Greenwood-Lander Performing Arts will present The Moscow Festival Ballet in Sleeping Beauty on Tuesday, March 13, at 7:30 p.m., in the Josephine B. Abney Cultural Center Auditorium.
Direct from Moscow, the company will present the full-length ballet in three acts about one of the most familiar fairy tales of all time set to Tchaikovsky's unforgettable music.
The Moscow Festival Ballet was founded in 1989 by legendary principal dancer of the Bolshoi Ballet, Sergei Radchenko. He sought to realize his vision of a company that would bring together the highest classical elements of the great Bolshoi and Kirov ballet companies in an independent new company within the framework of Russian classic ballet.
The company specializes in 20th century full-length ballets and has toured throughout the United States and around the world. Under Radchenko's direction, leading dancers from across the Russias have forged an exciting new company staging productions of timeless classics such as Giselle, Don Quixote, Paquita, Carmen and Sleeping Beauty.
Sleeping Beauty is often considered the finest achievement of the classical ballet. It is a grandiose and refined blending of the traditional mime, expressive pas d'action and spectacular divertissements in a lavish theatrical setting. Tchaikovsky was delighted with the invitation to write the music for a ballet based on Charles Perrault's well-known fairy tale.
The story, replete with a king and queen, fairies both good and evil, a beautiful princess and dream prince, magical stage effects, and courtly splendor, promises to be an evening to remember.
A reviewer from The Post and Courier of Charleston wrote of the production, "The dancers of the Moscow Festival Ballet spoke to the soul through the body..."
Executive director Cecily Morris thanked Davis & Floyd, Inc. of Greenwood for its support as the corporate sponsor of this outstanding GLPA production. She also expressed appreciation to the S.C. Arts Commission, the National Endowment for the Arts and Lander University for their continuing support.
Tickets may be obtained by calling Greenwood-Lander Performing Arts at 864-388-8326. Prices are $40 for adults and $20 for youth ages 18 and under