Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts Presents Red Star/Red Army Chorus and Dance Ensemble, 3/31

Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College continues its 2011-2012 World Stages series with the Red Star / Red Army Chorus and Dance Ensemble on Saturday, March 31, 2012 at 8pm. Returning to Brooklyn for the first time since 1998, this spectacular company of 70 singers, dancers and musicians has thrilled audiences worldwide for decades with its dazzlingly athletic folk dances and traditional Russian anthems, showcasing the culture and pride of its homeland.

Red Star / Red Army Chorus and Dance Ensemble was founded in January 1977 in Moscow as part of the Strategic Rocket Forces of USSR. Initially, the ensemble was formed for purposes of leisure, performing exclusively for the troops, cultivating homeland pride, and raising the cultural status of soldiers.

Beginning in 1989, the ensemble expanded its artistic horizons to include participation in arts festivals throughout Russia, followed by performances in some of the most prestigious concert halls in Moscow, and eventually international tours to Europe, North America, and the Far East. They have performed at Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center, as well as in concert halls in Philadelphia, Chicago, Dallas, Seattle, St. Louis, Brooklyn, and more than three dozen other U.S. cities. This is the ensemble's fifth trip to the United States, commemorating the 20th Anniversary of their first tour in 1992.

The ensemble's current tour will feature musical selections from their repertoire of more than 200 compositions for chorus, vocal soloists and orchestra, including patriotic anthems, traditional folk tunes, and classical compositions by Russian and international composers. Featured dances will include the Cossacks' Dance, the Ukrainian Hopak Dance, and other traditional folkloric and military pieces.

Red Star / Red Army Chorus and Dance Ensemble will take place on Saturday, March 31, 2012 at 8pm. Tickets are priced at $40 and $30. The show will take place at the Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts, Walt Whitman Theatre at Brooklyn College.