The Port Elizabeth Opera House stage is set for a dance spectacular on Tuesday July 31 as Russian ballet returns to the Bay with two productions in one night.
Just over a year since last performing to a full house in the city, the Crown of the Russian Ballet dance company is set to showcase a double bill performance – The Firebird and Paquita – for the pleasure of dance lovers across all ages.
Delivering the performances will be a selected group of 12 dancers under the banner of the Edouard Miasnikov Agency, which aims to widen cultural exchange and sharing between Russia and South Africa.
The artistic director is Anna Alexide, and the chief choreographer and principal dancer is Anatoly Emelianov.
The company’s Port Elizabeth-based media liaison officer, Monica Hewitson, said: “Port Elizabeth is one of the few smaller South African centres which are included in the Russian ballet tour calendar. “We are most fortunate to receive international dancers of this calibre at the Opera House.”
The productions come to the Bay following shows at Pretoria’s Atterbury Theatre, Durban’s Playhouse Company and the Theatre of Marcellus at Emperors Palace.
The Firebird is based on a Russian legend about a bird, a powerful good spirit, whose feathers convey beauty and protection upon the earth.
Other characters from Russian folklore include the heroic Prince Ivan Tsarevich and the evil sorcerer Kashchei from whom Ivan must rescue the princess he loves. It is only through the intervention of the Firebird, whose life Ivan spares early in the ballet, that he is able to destroy Kashchei and marry the princess. Composer Igor Stravinsky borrowed a few Russian folk melodies for this score, but most of the ballet, especially the fluttering dance of the firebird and the memorable wedding march at the ballet’s conclusion, were his own creation. When The Firebird ballet was first performed in Paris in 1910, the principal ballerina refused to dance the role of the firebird, declaring that she detested the music, and had to be replaced. The ballerina’s objections notwithstanding, Stravinsky achieved instant recognition as one of the most original and powerful composers of his generation.
Meanwhile, Paquita is a romantic piece by composer Ludwig Minkus.The piece tells the story of a beautiful Spanish girl Paquita who, as an infant, was saved from a pirate massacre by a gypsy family. Due to her social standing, her romance with a French nobleman Lucien cannot flourish, but, while traveling the country, gypsies help Paquita find her real family. When it is discovered that she is the daughter of a nobleman, Paquita and Lucien finally reunite.
The ballet was first presented by the Paris Opera Ballet in 1846, and the following year ballet master and choreographer Marius Petipa staged it for the Imperial Ballet of St Petersburg as his very first work.
The Russian performances start at 5pm and tickets start from R250 at Computicket, with block bookings of 10 or more receiving a 10% discount. Inquiries, Monica Hewitson, 083-471-8893.