Vladimir Vasiliev, choreographer of Cinderella, is one of the ballet world’s most important leaders.  As a star of the Bolshoi Ballet and international soloist, he set the standard for extraordinary male dancing in the 20th century.  During his tenure as General Director of the Bolshoi Theatre he transformed the organization from an insular Soviet institution into one of the world’s leaders of international culture.  He is unparalleled as a choreographer, director, teacher, scholar, and leader in the world of ballet.  Click for Detailed Bio

In 1991 Vasiliev first staged Cinderella, with costumes by Gerard Pitar from Nina Ricci, for the Kremlin Ballet.  That production toured to Paris, Italy and Greece, and was set on the Cheliabinsk Opera in 2002.  Never satisfied, Vasiliev is creating a whole new production, with new choreography, direction, costume and scenic design, and a revised libretto, for the Voronezh State Theatre of Opera and Ballet, touring as the State Ballet Theatre of Russia.  It’s set to premiere in Voronezh July 15, 2006. 

 
 

The 2006-2007 season marks the debut North American performances of The State Ballet Theatre of Russia, which is the touring name of the The Voronezh State Theatre of Opera and Ballet, established in 1961.

The Director of the Voronezh State Theatre of Opera and Ballet is Honored Artist of Russia Igor Nepomnyashchy.  The artistic director of the ballet since the early 1990’s, is People’s artist of Russia Nabilya Valitova.

Voronezh was founded in 1585 by Tsar Feodor I, as a fortress protecting the Russian state from the raids of Crimean and Nogay Tatars.  It is a large city in the south of Central Russia, not far from Ukraine.  Settlements were present in Voronezh since the Stone Age. As the name Voronezh is very old, its exact meaning is unknown.

Many famous people were born in Voronezh including poets and writers Platonov, Koltsov, Bunin, Nikitin, Marshak, Troepolskii; painters Kramskoi, Ge, Kuprin, the physicist Cherenkov; gymnasts Davydova, Tkachyov and the anarchist Voline. 

The repertoire of the theatre includes work by both classical and modern Russian composers including: Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, The Nutcracker, Giselle, Don Quixote, Le Sylphide, Scheherazade, Gavalry Halt, The Stone Flower, 1001 Nights, Carmen-suite, Cipollino, Doctor Aubolit, Francesca di Rimini and The Fountain of Bakhchisarai. 

Numerous distinguished students of the famous Voronezh Choreographic College have immediately joined the State Ballet Theatre of Russia immediately upon their graduation. Alumni of the Voronezh Choreographic College include such well-known choreographers as Ter-Stepanova, E.Aksenova (Moscow), O.Ignatyev (St.-Petersburg), N.Nazirova (Azerbaijan), S.Sheina, V.Petchersky (St.-Petersburg) worked in Voronezh.

At the end of the 1960s and in the beginning of the 1970s the playbill contained Per Gynt by E.Grieg, Giselle and Le Corsaire by Adan, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky, Romeo and Juliet by Prokofiev, Young Lady and Hooligan by Shostakovich.

During the 1970s the works of modern composers were widely represented:  A.Khachaturyan’s Gayane, E.Lazarev’s Antony and Cleopatre, R.Shchedrin’s Carmen-suite, Mischievous Chastooshki, A.Petrov’s Adam and Eve, A.Crein Laurensia and ballet classics such as A.Glazunov’s Raymonda, and L.Gerold’s Vain Precaution.

The State Ballet Theatre of Russia has toured with productions of traditional Russian classics throughout France, (performing Sleeping Beauty in 38 cities), Germany, Holland and Czechoslovakia, as well as in India and throughout Africa with engagements in Tunisia, Zimbabwe, and Ethiopia.

Among the company’s 54 dancers are many distinguished Russian artists and winners of many international ballet competitions including: 

Tatyana Frolova - People’s Artist of Russia, Mikhail Negrobov, Vladislav Ivanov, Piotr Popov - Honored Artists of Russia; Denis Kaganer; Dina Bolotova, Julia Korneva, Svetlana Noskova; Anna Belyustova, Alexandra Alimova, Julia Plonish, Alexander Ivliev - and Marina Leonkina - Laureate of international competitions in Moscow, Paris, Varna. Click for Dancer Bios. 

These leading dancers have represented the art of Russian Ballet in the USA, Germany, Hungary, Spain, Italy, France, Poland, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Vietnam, India, Cyprus, Malta, Japan, and several countries in Africa.