Festival of Russian Ballet

The Imperial Russian Ballet Company returns to Wellington this November to perform for you “A Festival of Russian Ballet”.

A Festival of Russian Ballet will entertain you with a diverse and stunning programme in three awe-inspiring acts.

Act One – Don Quixote
Don Quixote was first performed in Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre in 1869. Since then it has been performed all over the world by Russian and International companies. Former Bolshoi soloist and head of the Imperial Russian Ballet Company, Gediminas Taranda, has taken the four acts of the original ballet with its gradual evolution and transformed it into one impetuous act.

Act Two – Bolero
Bolero is a striking and dramatic ballet. Ravel was inspired to create this masterpiece after visiting a large industrial factory. There he noticed the slow regular movement of the assembly lines and the crash of machine and materials. Bolero is regarded as one of the world’s music masterpieces.

Act Three – Highlights from the world’s great ballets including Giselle, Carmen, The Dying Swan and Le Corsaire. Also in Act Three, Gopak and Ne Me Quittes Pas, Can Can Surprise

The Imperial Russian Ballet Company have performed this three-hour ballet extravaganza all around the world, thrilling audiences and impressing critics.

Richard Mays writing in The Evening Standard wrote: “Ballet virtuosity stuns audience - An astounding and exhilarating three-hour programme brought most ballet fans to their feet last night. Perhaps the few who remained seated were simply stunned by excess, as this touring ballet treasure trove heaped pleasure upon delight, capping virtuosity with even more outstanding steps, leaps and turns.”