Today's Edition
TAARIQ HALIM (ABU DHABI)
Ballet fans young and old are spoilt for choice this weekend with the staging of two concerts in Abu Dhabi.
This Friday, June 12, the Cultural Foundation celebrates the “100th Anniversary of Maya Plisetskaya” – a gala ballet concert tribute to one of the greatest ballerinas of the 20th century.
And on Saturday, the Cultural Foundation plays host to “The Magic of Ballet Fairy Tales”, a family-friendly stage production that blends music, dance and storytelling.
100th Anniversary of Maya Plisetskaya
Known by her peers as the “First Lady of Dance”, Plisetskaya represented a rare example of extraordinary artistic longevity, performing on stage for nearly six decades and leaving behind a remarkable legacy in both Russian and world culture. Her work came to define an entire era in the history of ballet.
Friday evening’s programme will feature renowned works from Plisetskaya’s repertoire that have become part of the world ballet heritage, including “Carmen Suite”, “The Dying Swan” and “Don Quixote”, as well as excerpts from “Swan Lake”, “Sleeping Beauty”, “The Stone Flower”, “Spartacus, Raymonda”, “Walpurgis Night”, “Shurale”, “Laurencia”, and the choreographic miniature “Melody from the opera Orpheus and Eurydice”.
The gala concert will feature leading soloists from Russia’s most prestigious ballet theatres, including artists from the Bolshoi Theatre, the Mariinsky Theatre, the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Music Theatre, the Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theatre, as well as other leading Russian theatres. Their artistry, technical excellence and stage presence embody the finest traditions of Russian ballet.
Plisetskaya (1925–2015) was a legendary Soviet era and Russian prima ballerina, who served as a principal dancer for Moscow’s Bolshoi Ballet for nearly five decades. She was renowned for her technical virtuosity, expressive arm movements, high leaps and acting prowess.
Plisetskaya’s signature roles include Odette-Odile in “Swan Lake”, which she performed over 800 times, Kitri in “Don Quixote” and Aurora in “The Sleeping Beauty”.
Her pièce de résistance was her performance of “The Dying Swan”, a short solo that she famously continued performing well into her sixties and seventies.
Beyond dancing, she choreographed her own ballets –such as Anna Karenina (1972) – and later served as artistic director for the Rome Opera Ballet and the Spanish National Dance Company.
The Magic of Ballet Fairy Tales
A showcase of favourite scenes from “The Nutcracker” and “Sleeping Beauty”, the performance introduces children and families to the beauty of classical ballet through familiar fairy tale characters and Tchaikovsky’s music.
Audiences will enjoy appearances from Little Red Riding Hood, Puss in Boots and the White Cat in a colourful and engaging production designed for all ages.
The show is performed by leading soloists from the Bolshoi Theatre, Mariinsky Theatre and other renowned ballet companies.
