Bolshoi comes to town

For the first time ever, the Russian Bolshoi Ballet and Marinsky and Mikhailovsky Theatres, St. Petersburg performed in Delhi recently. The performance was a part of the festival of Russian culture in India.

The festival brought dancers from Russian classical ballet who performed at the gala. The Bolshoi Ballet from Moscow and Mariinsky Ballet and Mikhailovsky Theatre from St. Petersburg, among other groups, are one of the oldest opera and ballet houses in Russia. Many award-winning soloists from the three companies like Anastasia Stashkevich of Bolshoi and Maxim Zyuzin of Mariinsky, as well as principal dancers like Bolshoi's Semyon Chudin, gave enthralling performances.

“The Festival of Russian Culture in India was an initiative to explore the connections and commonalities between the cultures of India and Russia, both of which have rich cultural inheritances. We are trying out several new initiatives in cross-cultural exchanges to create a common language. The Festival is a response to the Indian artists and officials who visited Russia in 2011 for a similar festival,” said Dr. Suresh K Goel, Director General, ICCR.

The Bolshoi Theatre, also called the grand theatre, is a historic theatre in Moscow, designed by the architect Joseph Bovi, which holds ballet and opera performances.  The theatre is the parent company of The Bolshoi Ballet Academy. Russia will host another festival of Indian culture in 2013 as a reciprocal gesture.

The Ballet program included pieces of eminent composers such as Tchaikovsky, Saint-Saens, Prokofiev, Gottschalk, Soloviev-Sedoy and others. Masterpieces of classical choreographers as well as works of famous contemporary choreographers were performed by the artists. Pas de Diane from Esmeralda, Adagio from Romeo and Juliette, The Duet of Anna and Vronsky from Anna Karenina, The Dying Swan, Grand-Pas from Don Quixote and other compositions gave a flavour of Russian perfrorming arts to the audience in Delhi.