Gala with International Ballet Stars during Sochi Culture Olympics 2014
February 8 2014 Sochi, Winter Theater |
Olympic Sochi welcomed famous guests from the UK on stage of the Winter Theatre where a grand Gala featuring a principal dancer with the Royal Opera House (Matthew Golding) and the soloists with the English National Ballet (Yonah Acosta and Zdenek Konvalina) was held.
It was not only a symbolic torch passed from Olympic London to Sochi, but also one of the first events of the Bilateral UK-Russia Year of Culture.
There is no doubt that the Russian participants of the Gala are also very well-known overseas - gorgeous Ulyana Lopatkina who has been called “divine” by the international mass media, Denis Matvienko, “a virtuoso with impossible dramatic charm”, Irina Perren, “a personified poem of dance”, Marat Shemiunov, “a king of classical support”, Kristina Kretova, “a breakthrough of 2013” Denis Medvedev with his phenomenal technique; exquisite Anastasia Kolegova and artistic Igor Kolb, noble Danila Korsuntsev and masculine Mikhail Lobukhin, delicate Anastasia Stashkevich and bright Anna Tikhomirova – no accidental name on the list.
The program of the Gala was diverse and included eternal classical pieces as well as expressive modern choreography.
The gorgeous duet of Irina Perren and Marat Shemiunov (principal dancers with the Mikhailovsky Theatre) performed the magnetic adagio from Spartacus. The famous scene of the slave kneeling down before the beautiful captive (pas d’esclave from the Le Corsair) was performed by Anna Tikhomirova (Bolshoi Theatre) and Denis Matvienko (Mariinsky Theatre).
In addition to that, the programme of the Gala included several national dances: the Russian Dance performed by splendid Ulyana Lopatkina, a principal dancer with Mariinsky Theatre, energetic gopak from Taras Bulba performed by Denis Medvedev, a soloist of Bolshoi Theatre, Greek Dance by Zdenek Konvalina, a principal dancer with English National Ballet and bright Tarantella by Anna Tikhomirova and Denis Medvedev.
A virtuoso pas de deux from Esmeralda by the international duo of Jonah Acosta (English National Ballet) and Anastasia Stashkevich (Bolshoi Theatre) captivated the audience. The Farewell (Irina Perren and Marat Shemiunov) and Je suismalade (Igor Kolb and Irina Perren) were a real gift to admirers of contemporary choreography.
There is no doubt that the International Gala will be remembered for being diverse and emotional and for representing the best artists and ballet pieces from all over the world. The concert was executed by OASIS JSC in cooperation with the DANCE OPEN International Ballet Festival with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation.