The St Petersburg Ballet Theatre bring a festival of ballets to South Africa in May 2015, including Giselle, Don Quixote (seen here) and Swan Lake.

Having already toured to 36 cities in France since the start of the year, the St Petersburg Ballet Theatre open their South African tour on Wednesday 6 May at Montecasino in Johannesburg performing Giselle, followed by Don Quixote and Swan Lake before they head to Cape Town to perform Swan Lake at Artscape from 19 May 2015.

But at least in Johannesburg, the Russian company has a tough act to follow after Joburg Ballet’s very recent and spectacular production of Swan Lake, complete with grand new sets, clever new storytelling twists, and a collaborative international cast of 80 dancers including three prima ballerinas sharing the stage.

For ballet fans though, there’s no such thing as Swan Lake fatigue, and every company offers their own unique experience. In this case, the St Petersburg Ballet Theatre have a few things going for them.

For one, ballet lovers in Joburg are in for a decadent triple-bill treat, with the cast of 55 dancers performing the three ballet favourites of Giselle, Don Quixote and Swan Lake in true traditional, classical Russian style.

Due to scheduling constraints for the Cape Town tour, the company will be performing the much-loved Swan Lake only, but it’s the first time the company will be in the mother city after eight years, which is in itself a welcome treat. All performances are accompanied by a live orchestra too, with either the Johannesburg Festival Orchestra or the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra.

The company’s trump card

But the ace up the company’s sleeve is most certainly their prima ballerina, Irina Kolesnikova, who recently returned to the stage after the birth of her daughter. Known for her magnetic stage presence, rock-solid technique and fiery fouetté turns, she transports the audience deep into the magic and mystery of her ballet characters.

Watch this entertaining video clip as the Top Billing crew go behind the scenes for more insights into the company, its lead ballerina and their upcoming SA tour…

Booking Details – Johannesburg:

Dates for Giselle: 6 – 8 May 2015
Dates for Don Quixote: 9 – 10 May 2015
Dates for Swan Lake: 12 – 16 May 2015
Venue: The Teatro at Montecasino
Tickets: from R290 to R690 via Computicket

Booking Details – Cape Town:

Dates for Swan Lake: 19 – 25 May 2015
Venue: Artscape Opera House
Tickets: from R285 to R630 via Computicket

Beautifully convincing corps de ballet, but sometimes uninspired solos. Photo by Sarah Weyman.

Despite being the second largest theatre (in terms of seats) on the St Petersburg Ballet Theatre’s international tour – which includes 50 cities so far in 2013 – the Teatro at Johannesburg’s Montecasino doesn’t have a particularly large stage, made even smaller by the ballet company’s beautifully elaborate sets. Add the corps de ballet of 24 swans and there is little space left for the principals and soloists.

However, we don’t think any stage on the planet could restrain prima ballerina Irina Kolesnikova. Her stage presence is so dramatic and magnetic that everything else fades into unimportance as she glides onto the scene.

Irina Kolesnikova as Odette in Act II. Photo courtesy of SPBT.

And ‘glide’ she does. As the anguished Odette, her movements are feathery soft and smooth, and her portrayal was so touching and absorbing that my little heart actually ached in empathy of her pain.

As Odile, however, her wicked deception was fierce and electric (as were her fouettés). When her evil con was revealed and she laughingly threw Siegfried’s love on the floor, I caught myself whispering under my breath what the rest of the audience was surely thinking too: “Bitch”.

In fact, the split-personality contrast of Irina’s dual roles had the ballet newbies next to us confused and amazed, asking “did she really dance both white and black swans?”; followed by their excited wide-eyed realisation: “oh my god, so she has to dance and act!”

Yes, that’s how prima ballerinas roll.

But not everyone in the St Petersburg Ballet Theatre (SPBT) cast manages to get that right – although you’ll probably only notice this when Irina is off stage, because you’re not really watching anyone else when she’s on.

Letting the flock down

The strongest contrast to Irina’s masterful performance was probably her principal partner, Dmitri Akulinin performing Siegfried. A little like Neo in The Matrix, he seems to only ever have one expression. Whether he’s happy, sad, angry or triumphant, it’s the same wooden look.

Swan Lake final fight scene with Dmitri Akulinin and Von Rothbart. Photo courtesy of SPBT.

In his favour though, Dmitri does have strength and his pas de deux partnering was perfectly seamless, just don’t expect dramatic solos. Unfortunately the same can be said for most of the male soloists, who lacked personality, precision and punch. Particularly the jester (Erkin Rakhmatulaev) and tutor (Dmitri Shevtsov) appeared a little too rehearsed, occasionally anticipating the others’ gestures too soon, effectively stealing any sense of spontaneity.

The notable exception here would be Rothbart performed by Dimchik Saikeev, who was powerfully menacing, further enhanced by his excellent costume changes and eerie red-eyed make-up. But even Rothbart and Odette’s presence couldn’t save the final fight scene from Siegfried’s unconvincing triumph. “Oh. Look. Um. I think I tore off Rothbart’s wing.”

Four little swans in perfect timing. Photo by Sarah Weyman.

Flying in formation

Acting skills aside though, when it comes to drama, SPBT still delivers plenty with their grand sets, bejewelled costumes and then there’s the corps de ballet of mesmerising swans, so perfectly in time and in sync, moving together as if by Russian magic.

The four little swans were particularly brilliant with their strong and fast footwork and their tick-tock, up-down, left-right movements. See more photos from their rehearsals below.

Though the stage did, at times, seem a tad small for SPBT’s big production, Montecasino’s impressive Teatro is perhaps still the most appropriate venue for Swan Lake, with seats rising all the way up to the clouds. And with Tchaikovsky’s haunting melodies delivered by the Johannesburg Festival Orchestra, it made for a rich and dreamy ballet experience.

If you haven’t done so yet, I’d suggest you make quick about booking those tickets (here), as 75% of the seats were already sold prior to opening night. It may be a while before you get to see such a grand performance of Swan Lake in South Africa by such a ballet company in high demand around the world.

Also, find out all the fascinating behind-the-scenes facts in this Swan Lake ballet infographic.

Have you seen this ballet yet? What were your thoughts? Whether you agree or disagree, tell us in the comments below.

The best of the Swan Lake rehearsal photos…

Click on the first photo to open the gallery.

Irina Kolesnikova and Dmitri Akulinin in the Grand Ballroom Scene of Swan Lake Act III.

If you don’t have your tickets yet (seriously, what were you thinking?), you can now breathe a sigh of relief. But make it a short sigh and then go and book those seats quick-sticks, because this is the last and final extension before the swans fly off to Australia the very next day.

With less than a month before the premiere on Wednesday, 10 July 2013, the touring St Petersburg Ballet Theatre has added an additional six performances to its Johannesburg run of Swan Lake, after already adding extra dates last month.

Irina Kolesnikova as Odile from Act III.

Last chance shows:

• Sunday, 21 July 2013 at 1pm
• Sunday, 21 July 2103 at 6pm
• Thursday, 25 July 2013 at 8pm
• Friday, 26 July 2013 at 8pm
• Saturday, 27 July 2013 at 2pm
• Saturday, 27 July 2013 at 2pm

The international tour producer, Andrew Guild, says “this is the last time we will be able to add extra performances and although excellent new seats are now going to be available we anticipate that they will sell fast”.

And we don’t think he’s bluffing. The season was sold out the last time the St Petersburg Ballet Theatre (SPBT) performed Swan Lake in South Africa and he says “this time our ticket sales are even better when compared to the same lead-up period”.

In addition, this year we’ll see Swan Lake performed at The Teatro, Montecasino for the first time, with the Johannesburg Festival Orchestra led by the SPBT conductor, Vadim Nikitin.

You can read more about the production here: Swan Lake – Russian ballet at its best travelling to SA, or…

Book your tickets:

Dates: 10 to 27 July 2013
Venue: The Teatro at Montecasino, Johannesburg
Tickets: R210 to R490 from Computicket

Still here? Well okay, first watch this black swan variation by SPBT’s prima ballerina Irina Kolesnikova and then get your tickets. Dancers be warned, this video could cause serious symptoms of pirouette-envy.

Irina Kolesnikova, the mesmerising Prima Ballerina of the St Petersburg Ballet. Photo courtesy of SPBT.

We’ve heard it said that if you see only one ballet in your life, let it be Swan Lake. This traditional ballet classic is being brought to Johannesburg audiences in July by the internationally acclaimed St Petersburg Ballet Theatre, thrilling audiences with their classic Russian production of the world’s most famous and beautiful ballet.

The 55-member company of the St Petersburg Ballet Theatre will perform the full length classic with their own live orchestra – performing Tchaikovsky’s hauntingly beautiful melodies at the Teatro at Montecasino from 10 to 14 July.

The St Petersburg Ballet in Swan Lake Act II with Irina Kolesnikova dancing Odette.

Magnificent dancers and scenery

International producer, Andrew Guild said, “Not only do The St Petersburg Ballet Theatre bring their troupe of Vaganova trained dancers, they also bring their magnificent scenery; scenery that has audiences applauding even as the curtain rises, along with sumptuous costumes, dozens of dazzling white tutus and hundreds of pink pointe shoes.”

The St Petersburg Ballet Theatre was created in 1994 by Konstantin Tachkin, for the purpose of delivering classical Russian ballet to audiences worldwide. And in fact, they now spend almost nine months of every year traveling the world with their magnificent repertoire of full-length classics.

However, it has been a long six years since South Africans were last enchanted by this Russian company, and seats are expected to sell very quickly.

Here’s the final word from Andrew Guild:

“This is the real thing, grand-scale Russian Ballet. A complete classical full-length work. Backed by a live orchestra. This is Swan Lake, the world’s most-famous ballet, performed by one of Russia’s leading classical companies.”

“If you see only one ballet in your life, let it be this.”

Booking details:

Dates: 10 to 21 July 2013 (Update: Now extended to 27 July 2013)
Venue: The Teatro at Montecasino, Johannesburg
Tickets: R210 to R490 from Computicket

Prima Ballerina – The magnificent Irina Kolesnikova

This video shows an excerpt of prima ballerina Irina Kolesnikova as Odette. This live performance was filmed in April 2006 at the South African State Theatre in Pretoria, during the St Petersburg Ballet Theatre’s first ever tour of South Africa.