XIV International Ballet Festival DANCE OPEN:
pure art

It has already become a tradition that each spring St. Petersburg and its guests will find one of the most significant and spectacular events of the international ballet calendar - the DANCE OPEN festival. This year it will be held from April 2 to April 27.

For more than a decade, the scale, authority and name of the festival has been created and supported by the most vivid soloists of the world ballet scene, major choreographic brands and famous choreographers - both the legendary keepers of the classics and the outrageous apologists of the avant-garde. This year is no exception.

Event program

The 21st of April. "Back to Bach"
Dutch National Ballet (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

Venue: Alexandrinsky Theater
Address: pl. Ostrovsky, d.6 (metro station "Gostiny Dvor")
Beginning at 19.00

The Back to Bach choreographic collage is an exclusive touring version of the troupe’s recent premiere, redrawn specifically for a visit to St. Petersburg. If in the original it is four productions that vary in various ways Bach’s musical themes, then in the new version five miniatures will be shown on the Alexandrinsky stage, associatively “flowing” from Bach and in their own way interpreting his musical philosophy.

Five sketches created by very different modern choreographers to the music of very different composers - this is a reflection on a return to the roots. About how high art helps to find a common denominator of humanity and kindness. This, perhaps, is the inexplicable magic of the amazing Dutch troupe - narrating about differences and contradictions, they paradoxically know how to create harmony in the soul of the viewer.

Dutch National Ballet (Het Nationale Ballet, Netherlands National Ballet) was created in 1961 as a result of the merger of the two troupes. Over the years, the ballet was led by Sonia Gaskell, Rudy van Danzig and Wayne Igling, and since 2003 the team has been led by Ted Brandsen. Today, the Dutch National Ballet takes a leading position in the theatrical culture of not only the Netherlands, but also the world.

The status of one of the most respected ballet troupes on the planet is to a large extent determined by constant collaboration with outstanding choreographers of the 20th century and the present - Hans van Manen, William Forsyth, Caroline Carlson, Frederick Ashton, Christopher Wildeon, Alexei Ratmansky and others.

The troupe is proud of its internationality: it includes about 80 dancers representing more than 30 countries. Most Dutch National artists are at the same time invited soloists of prestigious ballet companies in the world.

Back to Bach Choreographers:

Hans van Manen;
Ted Brandsen;
Christopher Wildon;
Marco Göke;
Krzysztof Pastor.

April 24, 25. "The Taming of the Shrew"
Bolshoi Theater of Russia

Venue: Alexandrinsky Theater
Address: pl. Ostrovsky, d.6 (metro station "Gostiny Dvor")
Beginning at 19.00

Based on a play by William Shakespeare
To the music of Dmitry Shostakovich
Choreography by Jean-Christophe Mayo

Instead of turning The Taming of the Shrew into a practical guide to homebuilding - how to pacify a rebellious wife - the play tells about the meeting of two incredibly strong personalities, each of which, in the end, recognizes himself in the other. The reason for their uncontrollable, going against the social norms of behavior - in loneliness, to which they are doomed among the townsfolk. These are two albatrosses among a flock of sparrows. Here we are talking about love beyond the boundaries of generally accepted norms.

This performance can be called a fundamentally new page in the work of the famous choreographer Jean-Christophe Mayo: for many years he staged exclusively for his troupe, occasionally repeating what was already created on other stages. “The Taming of the Shrew” was set exclusively for the Bolshoi Theater and “tailored”, taking into account the particularities of its ballerinas and dancers.

DANCE OPEN is the first to take out this hit of the ballet season from his native scene.

Jean Christophe Mayo about his performance:

“I think everyone has their own half, no matter how unpleasant a person may seem. There are two things that I will never judge about: the interior in which people live and the relationships within the couple. This mystery is great. It cannot be explained. ”

“Katarina and Petruccio are not at all as complicated as they seem. They become complex when love falls on them. This is the love that we dream of deep down, but which scares everyone, because it is dangerous. "

“I needed music that was able to show that accepting the rules of the game in order to survive does not mean compromising. Shostakovich’s strength lies in its diversity: from the extremely tragic to absolutely poetic, grotesque or even almost “cabaret”. ”

The troupe of the Bolshoi Theater of Russia is not only a legend, the largest brand of world ballet and one of the oldest choreographic groups on the planet, but also a recognized symbol of Russia. The recent history of the Bolshoi ballet already knows many works created specifically for him: “Misericordes” (Arvo Pärt / Christopher Wildon), “Lost Illusions” (Leonid Desyatnikov / Aleksey Ratmansky), dance play “And Then - A Millennium of Peace” (Laurent Garnier / Angelin Preljocage), and now the Taming of the Shrew by Jean-Christophe Mayo.

Jean-Christophe Mayo , "neither a classic, nor an avant-garde player, or even something in between," combines dance with a drama theater, forcing him to balance on a rope under a circus dome, to melt into visual art, feed on music and explore different forms of literature… His creativity is art in the broadest sense of the word. For 30 years, Mayo has created more than 60 works, from large narrative ballets to small productions - all of them, intricately interwoven and sending to each other by associations and hints, together form a large piece of the history of ballet of our time.

25th of April. "Countdown"
Vienna State Ballet (Vienna, Austria)

Venue: The main stage of the Bolshoi Theater named after G.A. Tovstonogov
Address: Fontanka River Embankment, d.65 (metro station "Gostiny Dvor", "Vladimirskaya", "Dostoevskaya")
Beginning at 19.00

Three young contemporary choreographers who have already known world fame - Helen Pickett, Patrick de Bana and Natalia Khorechna - offer three different views on contemporary dance. Three different points of view, three different subjects, three different handwritings - but a single desire to explore the expressive possibilities of ballet, the ability to use the best of the accumulated and constantly move forward.

Twilight (Eventide)

Choreography: Helen Pickett
Music: Anuar Braham, Jan Garbarek, Philip Glass, Shokat Hussein, Ravi Shankar

“Ballet of amazing beauty in everything - in choreography, costumes, music and scenography” // Danser a Paris

“For an experienced eye, Twilight is literally filled with little unexpected gifts.” // New York Times

Helen Pickett danced William Forsyth’s Frankfurt Ballet for more than ten years and was so imbued with his dance philosophy that he now teaches “Forsyth Improvisation Technology” throughout Europe and the United States. Started to put in 2005. International criticism notes not only Pickett’s desire to develop the language of choreography, but also an amazing “narrative gift”, which especially helps her in staging great epic ballets.

Wind Games (Windspiele)

Choreography: Patrick de Bana
Music: Pyotr Tchaikovsky

“Choreographer Patrick de Bana, armed with Tchaikovsky’s music, invites viewers to explore the layers of space. The interaction of these layers is similar to the chime of silver sticks of “wind music”: just like the sticks take energy into themselves and turn it into sound, artists take de Bahn’s creative energy and turn it into a spectator’s emotion ”// ViennaOpera

Patrick de Bana is the former prime minister of the troupe of Maurice Bejart and Nacho Duato, a brilliant performer of the works of Jiri Kilian, William Forsyth, Mats Ek and Ohad Nakharin. He was fond of the Portuguese style of fado, implemented an international project together with the famous Iranian composer of traditional music, Kayhan Kalhor, and actively collaborated with the Shanghai Ballet. Rethinking a huge personal dancing experience allowed him to form his own recognizable choreographic style. A native of Hamburg, de Bana is seriously interested in the philosophy of Sufism and especially the rituals of the Mevlevi order, practicing dancing in order to achieve unity with God.

Countdown (Contra Clockwise Witness)

Choreography: Natalia Khorechna
Music: George Crum, Max Richter and others

“Khorechny’s work is deep and demonstrates the full potential of the dance. Everything that Grigorovich understood about the ballet and that Neumaer used now lives in her work ”// La Vie Vennoise

Natalia Khorechna , an ex-ballerina of the NDT (Netherlands Dance Theater), from the very first independent experiments made me talk about myself as an original and gifted choreographer. Critics immediately began to call her “an amazing rising star of choreography”, especially emphasizing her ability to stage the performance as an integral piece, skillfully re-melting the plot, scenography and actually plastic expressive drawing of the dance. Having started the career of director in 2012, she has repeatedly received international awards in the nomination "Best Choreographer."

26 April. Gala of young stars DANCE OPEN

Venue: Theater "Liteiny"
Address: Liteiny pr., 51 (metro station "Mayakovskaya", "Chernyshevskaya")
Beginning at 19.00

April 27th. Gala DANCE OPEN
World Ballet Stars

Venue: Alexandrinsky Theater
Address: pl. Ostrovsky, d.6 (metro station "Gostiny Dvor")
Beginning at 19.00

Despite the richness of the program of the XIV season, the DANCE OPEN Gala was and remains the epicenter of the whirlpool of festival life, which invariably attracts all the best and most interesting from the world of choreography.

The annual "choreographic feast" will take place on the stage of the Alexandrinsky Theater, covered by legends, our long-time friend and partner, who will again become a hospitable home and an additional source of inspiration for the participants of the stellar Gala. We believe that the famous walls of Alexandrinka will help them.

The place itself evokes associations with classical literature… Despite the austerity regime, Gala 2015 we tried to make the ballet an “encyclopedia”, primarily an encyclopedia of styles and trends. Without revealing secrets, we will outline only the extreme points of the spectrum: from the time-tested choreography of Bournonville and Petipa through the 20th century classics to the ultramodern avant-garde and the style with the saying name “free expression” embodied on the scene by the Argentine twin brothers.

The gala creed remains the same: to present to the public the quintessence of our beloved genre, and only in a "stellar" performance. On the stage will come those whom the public has already managed to fall in love with in past seasons. Among them - the winner of the DANCE OPEN Audience Award, Yoel Karenyo, charming Daniil Simkin and an elegant duet from the UK Melissa Hamilton and Eric Underwood.

As always, there will be many discoveries. For the first time, the charming prima Covent Garden Sarah Lamb, who burst into the ballet Olympus Vadim Muntagirov, the sparkling American Isabella Boyleston and called by critics the “Cuban sensation” Osiel Guneo, the graceful Jam Crendell and the gallant Alban Lendorf for OPEN come to Petersburg for the first time will come to Petersburg for the first time… soloists of the San Francisco Ballet, the historically first ballet company in the United States, will perform.

April 23 - 27. Master classes for students of ballet schools in the world

Venue: Ballet Theater. L. Jacobson
Address: st. Mayakovsky, d. 15 (metro station “Uprising Square”, “Mayakovskaya”)
Time: 09.30 - 11.00, daily

From April 23 to 27 at the St. Petersburg State Academic Ballet Theater named after L. Jacobson will host a series of traditional DANCE OPEN workshops with the participation of teachers and stars of the Mariinsky Theater and the Russian Ballet Academy. AND I. Vaganova. The unique educational program annually opens up new opportunities for dozens of students of choreographic schools from around the world.

Collection of applications will continue until April 1, 2015. Students from 7 to 25 years old from Russia and foreign countries are invited to participate. Classes are held at three levels: elementary, intermediate and advanced.

Participants in the workshops will have a unique opportunity to perform at the DANCE OPEN Young Stars Gala, which is annually held at one of the professional theater stages in St. Petersburg. This year, the Young Gala will again be hosted by the Liteiny Theater.

The project will be supported by the Committee for Culture of St. Petersburg and the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation.