Ballet stars from St. Petersburg will perform in Shanghai

As part of the cultural and business mission of St. Petersburg to the People’s Republic of China, gala concerts of ballet soloists from leading theaters in St. Petersburg will be held on November 9 and 10 in Shanghai. Celestial ballet fans can

enjoy the talent of dancers and appreciate the highest level of their performing skills. The cultural program is dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the development of partnerships between St. Petersburg and Shanghai.

The program of gala concerts, which will be held at the Opera Hall of the Shanghai Center for Oriental Art, will include numbers from the golden fund of world classics, original contemporary productions and creative experiments. Thanks to the unique performance form of the gala concert, the audience will be able to join the huge strata of Russian ballet culture and get to know the true hits. Ballet stars from St. Petersburg will perform in Shanghai

“Don Quixote”, “Romeo and Juliet”, “Spring Waters” - in the club of world ballet lovers the names of these masterpieces do not require translation. And the names of Soviet choreographers - Alexander Gorsky, Leonid Lavrovsky, Asaf Messerer - cause delight and reverence. Spectators of the gala concerts will see the most striking fragments and scenes from these performances.

A separate gift will be the Viennese Waltz choreographic miniature, beloved by many admirers of classical dance, staged by the outstanding twentieth-century choreographer Leonid Veniaminovich Yakobson on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the troupe. “Vienna Waltz” will be performed by leading soloists of the Leonid Jacobson Theater All Bocharov and Denis Klimuk.

Shanghai will see the work of contemporary Russian choreographers. A piercing duet from the sensational ballet performance based on Leo Tolstoy’s novel “Anna Karenina” in the choreography of Boris Eifman will be performed by soloists of his theater Nina Zmievets and Oleg Markov. The charming Nina, together with Denis Klimuk, will immerse the audience in the dramatic abyss of “Red Giselle”, the plot of which is inspired by the life story of the great Russian ballerina Olga Spesivtseva.

Adagio from the spectacular ballet Spartak to the music of Aram Khachaturian in the choreography of Georgy Kovtun will present a creative duet on stage and in life, the premier and prima ballerina of the Mikhailovsky Theater Irina Perren and Marat Shemiunov.

Everyone who is inspired by creative experiments and modern dance will remember The Nutcracker in the rhythms of salsa and the dance embodiment of the famous pop hit Lara Fabian “Je suis malade”.

The Russian Academic Ballet School is one of those powerful magnets that attract tens of thousands of tourists from China to St. Petersburg. For many guests, religious ballet venues become obligatory for visiting: the street of Architect Rossi, where the A. Ya. Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet is located; Mariinskii Opera House; Hermitage Theater a masterpiece of architecture of Karl Rossi and the main imperial theater of Russia - Alexandrinsky; the architectural ensemble of Arts Square and the Mikhailovsky Theater; house on Gorokhovaya street 4, where the great Galina lived in due time

Ulanova and Agrippina Vaganova; The Matilda Kshesinskaia Palace, where the Museum of the Political History of Russia is located today… and this is far from all.

The November gala concerts, representing the Russian ballet in the Celestial Empire, will give a holiday to discerning ballet lovers, draw attention to the symbols of Russian culture for those who are not yet familiar with Russia, and will serve the further development of business and cultural ties between St. Petersburg and Shanghai.

The project was implemented by the St. Petersburg International Dance Open Ballet Festival commissioned by the Committee on Culture of St. Petersburg.