Moscow Ballet on its third visit to Majorca

THE Moscow Ballet has returned to Majorca to perform Swan Lake and The Nutcracker, two classical works composed by Tchaikovski.
The first of the three performances took place yesterday in the Theatre of Arta and the last two can be seen today and tomorrow in the Palma Auditorium. This small tour of the island was presented yesterday by Pepe Giner, the producer, and Marina Levochkina, a ballerina with the company from 1996 to 2002 who now works as a producer's assistant. Giner said that yesterday the company, who are visiting Majorca for the third time, performed The Nutcracker, “a lovely Christmas tale which we always perform at this time of year”. They will also be performing this today. Tomorrow, it will be Swan Lake, a ballet in three acts which tells the tale of the love of Odette and Prince Siegfried.
Marina Levochkina remarked that the shows were based on the original choreography, which dates back to the end of the 19th century, because the company were trying to “show maximum respect for classical ballet and keep its splendour”. The ballerina confirmed that the end of the Soviet Union had not affected the quality of Russian ballet because “there were great schools with very good teachers which remained open”. She also said that ballet was becoming more popular in her country. Anastasia Chumakova and Nicolai Oliunin, who are doing their first tour with the company and who won the prize for the two best young ballet dancers in Russia, will be the soloists in the performances, appearing with 30 other dancers. The Moscow Ballet, founded in 1989 by the Soviet ballet dancer and choreographer Timur Fayziev, is one of the most well known private Russian companies and is formed by artistes from different ballet companies like the Bolshoi and the Stanislavsky. Since its foundation the company has given more than a thousand performances. In 1991 it was chosen by Rudolf Nureyev for his last performances in Europe.