Tbilisi Ballet Festival to bring Georgian, foreign companies, stars to capital

Dancers recognised all over the world will take to the stage in Georgia’s capital alongside acclaimed contemporary troupes to delight viewers within the second edition of Tbilisi Ballet Festival next month.

The Nederlands Dans Theater 2 company, a younger complement to the renowned Nederlands Dans Theater, will again bring choreography by some of the most sought-after ballet masters to the festival.

Comprised of young dancers often being cast in avant-garde works, the group will bring to Tbilisi five productions by Sol Leon, Paul Lightfoot, Marco Goecke and Hans van Manen.

Considered some of the most sought-after choreographers around the world, they have created an array of stagings for the Hague-based troupe.

From their creations, the ballets Sad Case, Subtle Dust, Wir sagen uns Dunkles, Midnight Raga and Short Cut will be introduced to theatre-goers in the capital.

Italy’s SpellBound Contemporary Ballet will be involved in the festival’s week-long program with Formami and Rossini Ouvertures — "[the troupe’s] way of paying tribute to this wonderful artist” — choreographed by their founder Mauro Astolfi.

Widely celebrated in Italy, SpellBound will mark a quarter century since their founding next year.

The third group showcasing its talents to visitors of the festival will be the State Ballet of Georgia, the country’s principal classical dance collective.

With the festival hosted at their home venue, the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet State Theatre, artists of the company will be at home turf to present their performances.

They will open the celebration on June 23 with two works from Medhi Walerski, former NDT dancer turned choreographer praised by The Globe and Mail as creative "who makes clear, theatrical choices and seems deeply invested in conceptual coherence”.

SpellBound company dancers perform ‘Rossini Ouvertures’. Photo: Cristiano Castaldi/SpellBound Contemporary Ballet.

A premiere of a new piece by the in-demand choreographer will be accompanied with a performance of Petite Ceremonie, staged at the State Ballet of Georgia in recent years.

The Tbilisi-based troupe will also showcase their classical legacy by dancing Romeo and Juliet by Sergei Prokofiev in a follow-up bill.

The company’s artistic director and famed dancer Nina Ananiashvili will be partnered by former American Ballet Theatre principal Marcelo Gomes for the solo parts in the show.

Gomes will also be joined by six other soloists in the closing gala of the festival on July 1. The performance of Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty will feature Nutsa Chekurashvili, Nino Samadashvili, Ekaterine Surmava and Ruika Yokoyama from the State Ballet of Georgia, while the Opera National de Paris troupe will be represented by Amandine Albisson and Jeremy-Loup Quer.

Launched in 2017, the Tbilisi Ballet Festival was founded on an initiative by Ananiashvili, who said the idea of the festival was to host select foreign dance companies as well as individual artists from international troupes every year.

The festival also seeks to present productions from annual performance seasons of the State Ballet of Georgia.