An evening of modern ballets: Reflections. Queens of Variations Tickets

The Stanislavsky Theatre, located in XIX century historical building  just 750 metres (9-minute walk) from the Bolshoi, offers a rare opportunity to enjoy ballet of the highest artistic quality in an intimate and elegant setting. Among the artists are outstanding artists who have performed on the stage of the Bolshoi Theatre and were trained at the very same prestigious Russian academies as the artists of the Bolshoi. — bringing to the stage the same mastery, refinement and emotional depth that make Russian ballet admired around the world. Experience two brilliant ballets in one evening — a journey through the history of classical dance performed by the finest artists of the Russian stage. Ballet at the Stanislavsky Theatre is the great and affordable alternative to the Bolshoi.

On September 11, 12 and 13, the Moscow Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Academic Music Theatre presents a new combination of the ballet evening “Reflections. Queens of Variations”.

The neoclassical ballet “Reflections” — created in 2005 by one of the most renowned choreographers of the 21st century, Yuri Possokhov, for the San Francisco Ballet — is set to the romantic music of Felix Mendelssohn. Possokhov presented this work one year before completing his career as a principal dancer and devoting himself fully to choreography. The scenography and costumes were designed by Sandra Woodall, whose striking black-white-red palette is intensified by a dramatic use of large mirrors arranged in different compositions. Especially for the 105th season of the Stanislavsky Theatre, the ballet has been restaged by the choreographer himself, under the musical direction of the theatre’s chief conductor Felix Korobov.

The second part of the evening, “Queens of Variations”, is staged by the artistic director of the ballet company Maxim Sevagin. The choreographer explores the history of classical ballet through the prism of the variation — that virtuosic element of academic dance that is both a choreographic and musical form. The title refers to the great Agrippina Vaganova, who was likewise called the Queen of Variations.

At the centre of the performance are four ballerinas, representing collective images of different eras in academic choreography: the Romantic ballerina, the ballerina of the Petipa era, the neoclassical ballerina of the 20th century, and the ballerina of today.

Inspired by Ernst von Dohnányi’s “Variations on a Nursery Tune” for piano and orchestra, the production combines lightness, freshness and subtle humour. Maxim Sevagin — who also serves as set and costume designer — visualises the ballet in delicate shades of blue, aiming for a watercolour effect and soft layered textures. Musical director: Arif Dadashev. Lighting design by Oleg Strashkin.