Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
The performance of Gala of St. Petersburg’s Ballet Stars ‘Dance Open’ was cleverly tailored for a varied audience – both for esthetes who can’t imagine ballet without masterpieces by Marius Petipa and for admirers of contemporary ballet who prefer the work of choreographers with innovative ideas.
One thing is sure, last Thursday was a special evening for every ballet admirer in Bahrain, with a superb display of all that is unique and special in dancers trained with the Vaganova Academy - named in honour of the renowned pedagogue Agrippina Vaganova, who cultivated the method of classical ballet training that has been taught there since the late 1920s.
This particular method of ballet training is what sets these apart from the rest and graduates of the school include some of the most famous ballet dancers, choreographers and teachers alive today.
It is also is the associate and training school of the Mariinsky Ballet, one of the world’s leading ballet companies the members of which we had the honour of seeing last week. As a ballet lover, a gala does not get better than this!
Many years ago my friend Anna Donald and I spent a wonderful week as guests of the Varganova after raising money for the students during a difficult period for the school. Sitting in a corner of a practice room day in, day out, watching the endless barre and floor work that goes into making a world class dancer was an experience that neither of us has ever forgotten - we still talk about it 25 years on!
So, I was delighted that the opportunity was given to the residents of Bahrain to see such a high level of performance teamed with superb costumes and a wonderful pairing of partners.
St Petersburg Ballet Stars, please grace the floor of the National Theatre in Manama with your strength and beauty again soon.
