STARS OF THE BOLSHOI BALLET
The Bolshoi Ballet, which has an enormous roster of dancers of breathtaking quality, frequently sends on tour smallish complements of dancers headed by one or two of its world-famous stars. This tour, headed by ballerina Natalya Bessmertnova and several other principals, was planned along the same lines but with a boost from glasnost.
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When the 30-member troupe arrived in Chicago, they discovered that their sets, costumes, and toe shoes were still languishing somewhere in Moscow. Chicago and Milwaukee ballet people supplied costumes, seamstresses, and sewing machines, and happily the custom-made toe shoes arrived in time.
The duet from Spartacus remains a moving expression of doomed love and life, while the sculptured patterns of Gliere Adagio, choreographed by Lapauri, demonstrates the Bolshoi’s own form of neoclassicism. Taken out of context, Fokine’s waltz in C sharp from Les sylphides is still a pretty variation, but it cannot create the romantic atmosphere of the complete ballet.
The program was, in many ways, a calling-card performance, reintroducing its extraordinary dancers to a new American generation. Now that the acquaintance has been renewed, let’s hope that next time we get the full Bolshoi treatment of their legendary masterpieces–a good-sized roster of dancers, complete costumes and sets, and a conductor and orchestra in the pit.
