St. Petersburg, Russia
September/November 2025 (video)

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2026 by Ilona Landgraf

Tomorrow, MuzArts’ triple bill Planida returns to Moscow’s Maly Theatre where it premiered in September 2025. It combines two old pieces—Nerve by Anna Shchekleina and Francesca da Rimini by Yuri Possokhov—along with Russian Character, a then-new creation by Pavel Glukhov. As in previous productions, dancers of the Bolshoi Ballet will be on stage. Thanks to MuzArts’ executive producer, Daria Faezova, I was able to watch videos of the program recorded at the Maly Theatre and St. Petersburg’s Alexandrinsky Theatre. Continue reading “Traumata”

11. January 202615. February 2026

Live Life to the Fullest

“Zorba the Greek”
Tartar State Academic Ballet
Jalil Opera and Ballet Tartar State Academic Theatre
Kazan, Russia
November 2025 (video)

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2026 by Ilona Landgraf

“A man needs a little madness or never dares to cut his ropes and be free,” urged Zorba the buttoned-up aristocrat Basil, in Michael Cacoyannis’s 1964 film Zorba the Greek. The film is based on Nikos Kazantzakis’s 1946 novel Life and Times of Alexis Zorbas, won three Academy Awards, and featured Anthony Quinn as Zorba and Alan Bates as Basil. Zorba, an earthy and boisterous peasant, had this kind of madness and, on their venture to Crete, instilled it in Basil as well.
In addition to the film, the novel inspired a musical, radio play, telemovie, and ballet, which was choreographed by Lorca Massine (Léonide Massine’s son), includes music by Mikis Theodorakis, and premiered at the Arena di Verona in 1988. Vladimir Vasiliev and Gheorghe Iancu danced the leading roles. Continue reading “Live Life to the Fullest”

4. January 202611. January 2026

Believe in Miracles

“The Nutcracker. Waiting for a Miracle”
Bolshoi Ballet
Bolshoi Theatre
Moscow, Russia
December 29, 2025 (documentary)

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2026 by Ilona Landgraf

Of the many special moments in Yuri Grigorovich’s The Nutcracker, there’s one you shouldn’t miss: when the Christmas tree is growing, and Marie’s transformation takes place. Then you need to make a wish. At least, that’s the insiders’ tip from the Bolshoi Ballet’s artists involved in the production.

Grigorovich’s The Nutcracker premiered at the Bolshoi Theatre in 1966 and was performed for the eight hundredth time earlier in December. Perhaps that’s why the Russian Channel One broadcast a one-hour documentary about The Nutcracker at the end of December. The film outlines the plot, provides insight into the music, set, and costumes, and looks at sixty years of performance history, during which nothing changed. Numerous coaches and ballet masters guarantee that Grigorovich’s legacy is preserved and kept alive. Continue reading “Believe in Miracles”

12. December 202530. March 2026

Lasting Icons

“Two Annas” (“Akhmatova”/”Pavlova”)
MuzArts
Tovstonogov Bolshoi Drama Theatre
St. Petersburg, Russia
December 2025 (video)

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2025 by Ilona Landgraf

The production company MuzArts, founded in 2014 to showcase the Bolshoi Ballet’s prima ballerina, Svetlana Zakharova, has grown into a vital force of Russia’s ballet scene. Their recent production, Two Annas, was supported by the Diaghilev P.S. International Festival of Arts, a prominent, intercultural, cross-genre event that has been held in St. Petersburg since 2009. Two Annas premiered at St. Petersburg’s Tovstonogov Bolshoi Drama Theatre this February and received its Moscow premiere at the Maly Theatre. Thanks to the MuzArts’s director, Yuri Baranov, I was able to watch a video of the production. Continue reading “Lasting Icons”

22. July 202527. July 2025

“We Need Him”

“Diaghilev”
Dancers of the Bolshoi Ballet
Bolshoi Theatre (New Stage)
Moscow, Russia
June 24, 2025 (video)

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2025 by Ilona Landgraf

The man in need whom Sergei Lifar wrote about in 1939 was Sergei Diaghilev (1872-1929), impresario of the Ballets Russes and a revolutionist of ballet. Diaghilev’s burning passion to discover and promote creative beauty is unequaled. He shaped the perception of Russian culture in the West and, like a virus, changed the DNA of twentieth-century art. Without him, Vaslav Nijinsky, Tamara Karsavina, Ida Rubinstein, Feodor Chaliapin, and Igor Stravinsky wouldn’t have become known to the world, and the careers of choreographers, such as Michel Fokine, Bronislava Nijinska, Léonide Massine, and George Balanchine, might have taken another path. Ten years after Diaghilev’s death, no one had filled the void he had left behind.

Ninety-six years later, a new Diaghilev has yet to be found, but—as Russia and the West separated again—the need for a bridge-building spirit and culture that unites people across borders is more pressing than ever. That’s why Russia launched the cultural search festival We Need Diaghilev last year, which features various expositions, lectures, and performances at Russian and foreign venues. Continue reading ““We Need Him””

18. June 202526. June 2025

Prix Benois Laureates 2025

Prix Benois de la Danse
Bolshoi Theatre (Historic Stage)
Moscow, Russia
June 17, 2025

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2025 by Ilona Landgraf

Yesterday evening, the Prix Benois laureates were announced on the Bolshoi Theatre’s historic stage for the 33rd time.

Mthuthuzeli November won the prize for best choreography in absentia for Chapter Two, a creation for Cape Ballet Africa in South Africa. The Mariinsky Ballet’s Renata Shakirova won the best female dancer prize for her performance as Swanilda in Alexander Sergeev’s new Coppélia. Like last year, the prize for the best male dancer was awarded twice. Joshua Williams received the Prix Benois for his performance in November’s Chapter Two; Dmitry Smilevsky (Bolshoi Ballet) was awarded for his performances as Mercutio in Leonid Lavrovsky’s version of Romeo and Juliet and Prince Désiré in Yuri Grigorovich’s version of The Sleeping Beauty. Continue reading “Prix Benois Laureates 2025”

14. June 202518. June 2025

Dancer Nominees for the Prix Benois 2025

Prix Benois de la Danse
Bolshoi Theatre (Historic Stage)
Moscow, Russia
June 2025

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2025 by Ilona Landgraf

As in 2024, the Prix Benois jury nominated thirteen dancers from eight companies for this season’s award. Of the six women and seven men, two dance in China, France, and South Africa; one dances in Kazakhstan; and six, Russia. Next Tuesday, the laureates will be announced at an award ceremony at the Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow.

Here’s a short overview of the nominees in alphabetical order by company name: Continue reading “Dancer Nominees for the Prix Benois 2025”

13. June 202514. June 2025

Choreographer Nominees for the Prix Benois 2025

Prix Benois de la Danse
Mukaram Avakhri, Wang Ge, Thomas Lebrun, Andrey Merkuriev, Mthuthuzeli November, Alexander Sergeev
Bolshoi Theatre (Historic Stage)
Moscow, Russia
June 2025

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2025 by Ilona Landgraf

On June 17th, the Bolshoi Theatre’s Historic Stage will host the annual Prix Benois charity gala and awards ceremony. Traditionally, laureates of previous years have performed in a gala concert on the following evening. Prizes will be awarded for the best choreographer, female dancer, and male dancer. This year’s festival will pay tribute to Yuri Grigorovich, who passed away on May 19th. Grigorovich founded the Prix Benois competition in 1991 and served as chairman of the jury, artistic director, and president.
Below is an overview of the six nominated choreographers. A report of the dancer nominees will follow. Continue reading “Choreographer Nominees for the Prix Benois 2025”

2. May 20256. May 2025

Thunderous

“Night on the Bald Mountain”
Igor Moiseyev Ballet
Tchaikovsky Concert Hall
Moscow, Russia
April 23, 2025

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2025 by Ilona Landgraf

The stage shook under the stomping jumps of Roman Gavrilov as if to enforce his courtship with Kristina Kuznetsova in the Russian folk dance, Summer. The couple was the first to step onto the stage of the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall where the Igor Moiseyev company presented its program, Night on the Bald Mountain, on two consecutive days. The twelve couples that framed Kuznetsova and Gavrilov in a V-shape wore vibrant traditional garments, a signature feature of their folk-dance repertory. Compared to the performance of Summer I saw two years ago at another Moscow venue, the dancers seemed even more snappy and vigorous. Each step was clean and decisive, and the pace was mind-boggling. The Hopak sequences went on as if the dancers’ legs were inexhaustible. Calling it a lightning opening would be an understatement. Continue reading “Thunderous”

29. April 202523. January 2026

Full of Spirits

“The Tempest”
Bolshoi Ballet
Bolshoi Theatre (New Stage)
Moscow, Russia
April 22, 2025

For his latest choreography for the Bolshoi Ballet in 2024—The Tempest (after Shakespeare’s play)—Vyacheslav Samodurov again teamed up with composer Yuri Krasavin. Both had already collaborated on the one-act ballet Dancemania in 2022. This time, their cooperation must have been tempestuous. “Vyacheslav Samodurov and I did not get along right away…I still see this play completely different,” Krasavin stated in an interview. While Krasavin believed that he accompanied rather than led the artistic process, for Samodurov, “Music comes always first and the composer is the boss in many ways.” But whoever was the boss, the score (played by the Bolshoi Orchestra under the baton of Pavel Klinichev) was mesmerizing. Continue reading “Full of Spirits”

25. April 202523. January 2026

New Takes

“Stravinsky. Puppets. Dances”
Ballet of the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Music Theatre
Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Music Theatre
Moscow, Russia
April 20, 2025

The Stanislavsky Ballet’s new double bill, Stravinsky. Puppets. Dances, attracted large crowds, especially because they scheduled only five performances over three consecutive days. The two ballets, Petrushka and The Firebird, were originally choreographed by Michel Fokine for Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes in 1911 and 1910, respectively. Both are set to compositions by Igor Stravinsky. The Stanislavsky Theatre presented new interpretations by Kirill Radev (The Firebird)—a former choreographer of the Barcelona Ballet—and Konstantin Semenov (Petrushka)—a dancer-cum-choreographer from the company’s own ranks, whose one-act piece, Through the Looking-Glass I saw in 2023. Both teamed up with stage director Alexey Frandetti (a Tashkent native who later moved to Moscow) and set designer Viktor Nikonenko. The internationally awarded Nikonenko is a puppet maker at Moscow’s State Academic Central Puppet Theater S.V. Obraztsov, which cooperated with the Stanislavsky Theatre for the first time (an exhibition of puppets and photos from the S.V. Obraztsov museum was shown at the Stanislavsky as well). Continue reading “New Takes”

16. March 202520. March 2025

Brimful

“Cipollino”
Bolshoi Ballet
Bolshoi Theatre (New Stage)
Moscow, Russia
March 08, 2025 (matinee and evening performance)

The boy Cippolino (Little Onion), the hero of Gianni Rodari’s 1957 children’s book Adventures of Cipollino, enjoyed an international career. He was especially popular in eastern countries and a famous cartoon and film figure in the Soviet Union. A ballet adaption by Genrikh Mayorov (1936-2022) entered the Bolshoi Ballet’s repertory three years after its Kiev premiere. Cipollino was revived at the Bolshoi earlier this season and still attracts crowds. Though a children’s fairy tale, adults can appreciate the production, especially when danced at top quality. I saw a matinee attended primarily by children and their parents as well as a sold-out evening performance.

The young Cipollino and his family are members of jovial townsfolk who are anthropomorphic fruits and vegetables—Cobbler Grape, Professor Pear, Godfather Pumpkin, and the Radish family, whose daughter, Little Radish, becomes Cipollino’s best buddy. They’re ruled by the high-handed, eccentric Prince Lemon whose court includes an acerbic guard, ludicrous knights, and the two overexcited Countesses Cherry. Continue reading “Brimful”

12. March 202516. March 2025

Dreams versus Reality

“The Seagull”
Bolshoi Ballet
Bolshoi Theatre (New Stage)
Moscow, Russia
March 06, 2025

Almost four years after its premiere in summer 2021, I finally saw Yuri Possokhov’s The Seagull at the Bolshoi Theatre. It was his sixth creation for the company (his seventh and latest, The Queen of Spades, premiered in 2023), and the fourth time, he teamed up with composer Ilya Demutsky. The artistic team included costume designer Emma Ryott (a longstanding collaborator of choreographer Christian Spuck) and set designer Tom Pye (who also created the designs for Possokhov’s Anna Karenina). David Finn contributed the lighting, Sergei Rylko the video design.

Chekhov’s The Seagull is labeled as a comedy, but its humor is bitter at best. Not a single protagonist leads a fulfilled life. Everybody runs after a dream world or tries to construct their realities. Family relationships are strained, and love is unrequited, quickly exhausted, or phony. Possokhov’s interpretation throws more light on some characters, and less on others, and differs in some respects from the original. Irina Arkadina (Kristina Kretova)—an actress in Chekhov’s version, a renowned ballerina in Possokhov’s—is not merely a fashionable yet greedy diva and dysfunctional mother. She shows her empathetic side when she recalls childhood memories with her elderly brother, Pyotr Sorin (Mikhail Lobukhin), whose unrealized dreams of marriage and artistic career Possokhov omitted. Like in the text, events largely unfolded at Sorin’s country estate. Continue reading “Dreams versus Reality”

16. January 202516. January 2025

Back in 1892…

“The Nutcracker”
Perm Ballet
Perm Tchaikovsky Opera and Ballet Theatre
Perm, Russia
December 31, 2024 (live stream)

Like all Russian ballet companies, Perm Ballet, one of the country’s leading troupes, presented The Nutcracker during the Christmas season. Their version is by Alexey Miroshnichenko, artistic director of the Perm Ballet since 2009, and premiered in December 2017. I watched the live stream of the performance on New Year’s Eve.

Miroshnichenko relocated the fairy tale to the St. Petersburg of 1892 (where Petipa’s The Nutcracker had its world premiere at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre) where the dusky streets were bustling. Traders with vendors’ trays offered hot drinks and sweets, sleighs crossed pedestrians’ paths, and anticipation put a spring in everyone’s step.

Continue reading “Back in 1892…”