International Russian Ballet Festival

First Gala dedicated to the Russian ballet History

Never have you enjoyed such a wonderful show in which the best classical dancers coming from all over the world will be performing!

Only after sitting on your seat you will realize how amazing the show is going to be. Rarely can the audience attend a show like this!

All you need is relax and  keep your eyes well-opened!

The Gala:

Here the judges will choose who is going to receive the seventh crystal awards. The dancers will be judged on Classical extracts , Spanish flamenco, Neoclassical dance and Contemporary dance.

I do hope you'll like the competition! and you will appreciate the high competence of our judges.

Who is going to win the competition, we don't know; but having a little suspense it's just right.

Let's say something about the Russian ballet, particularly referring to the 20th Century:

As the new century began, people started to look for fresh ideas. By now the Russian ballet had surpassed the French ballet and many Russian dancers had become international stars. Actually the most notable "ballerina" of that time was Anna Pavlova, (1881-1931), who is known for dancing The Dying Swan. 

The Ballets Russes was a ballet company set up in 1909 by Serge Diaghilev. The company created an excitement in Western Europe because of the great vitality of Russian ballet compared to the French one. "Ballet Russes" became one of the most influential ballet companies of the 20th century, in part because of its artistic cooperation among contemporary choreographers, artists and dancers. 

The last major production of the Ballet Russes was in Paris in 1921 with "The Sleeping Beauty", which had bring back the European audience's interest in the evening-length ballet.

Let's explore the world of Latin dance and how they were born!

SALSA ..... CUBA (Cuban Salsa)

Hispanic communities have been characterized for years by it, and nowadays Salsa remains the most popular style of dance and music.  Salsa has been originated in Eastern Cuba early in the 1900's. There, Spanish and Afro-Cuban musical elements were combined, both in terms of rhythm and the instruments used.

PUERTO RICO (Puerto Rican Salsa)

Puerto rican people had settled in the US, especially in New York; in that environment Salsa completed its development. In "El Barrio" bands were formed and immigrants continued making Afro-Caribbean music. The peack of Salsa was reached in the 50s and 60s. 

RUMBA... CUBA 

Rumba is known to be that kind of dance in which dancers emphasize the movement of their body rather than that of feet. Like many Latin dances, rumba developed gradually in Cuba. Rumba is known to have a very slow rhythm, indeed it is known to be the second slowest of the Latin dance only after Bolero.

MERENGUE....DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

   Merengue is the national dance of the Dominican Republic. This dance was developed in the early 1900’s. The dance rhythm is quick-quick-quick-quick. It is the only dance that doesn’t have a mixture of “quicks” and “slows”.

In the basic movement of Merengue, one leg is dragged slightly. A couple of legends were narrated about why this is so.  One is that during one of the revolutions in the Dominican Republic, a great hero was wounded in the leg. He came home to a celebration in his honor. When the villagers danced at the celebration, they all limped and dragged one leg as a gesture of sympathy for him.

BACHATA....DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

  The first Bachata was recorded in 1961 by José Manuel Calderón.  But  subsequntly, Bachata began to be associated with the world of prostitution, crime, and delinquency.  

In its current form, Bachata is listened throughout the Latin America, and is particularly popular in New York and Italy today.

SAMBA....BRAZIL

The roots of  Samba are African, but most of the development of this dance were done in Brazil.   Samba was originally known as a street festival.  A Broadway play, called "Street Carnival" introduced  it to the US in the late 20s, and Samba became known all around Europe, that  was really captured by it.