Swan Lake was composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875-76. The scenario, initially in four acts, was fashioned from Russian folk tales and tells the story of Odette, a beautiful princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse.
The Russian National Ballet Theatre was founded in Moscow during the transitional period of Perestroika in the late 1980s, when many of the great dancers and choreographers of the Soviet Union's ballet institutions were exercising their new-found creative freedom by starting new, vibrant companies dedicated not only to the timeless tradition of classical Russian Ballet but to invigorate this tradition as the Russians began to accept new developments in the dance from around the world.
Legendary Bolshoi principal dancer Elena Radchenko is the founder of the Russian National Ballet Theatre, and she has focused the Company on upholding the grand national tradition of the major Russian ballet works and developing new talents throughout Russia, with a repertory of virtually all of the full works of the great French ballet teacher, dancer and choreographer, Marius Petipa.
Today, the Russian National Ballet Theatre is its own institution, with over 50 dancers of singular instruction and vast experience, many of whom have been with the company since its inception. In addition to their upcoming tour, beginning in January 2011 the company will embark upon a 4-month coast-to-coast tour of the United States.
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