Da:ns Festival 2008 - Russian Ballet Gala

Just caught the Russian Ballet Gala at the Esplanade and I enjoyed it. It was almost fully packed and why not? When it's with the famous Bolshoi Ballet and also other stars of Russian ballet from other groups.

It featured excerpts from 12 ballets and it was really amazing. Their moves were so precise and slick yet fluid and graceful. I especially liked the Duet from the Romeo & Juliet and Pas de deux from Don Quixote performed by Marianna Ryzhkina & Dmitry Belogolovtsev, who were the prima ballerina and premier of the Bolshoi Ballet (yes, they were the main stars for the night). In Romeo & Juliet there were some parts that I felt were quite challenging with the pace they were performing certain sections and you knew that a slight discrepancy in timing or a wrong move would result in disaster & injury. But it was executed perfectly and I breathed a sigh of relief.
And there were also some really amazing parts where the the ballerina leaped and the ballerino could catch her perfectly without a "shiver", supporting her with only 1 hand under her waist/rip cage. And those times when they could stretch out perfectly controlled & straight, whether horizontally, upright and even upside down! Their sense of equilibrium was fantastic.

Some other performances I liked were Duet from Spartacus (again Ryzhkina & Belogolovtsev) and Duet from In the Night.

Unfortunately, the ballerina for Giselle didn't perform it. I believed she could have injured her foot coz when she performed Swan Lake earlier, she fumbled a little near the end. Hence, the ballerino for Giselle could only do his solo part, which wasn't very long.