“It’s hard to talk about ballet, you need to see it”

New Years is soon. We are all waiting for miracles and gifts. The Kremlin Ballet Theater will soon, literally in a few hours, give the audience a magical performance. On the eve of the premiere, a press conference was held, at which the creators of a fairy tale told how a miracle was born.

The new production of the Kremlin Ballet Theatre, which will premiere on November 10, 2022, is a modern fairy tale for children and adults. The new performance promises to be unusual. Classical ballet, which everyone associates with refined beauty, a fairy tale, princesses, according to the plot, turns out to be famously twisted by a detective!

The action of a bright, romantic, and at the same time exciting plot twists and turns of the performance takes place today. Nicolas, a young toy maker living in Paris, is the heir to an old Russian princely family. In a dream, a grandfather appears to a young man, telling where treasures are hidden in distant Russia. By the will of fate, Nicolas ends up in St. Petersburg on New Year’s Eve. Here the hero has to overcome the intrigues of hunters for other people’s wealth, find a treasure, and meet his love – the Russian girl Natasha. At the same time, many plans unfold in the performance: in time, in space, in a dream … The magic toys of Nicolas’ workshop come to life, and the portrait of grandfather comes to life.

Artistic director, chief choreographer of the Kremlin Ballet Theatre, choreographer Andrey Petrov said: “In fact, this is a modern fairy tale about love. Despite the complex seeds, people need faith in a miracle, they need love, humor, it always helps to live.

The ballet The Toy Seller by Andrey Petrov was first staged in 2020 at the Voronezh Opera and Ballet Theatre. Is the Moscow version different? According to Andrei Borisovich, conceptually nothing has changed. “However, given the size of the Kremlin troupe and its equipment, the performance was a little more complicated – technically and choreographically. As for the idea of ​​the play, we relied on the novel of the same name and the libretto for the play by Viktor Dobrosotsky, who was present at the press conference, but since this novel is multifaceted, we took from it only a few topics that are most relevant and close to us. In the new ballet, modern life, modern music, and classical choreography coexist perfectly, but this is not just modern choreography, when the artists just lie on the floor and you can’t understand anything, – the choreographer clarifies, – this is classical choreography, primarily finger technique. But elements of modern movements, including everyday, sports, various dance systems, nevertheless, organically enter the performance. That is, in my opinion, this is a new type of dance that I am trying to master. And it seems interesting to me, because with its help you can create an image of a modern person – not fictional, but real. With problems, experiences, character. And thus the range of both emotional and choreographic palette is significantly expanded. For the viewer to be interested, the repertoire must be varied.”

The performance impresses with its magnificent design, created by the honored worker of arts, the famous theater artist, the legendary Grigory Belov. The stage solution is invariably elegant, the master’s sense of style is visible, unexpected artistic finds are also pleasing, making the design of the performance figurative, multifaceted and memorable.

Incredible costumes of dancers made by the brilliant Olga Polyanskaya. Every bow plays here, every fold, and what bright, joyful colors, what amazing styles!

The music for the ballet was created by Alexey Shelygin, the most famous musician, the author of music for numerous performances, films, TV shows and TV shows. The performance is accompanied by the Orpheus Radio Symphony Orchestra under the direction of the Honored Artist of Russia, artistic director and chief conductor Sergei Kondrashev. The orchestral edition of the music was performed by Vladimir Kachesov.

The main roles of Nicolas and Natasha in the premiere performance are performed by the premiere of the Kremlin Ballet Theater Daniil Roslanov and Honored Artist of Russia, prima ballerina of the Kremlin Ballet Theater Ekaterina Pervushina. At a press conference, the artists noted that they wanted to convey emotions, a fabulous New Year’s mood, and bright feelings of lovers in the language of choreography. By the way, the entire troupe of the theater is engaged in the performance.

So, there is very little left before the premiere. Hurry up to see a new fairy tale. Lovers will plunge into the world of fidelity and mutual understanding, children will enjoy beautiful dolls and understand how important it is to be kind and honest. And everyone will believe in a miracle.

Elena Minashkina.

Photo by Mikhail Kovalev