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Olga Smirnova (dancer)
Olga Vyacheslavovna Smirnova (; born 6 November 1991) is a Russian ballet dancer. Formerly a prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Ballet, she is currently a prima ballerina with the Dutch National Ballet in Amsterdam, Netherlands. She has danced at venues across Europe, as well as appearing in Beijing, China and Japan. Biography Born in Leningrad (later Saint Petersburg), Smirnova comes from a family with no connections with ballet. Her mother encouraged her to take up the art at the Vaganova Academy where she studied under Lyudmila Kovaleva. She participated in the academy's tours across Europe and Japan, performing in the 2004 presentation arranged jointly with the Royal Ballet School. In 2011, while still a student at the Vaganova academy she appeared in London at the London Coliseum to commemorate Galina Ulanova, who is said to be one of the greatest of ballerinas. For the commemoration routine, which was choreographed by A. Messerer and accompanied by Dvořák's ''Melody'', Sm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dutch National Ballet
The Dutch National Ballet (Dutch: Het Nationale Ballet) is the official and largest ballet company in the Netherlands. History The Dutch National Ballet was formed in 1961 when the Amsterdam Ballet and the Nederlands Ballet merged. The company has been directed by Sonia Gaskell (1961–1969), Rudi van Dantzig (1969–1991), Wayne Eagling (1991–2003) and is currently directed by Ted Brandsen. It attracts many international artists. The company has been based at the Dutch National Opera & Ballet (formerly known as ''Het Muziektheater'') in Amsterdam since 1986. It is a regular guest at major festivals across Europe, such as the Edinburgh Festival. The company is committed to new choreography and performs work from current and past resident choreographers: Rudi van Dantzig, Toer van Schayk, Hans van Manen, Maguy Marin and Édouard Lock. On 13 September 2011, the company celebrated its 50th anniversary with a gala performance in the presence of Queen Beatrix. Dancers The Dutc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), is the second-largest city in Russia. It is situated on the Neva River, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea, with a population of roughly 5.4 million residents. Saint Petersburg is the fourth-most populous city in Europe after Istanbul, Moscow and London, the most populous city on the Baltic Sea, and the world's northernmost city of more than 1 million residents. As Russia's Imperial capital, and a historically strategic port, it is governed as a federal city. The city was founded by Tsar Peter the Great on 27 May 1703 on the site of a captured Swedish fortress, and was named after apostle Saint Peter. In Russia, Saint Petersburg is historically and culturally associated with t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mariinsky Theatre
The Mariinsky Theatre ( rus, Мариинский театр, Mariinskiy teatr, also transcribed as Maryinsky or Mariyinsky) is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th-century Russia, where many of the stage masterpieces of Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov received their premieres. Through most of the Soviet era, it was known as the Kirov Theatre. Today, the Mariinsky Theatre is home to the Mariinsky Ballet, Mariinsky Opera and Mariinsky Orchestra. Since Yuri Temirkanov's retirement in 1988, the conductor Valery Gergiev has served as the theatre's general director. Name The theatre is named after Empress Maria Alexandrovna, wife of Tsar Alexander II. There is a bust of the Empress in the main entrance foyer. The theatre's name has changed throughout its history, reflecting the political climate of the time: * 1860 – 1920: Imperial Mariinsky Theatre ( rus, Импера ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Neumeier
John Neumeier (born February 24, 1939) is an American ballet dancer, choreographer, and director. He has been the director and chief choreographer of Hamburg Ballet since 1973. Five years later he founded the Hamburg Ballet School, which also includes a boarding school for students. In 1996, Neumeier was made ballet director of Hamburg State Opera. Biography Neumeier was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he received his first ballet training. He continued his dance training in Chicago at the Stone-Camyrn School of Ballet and performed with Sybil Shearer and Ruth Page. After completing a B.A. in English literature and theater studies at Marquette University in 1961, he continued his training in Copenhagen with Vera Volkova and at the Royal Ballet School in London. In 1963 he joined the Stuttgart Ballet under John Cranko, rising to the rank of soloist. In 1969 Neumeier became director of the Frankfurt Ballet, before becoming director and chief choreographer at the Hamburg Ballet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apollo (ballet)
''Apollo'' (originally ''Apollon musagète'' and variously known as ''Apollo musagetes'', ''Apolo Musageta'', and ''Apollo, Leader of the Muses'') is a neoclassical ballet in two ''tableaux'' composed between 1927 and 1928 by Igor Stravinsky. It was choreographed in 1928 by twenty-four-year-old George Balanchine, with the composer contributing the libretto. The scenery and costumes were designed by André Bauchant, with new costumes by Coco Chanel in 1929. The scenery was executed by Alexander Shervashidze, with costumes under the direction of Mme. A. Youkine. The American patron of the arts Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge had commissioned the ballet in 1927 for a festival of contemporary music to be held the following year at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. The story centres on Apollo, the Greek god of music, who is visited by three Muses: Terpsichore, muse of dance and song; Polyhymnia, muse of mime; and Calliope, muse of poetry. The ballet takes Classical antiquity a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Balanchine
George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze; ka, გიორგი მელიტონის ძე ბალანჩივაძე; January 22, 1904 (O. S. January 9) – April 30, 1983) was an ethnic Georgian American ballet choreographer who was one of the most influential 20th-century choreographers. Styled as the father of American ballet, he co-founded the New York City Ballet and remained its artistic director for more than 35 years.Joseph Horowitz (2008)''Artists in Exile: How Refugees from 20th-century War and Revolution Transformed the American Performing Arts.''HarperCollins. His choreography is characterized by plotless ballets with minimal costume and décor, performed to classical and neoclassical music. Born in St. Petersburg, Balanchine took the standards and technique from his time at the Imperial Ballet School and fused it with other schools of movement that he had adopted during his tenure on Broadway and in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ivan The Terrible (ballet)
Ivan IV Vasilyevich (russian: Ива́н Васи́льевич; 25 August 1530 – ), commonly known in English as Ivan the Terrible, was the grand prince of Moscow from 1533 to 1547 and the first Tsar of all Russia from 1547 to 1584. Ivan was the son of Vasili III, the Rurikid ruler of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. He was appointed grand prince after his father's death, when he was three years old. A group of reformers known as the "Chosen Council" united around the young Ivan, declaring him tsar (emperor) of all Rus' in 1547 at the age of 16 and establishing the Tsardom of Russia with Moscow as the predominant state. Ivan's reign was characterised by Russia's transformation from a medieval state to an empire under the tsar but at an immense cost to its people and its broader, long-term economy. During his youth, he conquered the khanates of Kazan and Astrakhan. After he had consolidated his power, Ivan rid himself of the advisers from the "Chosen Council" and triggered the L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Sleeping Beauty (ballet)
''The Sleeping Beauty'' ( rus, Спящая красавица, Spyashchaya krasavitsa ) is a ballet in a prologue and three acts, first performed in 1890. The music was composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Opus 66). The score was completed in 1889, and is the second of his three ballets. The original scenario was conceived by Ivan Vsevolozhsky, and is based on Charles Perrault's '' La Belle au bois dormant''. The choreographer of the original production was Marius Petipa. The premiere performance took place at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg on January 15, 1890. The work has become one of the classical repertoire's most famous ballets. History Tchaikovsky was approached by the Director of the Imperial Theatres in St. Petersburg, Ivan Vsevolozhsky on 25 May 1888 about a possible ballet adaptation on the subject of the story of ''Undine''. It was later decided that Charles Perrault's '' La Belle au bois dormant'' would be the story for which Tchaikovsky would co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pierre Lacotte
Pierre Lacotte (born 4 April 1932) is a French ballet dancer and choreographer who specialised in the reconstruction of lost choreographies of romantic ballets. His mother was an affirmed musician and he manifested very early his interest for dance. After an initial reluctance, his family surrendered to his stubbornness so that Lacotte could become a student of Gustave Ricaux, who taught at the Paris Opera. In 1946 he was engaged in the Paris Opera Ballet and in 1953 became a principal dancer. Among his teachers at the Paris Opera Ballet School where Lubov Egorova, Carlotta Zambelli and the choreographer Serge Lifar, who chose Paulette Dynalix, Claude Bessy and Lacotte as the three interpretive dancers of ''Septuor'', a single-act ballet presented in Paris on 25 January 1950. In 1955 he left the Paris Opera to become a soloist dancer and was invited to perform all over the world. Subsequently, Lacotte founded a ballet company named ''Les Ballets de la Tour Eiffel''. He choreogr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jorma Elo
Jorma Elo is a contemporary choreographer. Early life He was born 30 August 1961 in Helsinki, Finland. His father, Jaakko Elo, is a urological surgeon, mother Ruth Elo née Carlstedt, a dentist. Jorma Elo's partner since 1994 is Nancy Euverink who has also been assistant to Elo. As a schoolboy, Elo wanted to be an ice hockey player, despite this he began studying modern and jazz dance at 12. At the age of 13 he was enrolled in Finnish National Ballet School for classical training. Later, 1979–80, he studied in the Kirov Ballet School (Vaganova Academy), which under the Soviet era was the name of the Maryinsky Ballet School in St. Petersburg. Dancer Elo was signed by the Finnish National Ballet at 16, and acquired experience not only of stage, but also of opera and ballet production processes. He danced with the Finnish National Ballet from 1978 to 1984. In 1983 he also completed his compulsory military service. In 1980 he attended Varna International Ballet Competition and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Onegin (Cranko)
''Onegin'' is a ballet created by John Cranko for the Stuttgart Ballet, premiered on 13 April 1965 at Staatstheater Stuttgart. The ballet was based on Alexander Pushkin's 1825-1832 novel ''Eugene Onegin'', to music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and arrangements by Kurt-Heinz Stolze. The ballet had since been in the repertoires of The Australian Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, American Ballet Theatre and The Royal Ballet. Background and production Cranko first discovered Alexander Pushkin's verse-novel ''Eugene Onegin'' when he choreographed the dances for Tchaikovsky's opera of the same name in 1952. He first proposed a ballet based on Pushkin's story to the Royal Opera House board in the 1960s, but it was turned down, and he pursued the idea when he moved to Stuttgart. The Stuttgart Ballet premiered the work in 1965. The Royal Ballet did not present the work until 2001. The choreography for his ballet includes a wide range of styles, including folk, modern, ballroom and acrob ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swan Lake
''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoye ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, link=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failure, it is now one of the most popular ballets of all time. The scenario, initially in two acts, was fashioned from Russian and German folk tales and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse. The choreographer of the original production was Julius Reisinger (Václav Reisinger). The ballet was premiered by the Bolshoi Ballet on at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. Although it is presented in many different versions, most ballet companies base their stagings both choreographically and musically on the 1895 revival of Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, first staged for the Imperial Ballet on 15 January 1895, at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. For this revival, Tchaikovsky's score was revised by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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