Kirov and The Bolshoi Ballet Company are world-class companies in the world of ballet. Moscow and Saint Petersburg have been friendly rivals in the world of dance and performing arts for some three centuries. The two cities mentioned also have magnificent theaters to represent their works.
The St. Petersburg ballet company is Maryinsky. The Maryinsky has always been influenced by the refinement and elegance of the French. The Bolshoi Ballet Company resides in Moscow and its name means ‘Great’. The Bolshoi dances with drama, conviction and passion. The Bolshoi’s men are renowned for their power, and sometimes the troupe sacrifices technical form for greater dramatic effect. The Maryinsky, on the other hand, maintains his technical purity and precision, and is known for his incomparable body that works together so perfectly that they could all have one mind.
During the Russian Revolution, shortages and hard times brought with them a creative energy unusual in traditional ballet dancing. It was during this time that the first daring acrobatic lifts were formed that later became the hallmark of the Soviet style. Unfortunately, during this time, Russia also lost many of its talented artists to other countries, because the government was very rigid.
In the 1930s, the Maryinsky was renamed the Kirov after a murdered Communist Party official. Romeo and Juliet was one of the great ballets of its time and still forms the basis for many Western productions. Legendary ballerinas of this time included Alla Osipenko, Marina Semyonova, Galina Ulanova, Natalia Dudinskaya, and Irina Kolpakova.
Today Leningrad is again Saint Petersburg and the Kirov is again the Maryinsky. He is still often called Kirov during the familiarity tour.
The Bolshoi Theater was founded in 1776, when Catherine the Great supported ballet training for orphans. During the Soviet era, government censors made it difficult for choreographers to fully explore ballet dance, and story lines had to be politically correct. For a while, even Swan Lake had to have a happy ending.
The Bolshoi first visited the United States in 1959 and was soon followed by the Kirov. They thrilled the American public. The public appreciated the technique and style of the Russians and also their willingness to repeat the crowd pleasers. If a solo or excerpt generated huge applause, they simply repeated the entire sequence again. When Plisetskaya repeated The Dying Swan, she would even die differently the second time.
For more ballet food visit http://balletdancing4U.blogspot.com