Moscow Ballet
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Moscow Ballet Ballet touring company best known for its annual “Great Russian Nutcracker” holiday productions.
The company evolved out of the 1989-92 “Glasnost Festival” created by Boston-born theatrical producer Akiva Talmi. [1], [2]
Moscow Ballet made its debut in 1993 with a company of 27 dancers performing The Nutcracker, directed and choreographed by Stanislav Vlasov. The company embarked on a six-week, eight-city tour primarily consisting of East Coast cities. The Washington Post reported: "Expectations were high for this company, also billed as the state ballet of Russia…”[3]
The six week, eight city tour of primarily east coast cities featured a company of 27 dancers from five ex-Soviet rebublics.[4]
Because the Bolshoi Ballet had often been referred to generically as "The Moscow Ballet" (see, for example [5]) and because the tour originally was advertised as featuring stars of the Bolshoi,[6] there was some initial confusion in the media between this new company and the Bolshoi, as witnessed by a review of Talmi's Moscow Ballet that ran in the Miami Herald under a headline that began "Bolshoi's Old-School Nutcracker..."[7]
The Bolshoi Ballet threatened legal action, but a lawsuit was avoided when Moscow Ballet dropped the name Bolshoi from its promotions and made clarifications to the media. [8]
The following year Moscow Ballet changed its name to Moscow State Ballet and toured ten cities with a company from the Natalia Sats Theater directed and choreographed by Natalie Ryzenko. Its signature production was billed as the “19th Century Classical Nutcracker.” [9]
In 1997, no longer working with dancers from Natalia Sats, but still billed as Moscow State Ballet, the production was directed by Nikolai Dorochov and choreographed by Oleg Nikolayev. It was referred to for the first time as “The Great Russian Nutcracker.” [10], [11], [12]
In 1999 the company changed its name back to Moscow Ballet. Reviews from 1998 and 1999 variously list Mikhail Chulgin, Arcadi Ustiansev or Oleg Nikolaev as artistic director and Sergei Bobrov as choreographer.[13], [14],[15],[16], [17] In 2000, Valery Lantratov directed the tour with choreography by Oleg Nikolaev.
The following year, Moscow Ballet grew to include two national touring companies with parallel tours. Vitali Akhoundov of GITIS and Valery Lantratov of the Russian National Ballet Foundation were the respective directors, each providing their own separate choreography. A new “Peace and Harmony” themed set was unveiled for one of the two tours. It was later used for both touring companies. The following year "larger-than-life puppets" and animal costumes were added to the production. [18]
The two directors continued with the company until 2003, when Akhoundov was replaced as director by Anatoli Emelianov, who had previously danced the role of the prince in the touring company headed by Lantratov.[19], [20]
Valery Lantratov left Moscow Ballet the following season and was replaced by Vladimir Troshenko, director of Odessa Ballet Theater.[21],[22]
Over the next two years, Moscow Ballet has increased the size and scope of its tour adding Cinderella and Swan Lake to its schedule, but it is principally known for its Nutcracker productions which incorporate hundreds of local children each year. The children are cast through open auditions.[23]
[edit] Other Moscow ballets
In the United States, the name “Moscow Ballet” is a trademark that exclusively refers to the touring companies produced by the Massachusetts-based SMI, Inc.[24] However, another Russian ballet company tours the United Kingdom under the name “Moscow Ballet.” There is also a Russian company known as Ballet Moskva (“Ballet Moscow”) which is unaffiliated with the U.S. Moscow Ballet tours.
A previous, unrelated, company touring the U.S. under the name “Moscow Ballet” gained great publicity in the 1987 when one of its dancers, Andrei Ustinov, defected during the company’s first U.S. tour. This Moscow Ballet was founded in 1979 in the Soviet Union under the direction of Vyacheslav Gordeyev of the Bolshoi Ballet. It was touring the U.S. throughout the late 80s, to great media attention. Its 1987 tour was seen by an estimated 150,000 people.[25], [26], [27]
Roughly a dozen companies tour the United States with names that incorporate the concepts Russian and Ballet in some form. They include Moscow Stanislavski Ballet founded in 1929, Ballet of Russia, founded in 1981, Moscow City Ballet founded in 1988, Moscow Festival Ballet, founded in 1989, Moscow Dramatic Ballet (founded prior to 1992, exact date unknown) and Moscow Ballet Theater, Moscow Grand Ballet, Moscow Classical Ballet, Ballet Stars of Russia, Ballet Stars of Moscow Theaters, Russian National Ballet and National Russian Ballet, dates of founding unknown.
[edit] References
- ^ Nelson, Annie: "World Stage", "Columbia Daily Tribune", November 26, 2006.
- ^ Bolton, Michele Morgan: "Ballet Troupes Battle in Court", "Albany Times Union", March 4, 2004
- ^ Kaufman, Sarah: "Dance", "Washington Post", November 27, 1993.
- ^ Huriash, Lisa J.: "Moscow Performers Adopt Shop-Till-You-Drop Regimine on U.S. Tour", "Tampa Tribune", December 24, 1993
- ^ Pearson, Drew: "U.S. Curtain Hard to Penetrate", "Chronicle-Telegram", June 13, 1957
- ^ Kaufman, Sarah: "Dance", "Washington Post", November 27, 1993.
- ^ Horn, Laurie: "Bolshoi's Old School Nutcracker Marred by Stodgy Corps de Ballet", "Miami Herald", December 23, 1993.
- ^ McKerrow, Steve: "Battling Ballet Troupes Sling Barbs", "Baltimore Sun", December 3, 1993
- ^ LaRue, William: "Ballet Feels Changes in Russia", "Syracuse Post Standard", December 15, 1994
- ^ Jordan, Allison: "Moscow State Ballet Performs in New Orleans", Hulabaloo News (Online Edition), 1997.
- ^ Ellis, Amy: "From Russia, With Leaps and Bounds", "Hartford Courant", December 25, 1997
- ^ Novelli, Neil: "Moscow Ballet Waltzes Into Season with 'Nutcracker'", "Syracuse Post Standard", December 19, 1997
- ^ Espe, Troy: "From Russia With Love", "Panama City News Herald", November 13, 1998
- ^ McGee, Melanie: "A New/Old Classic: The Moscow Ballet Brings the Nutcracker to Asheville", "Mountain Xpress", November 18, 1998
- ^ McGee, Melanie: "Debuting a Tradition", "Mountain Xpress", November 24, 1999.
- ^ Nichols, Ann: "All Nutcrackers Are Not the Same", "Shreveport Times", November 11, 1999
- ^ Raabe, Nancy: "Nutcracker Admirable Despite Sound, Scenery", "Birmingham News", November 15, 1998
- ^ Kemp, Julianne: "Local Children will Dance with Group for Nutcracker", "Charleston Daily Mail", December 13, 2001.
- ^ Farrant, Rick: "Classic Russian", "Fort Wayne Journal Gazette", November 9, 2003
- ^ Friedman, Sally: "Moscow Ballet's Nutcracker Drops in for a Special County Visit", "Burlington County Times", December 19, 2003
- ^ Strini, Tom: "Russian Flavored Nutcracker Coming", "Milwaukee Journal Sentinel", November 25, 2004
- ^ Varnish, Jane: "Producer Vows Fine Russian Nutcracker Despite Turmoil", "Pittsburgh Post Gazette", November 27, 2004
- ^ www.nutcracker.com
- ^ Moscow Ballet web page, www.nutcracker.com
- ^ Leader, Jody: "Moscow Ballet Continues to Leap Over Obstacles", "Daily news of Los Angeles", October 28, 1987
- ^ Jacobs, Laura A: "The Moscow Ballet", "The New Leader", January 11, 1988
- ^ Stein, Michelle: "Ustinov Finally Hits Portland", "The Oregonian", April 1, 1988
