The Arabian variation in the Great Russian Nutcracker
Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker is in more than 140 cities in the U.S. and Canada, with three simultaneously performing companies, from Nov. 1 through Dec. 30. The Great Russian Nutcracker will be in Chattanooga Christmas Eve Tuesday, Dec. 24, at the Tivoli Theatre for noon and 4 p.m. matinees. Get tickets at www.nutcracker.com/your-city.
Review for the Moscow Ballet's Great Russian Nutcracker:
All the world is on stage in Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker, a holiday tradition across the United States and Canada. Featuring the best traditional and innovative artists on stage and behind the scenes, an international team presents the Moscow Ballet Gift of Christmas Tour. Fanciful flying puppets created in South Africa include the Dove of Peace, the Firebird and the new Peacock, with a tail opening eight feet across to majestically reveal its vibrant colors.
Theatrical designer Valentin Fedorov, prodigy of the Bolshoi Theater’s acclaimed Valery Leventhal, creates the 12-foot-tall dancing Unicorn, Elephant, Bull and Bear puppets. A European style Toy Theatre and rod puppets, which foretell the ballet’s story, were created in Prague, a city with centuries long history of puppetry. From St. Petersburg, the birthplace of Russian ballet, come Moscow Ballet’s period-perfect costumes and hand-painted sets created by Wes Anderson concept designer Carl Sprague.
A Russian Troika Sleigh accompanied by Ded Moroz (Father Christmas) and Snegurochka (Snow Maiden) and a Hurdy Gurdy man, with dancing ballerina as an ornamental touch, are a couple of the finishing touches of the holiday ballet. Three companies of 36 award-winning Russian ballerinas and danseurs each, and Ballet Masters hailing from Moscow, Kyoto and Odessa, combine to create unforgettable performances of the Great Russian Nutcracker. Audiences are invited to share in the international celebration of imagination and harmony this holiday season.
Moscow Ballet – 2019 marks the 27th annual North American tour of Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet and more classic Russian ballets. In many tour cities Moscow Ballet implements its signature Community Engagement programs, “Dance with Us,” “New Horizons – A Children’s Program for Life,” and Musical Wunderkind, engaging American children of all ages and abilities in interactive art experiences. www.moscowballet.com. Principal dancers include Iryna Borysova, recipient of Bronze from Kiev’s International Ballet Competition; Alexandra Elagina noted as “brimful with feeling” by NYTimes Chief Dance Critic Alastair Macaulay; Natalia Gubanova, graduate of the St. Petersburg Vaganova Ballet Academy. Kostyantyn Vinovoy has been named Honored Artist of Ukraine; Rustem Imangaliyev won Best Arabesque at Russia’s International Ballet Competition in Perm.
Talmi Entertainment is the exclusive representation for Moscow Ballet’s North American Tour which occurs annually in more than 130 cities, from NYC to LA, and Miami to Calgary. Under Talmi Entertainment management, Moscow Ballet delivers unparalleled Russian artistry in the classic story ballets Great Russian Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Swan Lake and more. Talmi Entertainment was founded by Akiva Talmi; producer, composer and recipient of the Metropolitan Opera Guild, Richard Rodgers, and Leonard Bernstein Awards. www.talmientertainment.com
The Chinese variation in the Great Russian Nutcracker