Russian National Ballet Theatre to Perform at Harris Center, 2/3-5

Over a span of three days the Russian National Ballet Theatre continues its mission of presenting major Russian ballets by performing the following classics, Giselle, Chopiniana, Romeo and Juliet and Don Quixote, at Harris Center for the Arts in Folsom.

The Washington Post declares that the Russian National Theatre "is a cut above many of its rivals."

This is due primarily to its dedicated and gifted founder, the legendary Bolshoi principal dancer Elena Radchenko. Ms. Radchenko was selected by Russian Presidential decree to assume the first permanent artistic directorship of the company.

The Russian National Ballet Theatre performs Giselle Tuesday, February 3; Chopiniana and Romeo and Juliet Wednesday, February 4; and Don Quixote Thursday, February 5. All performances begin at 7:30 pm. Tickets are priced at $29-$49; Premium $59-$65; Children 12 & under and Students with ID are $12. Tickets are available online at www.harriscenter.net or from the Harris Center Ticket Office at 916-608-6888 from 10 am to 6 pm Monday through Saturday, and two hours before show time. Parking is included in the price of the ticket. Harris Center is located on the west side of Folsom Lake College campus in Folsom, CA, facing East Bidwell Street.

Giselle tells the story of a peasant girl of the same name who dies of a broken heart after discovering her lover is betrothed to another. The Wilis, a group of supernatural women who dance men to death, summon Giselle from her grave. They target her lover for death, but Giselle's love frees him from their grasp.

Two of the most romantic classical works are brought to the stage in the grand tradition of Russian ballet. Chopiniana does not have a traditional plot. It features a romantic dream-world with ballerinas bathed in moonlight dancing around a young man, and is often described as a "romantic reverie." With enchanting music by Chopin and ethereal choreography by Mikhail Fokine, this beautiful morsel is the pure classical form of ballet from the 19th century. Romeo and Juliet is Shakespeare's classic tale of young star-crossed lovers falling victim to family hatred. This tragic love story is illuminated by Petipa's brilliant choreography and Tchaikovsky's majestic score.

Don Quixote is a ballet originally staged in four acts and eight scenes, based on an episode taken from the famous novel "Don Quixote de la Mancha" by Miguel de Cervantes. It was originally choreographed by Marius Petipa to the music of Ludwig Minkus and was first presented by the Ballet of the Imperial Bolshoi Theatre of Moscow, Russia on December 26, 1869.

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.

The company, then titled the Soviet National Ballet, was founded by and incorporated graduates from the great Russian choreographic schools of Moscow, St. Petersburg and Perm. The principal dancers of the company came from the upper ranks of the great ballet companies and academies of Russia, and the companies of Riga, Kiev and even Warsaw. 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 1994, the legendary Bolshoi principal dancer Elena Radchenko was selected by Presidential decree to assume the first permanent artistic directorship of the company. Ms. 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 great full works of Petipa: Don Quixote, La Bayadere, The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Raymonda, Paquita, Coppelia and La Sylphide, as well as produ

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