Russia’s leading ballet theatres have much in store for the second half of the 2019-2020 season, which for most will run through July 2020.
At the Bolshoi, former Mariinsky dancer and now choreographer Anton Pimonov will present a new work, “Made at Bolshoi” on 26 March as part of a mixed bill that includes Vyacheslav Samodurov’s “Tanzmania” and principal Bolshoi dancer Artemy Belyakov’s “Vremeni Goda” (The Seasons). On 21 May, the theatre will premiere the new “Master and Margarita” by Edward Klug, who presented his version of “Petrushka” on last year’s mixed bill alongside Forsythe’s “Artefact Suite”.
The Mariinsky’s annual International Ballet Festival begins on 11 March with a heavy focus on Ratmansky. The festival opens with an evening of Ratmansky’s ballets, and will also present his “Seven Sonatas” for the first time, which is being set on site by Stella Abrera (American Ballet Theatre). If the coronavirus does not cause cancellations, then several guest stars are slated to appear. Lauren Cuthberthson, who fell ill before she was able to perform “The Sleeping Beauty” in last year’s festival, will make another go of it this year alongside Xander Parish. Oksana Skorik will join the Paris Opera Ballet’s Germain Louve for “Swan “Lake”, and the Bolshoi’s Olga Smirnova is set to appear in “Giselle.” In addition, the Bolshoi’s Vladislav Lantratov and Maria Alexandrova will appear at both the opening and the closing of the festival.