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Bolshoi Ballet HD Casts in Local Theaters

Janos Gereben on August 26, 2014
Yuri Grigorovich at the 2011 reopening of the Bolshoi Theater, with Dmitry Medvedev, who is either president or prime minister of Russia, depending on what Putin is not
Yuri Grigorovich at the 2011 reopening of the Bolshoi Theater, with Dmitry Medvedev, who is either president or prime minister of Russia, depending on what Putin is not

Russia’s celebrated dance company will be seen with more works, in a wider selection of U.S. theaters than ever before. Of seven programs from the Bolshoi Ballet’s 2014–2015 season will be screened live productions of Sunday matinees, captured earlier the same day from Moscow.

With only one exception, all choreography in the series is by Yury Nikolayevich Grigorovich, 87, a Soviet and Russian dancer and choreographer, who dominated the Russian ballet for 30 years. Grigorovich was born into a family connected with the Imperial Russian Ballet. From the iconic The Stone Flower on, Grigorovich always collaborated with designer Simon Virsaladze.

The live productions in this series include:

  • The Legend of Love, one of Grigorovich’s earliest choreographies, to music by Arif Melikov on Sunday, Oct. 26
  • The Nutcracker, danced in the Grigorovich version, on Sunday, Dec. 21
  • Svetlana Zakharova in the Bolshoi's La Bayadere," with fellow principal dancers Maria Alexandrova, Dmitry Belogolovtsev and Alexander Fadeyechev.
    Svetlana Zakharova in the Bolshoi's La Bayadere, with fellow principal dancers Maria Alexandrova, Dmitry Belogolovtsev and Alexander Fadeyechev.
  • Swan Lake, Grigorovich, on Sunday, Jan. 25.
  • Grigorovich's Romeo and Juliet, previously recorded, will be exhibited as a part of the cinema series on Sunday, March 8.

Other HD casts include Pierre Lacotte's The Pharaoh's Daughter, to Cesare Pugni's music, on Nov. 23; the Petipa-Grigorovich La Bayadere, to Ludwig Mankus' music, on Dec. 7; the Grigorovich-Prokofiev Ivan the Terrible, on Apr. 19.

Participating Bay Area theaters include:

Century 9 San Francisco Centre
Daly City 20
Bay Street 16
Pleasant Hill Downtown 16
Mountain View Cinemas 16
Century Pacific Commons
Century Silverado
Hacienda Crossings 20 Plus Imax
Cupertino 16