Masterpieces of French music meets Russian ballet in Pretoria
Crown of Russian Ballet perform the feisty Carmen one-act ballet.
The Crown of the Russian Ballet company has toured the world, including the UK, USA, Japan and China, and is now preparing to perform in Pretoria at the State Theatre from 23 to 25 May 2014 with a programme entitled Masterpieces of French Music in Ballet.
Considering that the ballet company was founded (back in 1997 in Moscow) with the aim of developing a new ballet repertoire of innovative classical and contemporary works, The Crown of the Russian Ballet‘s tour programme includes well-known classical masterpieces as well as contemporary ballet and modern dance.
Masterpieces of French Music in Ballet opens with the feisty and fiery Carmen, a one-act ballet set to the music of French composer Georges Bizet. The second half includes the famous piece synonymous with legendary Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova – The Dying Swan to Camille Saint-Saëns’ cello solo ‘Le Cygne’.
Audiences will enjoy Pas de Quatre by Cesare Pugni, which provides a beautiful look into the Romantic age of ballet, including the lyrical, light and fluid arm movements that have become the signature of the Pas de Quatre (scroll to the end to see the video).
See a modern ballet piece choreographed by Anatoly Emelianov set to Maurice Ravel’s well-known Bolero.
With a mix of contemporary and classic, the second half also includes the Spanish-spiced Bolero by Maurice Ravel and the much-loved pas de deux from Le Corsaire to the music of Adolphe Adam.
Providing a little more contemporary ballet, Jaques Brel’s Ne Me Quitte Pas (an English adaptation by Rod McKuen is called “If You Go Away”) showcases the work by The Crown of the Russian Ballet’s chief choreographer, Anatoly Emelianov. Listen to Jaques Brel’s beautifully stirring song here, with English and French subtitles if you want to follow along:
Mikhail Lavrovsky, former principal dancer with the Bolshoi Ballet and currently ballet Master-Repetiteur at the Bolshoi Theatre had this to say about Emelianov’s choreography: “…he is indeed talented with his modern vision of art and his contemporary way of thinking. It is very good that his ballet is built on the classical basis but at the same time is free of dogma and is non-traditional.”
Crown of the Russian Ballet was founded by the current Artistic Director and lead ballerina, Anna Alexidze, and chief choreographer and principal dancer, Anatoly Emelianov. The production is presented in South Africa by Edouard Miasnikov Agency, which brought us Stars of Ballet Moscow in 2013 and whose objective it is to widen cultural exchange and sharing between Russia and South Africa.
Booking Details:
Dates: 23 May 2014 at 7:30pm; 24 May 2014 at 3pm and 7:30pm; and 25 May 2014 at 3pm.
Venue: Drama, SA State Theatre, Pretoria
Tickets: from R150 to R280 via Computicket.
And now, take a tombé back in time and enjoy this 1968 recording of Pugni’s Pas de Quatre…
Category: Dance News
