Grand Prix

To celebrate the 110th anniversary of George Balanchine’s birth, the Mikhailovsky Theatre and the Open World Dance Foundation, with the support of BBR Bank, present the students of the Vaganova Ballet Academy in George Balanchine’s one-act ballet Raymonda Variations set to music by Alexander Glazunov.

The Open World Dance Foundation was established in early 2011 by the ballerina Ekaterina Chtchelkanova, a graduate of the Vaganova Academy and a recent soloist with American Ballet Theatre. The foundation’s central purpose is to promote the Russian school of ballet abroad and to develop creative potential in orphaned children.

Raymonda Variations is a one-act ballet by George Balanchine, inspired by the music of Alexander Glazunov. The choreographer considered the music of Raymonda to be “some of the finest ballet music we have” and used excerpts from the score for his own staging. “The music itself, its grand and generous manner, its joy and playfulness, was for me more than enough to carry the plot of the dances,” wrote Balanchine about his composition. Raymonda Variations was first performed in Russia during The New York City Ballet’s legendary tour in 1962 and after half a century, it has now returned. By the initiative of Ekaterina Chtchelkanova, the President of Open World Dance Foundation, for the first time in history a piece by the great choreographer will be performed by the students of his alma mater, the school, from here his ascent to ballet Olympus began. This is an important event not only for the Academy, but also for the Balanchine Foundation, overseeing all the productions by the choreographer.

The students of the Vaganova Ballet Academy will also perform Dance School, a fragment from The Conservatory, the legendary ballet by August Bournonville.