Mariinksy Ballet at the 2011 Lincoln Center Festival

For those who haven’t heard about this, we are so excited to inform you of the Mariinksy (formerly known as Kirov) Ballet’s appearances at this summer’s Lincoln Center Festival! From July 11th-16th you can catch Diana Vishneva, Alina Somova, Yekaterina Kondaurova, Ulyana Lopatkina and all the rest in works by Alexei Ratmansky, Alberto Alonso, and George Balanchine. It’s something I’m going to be sure not to miss.

Stay tuned for details on our very own DIYdancer Ticket Giveaway!

Alina Somova in Ratmansky's "The Little Humpback Horse"

It is difficult to imagine an artistic legacy closer to the heart of the classical ballet tradition than that of the Mariinsky Ballet, which has reclaimed that tsarist title after decades of being known by its Soviet name, the Kirov. In its 250 years of performing first on St. Petersburg stages and then around the world, the Mariinsky has given the world some of the greatest dancers and choreographers in the history of the art. Lincoln Center Festival and the Metropolitan Opera have joined forces in this return of the Mariinsky Ballet for these dazzling performances, their first Festival appearances in nearly a decade.

Artistic director Valery Gergiev, the dramatically imaginative musical interpreter who conducts many of these performances, is a passionate supporter of Russian music, especially the colorful orchestrations of Rodion Shchedrin. That love is eminently evident in this series, which includes Shchedrin’s full-length ballets Anna Karenina and The Little Humpbacked Horse, both choreographed by Alexei Ratmansky, artist in residence at the American Ballet Theatre and a former director of the Bolshoi Ballet.

The acclaimed dancer Diana Vishneva, who The Washington Post recently called “as profoundly moving as I’ve ever seen,” takes center stage. Appearances by other dancers like the up-and-coming stars Yekaterina Kondaurova and Alina Somova and the majestic, glamorous Ulyana Lopatkina (who has “phrasing like an unhurried angel” —Financial Times) make this a not-to-be-missed balletic experience.

http://www.lincolncenterfestival.org/index.php/lcf-2011-mariinsky-ballet