Moscow Ballet debuts principal dancer Alexandra Elagina and partner Anatolie Ustimov on the east coast tour of the Great Russian Nutcracker. Alexandra Elagina, considered to be an up and coming ballerina, is a soloist at Tatar’s Jalil State Academic Theater of Opera and Ballet, home to one of the best troupes performing in Russia today. Anatolie Ustimov danced with Moscow Ballet’s 2009 tour and returns this year in the lead role. The State Theatre of Opera and Ballet of Moldova’s artistic director says, “… in our company we have several promising youngsters like Cristina and Alexei Terentiev, (2008 IBC Gold Medalists and principals on the 2010 MB West Coast tour) and,.. Anatolie Ustimov.” The east coast tour also includes Special Guests Sergey Chumakov and Elena Petrachenko in the Arabian variation. The couple is known for their dare-devil moves combining the line and beauty of ballet with the showmanship of the circus. Moscow Ballet’s North American east coast tour performs the Great Russian Nutcracker at Cleveland’s Masonic Auditorium on Friday Dec 17, 8:30pm; Rosemont/Chicago’s Rosemont Theatre on Saturday Dec 18 at 3:00pm; and at Detroit’s Fox Theatre Sunday, Dec 19 at 3:00pm. The eastern tour continues to more than 30 cities ending in St Petersburg, FL on December 28. Visit www.nutcracker.com for tickets and more information. Alexandra Elagina and Anatolie Ustimov replace previously announced east coast soloists Cristina and Alexei Terentiev who are on the west coast tour.
Alexandra Elagina makes her North American debut as Masha(Clara) in the Great Russian Nutcracker. She hails from Kazan, the sixth largest city in Russia and called the “third capital of Russia.” Elagina graduated from the Kazan Ballet Academy in 2006 in the class of teacher I. Khakimova, the People’s Artist of Tatarstan and Honorable Artist of the Russian Federation. Immediately after graduation she was accepted as a soloist to Tatar’s Jalil State Academic Theater of Opera and Ballet which is considered to be one of the best troupes performing in Russia. Elagina made her performing debut as the Fairy of Tenderness in Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty. Her repertory includes Fairy, Blue Bird, Cat in Sleeping Beauty; Snow White in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs; Masha, Doll and Pas de Trois in the Nutcracker; Trio from La Corsaire; Pas de Trois and Little Swan in Swan Lake; Nikia, Pas de Trois, Pas d’Action in La Bayadere; Phrygia in Spartacus; Solveig in Peer Gynt; Suimbike in Shurale and others. Elagina has toured France, Germany, Switzerland and Holland. Moscow Ballet is proud to premiere this talented, newcomer to the international ballet scene.
Anatolie Ustimov hails from Chisinau, the capitol of Moldova, a republic of the former Soviet Union. He graduated with honors from the State Academic Choreographic School of Moldova in 2001, and has been principal artist with the State Theater of Opera and Ballet of Moldova since 2000. At just 27 years old, Ustimov is the archetypal male Russian dancer. He already boasts such significant ballet repertoire as Siegfried in Swan Lake, Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, the Bluebird pas de deux in Sleeping Beauty, Albrecht in Giselle, and many more. The State Theatre of Opera and Ballet of Moldova is known for performing modern ballets as well as the classics. Ustimov is a Laureate of the 2009 Moscow International Ballet Competitions (IBC). He has been in Moscow Ballet productions since 2009 dancing the Spanish variation among other roles. He is greatly honored to dance as the Nutcracker Prince and to partner the talented Alexandra Egalina in Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker of 2010.
Special Guests Sergey Chumakov and Elena Petrachenko dance the Arabian variation in the Great Russian Nutcracker this season. Chumakov and Petrichenko first danced with Moscow Ballet in 1994 when Moscow Ballet and the Moscow State Academic Children’s Music Theater Named after Natalia Sats, (The world’s first professional theater for children and perhaps best known internationally as the birthplace of Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf) toured the Great Russian Nutcracker with a troupe of 100. Since 2001 they have been principal dancers with the Crown of Russia Ballet performing leading roles in Swan Lake, Don Quixote, Sleeping Beauty, Pachita, Nutcracker, and more. They are principal dancers with the Magdeburg Opera and Ballet Theatre in Germany dancing classical and modern repertoire and with the Russian Theatre in Berlin. They also perform as adage dancers for Las Vegas productions on Carnival Cruise Lines. Their earliest work was with the Moscow State Ballet Company, Bolshoi Theatre; as principal dancers with the Classic and Modern Choreography Theatre, Moscow; with Russian Classical Ballet Theatre; the Classical and Modern Choreography Theatre; and the Russian Ballet of the 21st Century. Chumakov and Petrichenko are graduates of the State Academic Choreography Institute in Perm, Russia majoring in the Classical Choreography Section. They have traveled and worked in countries including USA, Canada, Spain, England, Norway, Germany, Argentina, Ireland, Qatar, Malta, Israel, Mexico, and Jordan.
Ballet Master Andrei Litvinov is on his inaugural Moscow Ballet East Coast tour as Ballet Master in 2010. Litvinov danced the archetypal Soviet Prince roles and led the Chisinau State Opera and Ballet in most of the leading roles of the Russian Classics including Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet, Spartacus and more. He was Director of the National Opera and Ballet Theatre of Moldova and an Honored Artist of the Moldova Republic. He graduated from the Moscow Academic Choreographic College, known informally as the “Bolshoi School” in 1982; the Chisinau Choreographic College in 1986 and the Academy of Music, Theater and Fine Arts in 2003. He is a Laureate of the International Ballet Competition in Romania, 1996; Yuri Grigorovich IBC, 2000; Danovsky IBC, and the Diagelev Prize. He has toured the USA, Germany, Italy, Greece, England, Spain, and Egypt. The Moscow Ballet is proud to again be working with Mr. Litvinov.
Tickets – are now on sale for Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker and start at $27.50. Buy online at www.nutcracker.com or call Ticketmaster 800.745.3000 and ask for a performance near you. For a truly special Christmas experience Moscow Ballet introduces its Platinum Seating and Gift promotion. Platinum ticket buyers receive a limited-edition, giclee print created by contemporary Russian masters from the St. Petersburg Academy of Art. Platinum Seating includes the best, centered seats, a Meet and Greet with Moscow Ballet soloist, preferred parking and a Platinum Member’s Benefit Card for purchases at www.nutcracker.com. Only seven pairs of platinum tickets per performance are available.
East Tour – Great Russian Nutcracker
Rochester NY 12/7
Bethesda MD 12/8-9
*Somerville NJ 12/10
Baltimore MD 12/11-12
Charlottesville VA 12/13-14
Virginia Beach VA 12/15-16
Cleveland OH 12/17
Rosemont IL 12/18
Detroit MI 12/19
*Ashland KY 12/20
Asheville NC 12/21
Durham NC 12/22
N Charleston SC 12/23
Sarasota FL 12/26
Lakeland FL 12/27
St Petersburg FL 12/28-29
*tickets not available through www.nutcracker.com