164th ballet season launches in Tbilisi with premiere of famous production

Ballet enthusiasts in capital Tbilisi will be treated to the Georgian premiere of the famous neoclassical ballet Symphony in C tonight in an evening celebrating the beginning of the new ballet season for the State Ballet of Georgia.

This evening one of the most recognised ballets by famous 20thCentury choreographer George Balanchine will be performed alongside Serenade, another of his works, at the Tbilisi Concert Hall in Tbilisi to mark the opening of the 164thballet season for the local dance company.

The show will also feature a second Tbilisi premiere; guests will enjoy the maiden performance of the 19th Century one-act classic Le Spectre de la rose by Russian choreographer Michel Fokine. This performance will feature the company’s artistic director and world-famous dancer Nina Ananiashvili, partnered by the company’s soloist Yonen Takano.

Symphony in C is set to become the 12th Balanchine ballet in the company’s repertoire. The legendary choreographer’s works are coveted by dance companies across the world for their demands on dancing technique and strict focus on music and movement.

The ballet – initially titled Le Palais de Cristal – was first choreographed for Paris Opera in 1947. Its musical score by French composer Georges Bizet was considered missing until discovered in the Paris Conservatory Library in 1933.

State Ballet of Georgia artistic director Nina Ananiashvili, The Balanchine Trust ballet master Ben Huys and dancers of the company met members of the supporting Friends of the Georgian Ballet organisation ahead of the new ballet season. Photo by State Ballet of Georgia/Facebook.

The ballet’s staging in Tbilisi was made possible after ballet master Ben Huys travelled from The Balanchine Trust in the United States (US) to mentor the Georgian troupe’s dancers through their learning of the new piece. While here he also spoke about the piece to the Georgian Public Broadcasting Channel 1.

Symphony in C is distinctive for both its beauty and difficulty, and thus requires a lot of work from dancers,” Huys told reporters.

The Georgian ballet company has collaborated with The Balanchine Trust since Ananiashvili took the helm of the troupe in 2004. The US-based organisation grants the relevant licenses and oversees adherence to the choreographer’s style and technique at theatres looking to stage his works.

Tonight the season will be opened by the company at the Concert Hall while its own venue - the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet State Theatre - is still under renovation. However the State Ballet of Geortgia did have access to the renovated rehearsal studio of the partially-opened theatre.

Earlier the troupe held its first rehearsal in the new studio alongside the Opera and Ballet Theatre Orchestra, led by conductor David Mukeria, who will also direct them at the premiere evening.