State Ballet of Georgia, Nina Ananiashvili to tour Japan

The tour is promoted in Japan as ‘Nina Ananiashvili — Final Classical Gala’. Photo: Nina Ananiashvili - The last classical gala/Facebook.
Agenda.ge, 02 Mar 2017 - 14:34, Tbilisi,Georgia

The State Ballet of Georgia will celebrate its fourth tour of Japan in 10 years as the company’s dancers and artistic director Nina Ananiashvili present nine productions at Tokyo’s prestigious Bunka Kaikan venue later this month.

Based out of the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet State Theatre, the ballet company will hold four shows involving ballet performances in Japan’s capital from March 16-20.

Presented to the local audience as Nina Ananiashvili — Final Classical Gala, the tour will see dancer in four shows while the company is also scheduled to perform in a number of classical and contemporary productions.

The program of the tour will see dancers of the Tbilisi troupe perform in ‘Serenade’ by George Balanchine. Photo: State Ballet of Georgia.

Ananiashvili will feature in selected pas de deux from classical ballets Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and Don Quixote. She will be partnered by principal dancer of the American Ballet Theatre Marcelo Gomes and Alexander Volchkov, a principal at the Bolshoi Theatre of Moscow.

The artist will also appear alongside dancers of the State Ballet of Georgia in the one-act ballet Le Spectre de la rose, originally staged by Mikhail Fokin in 1911.

Performances within the tour will also feature soloists of the Tbilisi-based troupe Nutsa Chekurashvili, Karin Washio, Ekaterine Surmava, Nino Samadashvili, David Ananeli and Frank van Tongeren.

They and the troupe’s corps de ballet will showcase their performing skills in contemporary, neoclassical and classical stagings for the Bunka Kaikan audience.

The company’s dancers will also showcase their skills in ‘Petite Mort’ by Jiri Kylian. Photo: State Ballet of Georgia.

The performances will include contemporary ballet Petite Mort by Czech choreographer Jiri Kylian.

The 2,300-seat venue will host the company in their appearance in Mozartiana and Serenade by legendary 20th century choreographer George Balanchine.

Performances of classical ballets Flower Festival in Genzano by August Bournonville and Thais by Frederick Ashton will complete the company’s bill for the tour.

The shows at Bunka Kaikan will be conducted by People’s Artist of Ukraine Alexei Baklan, who has worked with the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Madrid Symphony Orchestra in Spain and Teatr Wielki in Poland.

The State Ballet of Georgia toured Japan in 2007, 2010 and 2012, presenting shows at venues in Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka and other cities.