Landgraf on Dance

12. November 2026

Harmony Born From Love

“The Sleeping Beauty”
Bolshoi Ballet
Bolshoi Theatre
Moscow, Russia
November 3, 2026 (Historic Stage)

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2026 by Ilona Landgraf

Only as I sat in the Bolshoi Theatre’s auditorium did I realize that this was my first time seeing Yuri Grigorovich’s The Sleeping Beauty live. A 2017 live stream was impressive, but Ezio Frigerio’s and Franca Squarciapino’s opulent set and costumes distracted from the piece’s essence: the awakening of an inner beauty. Of all the choreographies of The Sleeping Beauty I know, Grigorovich’s most successfully projects spirituality.
In 2024, the Bolshoi revived the far more restrained décor of Simon Virsaladze created for Grigorovich’s revised 1973 version of The Sleeping Beauty. It was streamed live at the season’s opening. But on screen, a ballet looks different.
For example, during the live stream, I didn’t notice the frame of green-gray legs turning the stage into a peep-box to a fairy realm. I also missed the effect of the backdrops’ loose brushstroke technique. The palace garden’s hazy vegetation offers nothing that sticks in the mind. One doesn’t think much about the staircase beyond that it leads somewhere pleasant. The mysterious lake in the forest hints at depths our consciousness does not plumb.

Taken together, the set, the Historic Stage’s enormous breadth, and the decorum and grace at court induce an inner calm that allows true beauty to reach the soul. It happens subtly with Princess Aurora’s awakening. Tchaikovsky’s brisk prologue heightens anticipations for a fabulous dance piece.

Maria Koshkaryova’s Princess Aurora was a graceful, delicate young woman with innate modesty. Glamour wasn’t part of her character. As she played with the spindle presented to her by the wicked Carabosse (Gennady Yanin), the entire court watched her as though she carried a defused bomb. High flying grand jetés carried Prince Désiré (Dmitry Vyskubenko) on stage (Prince Siegfried in Grigorovich’s Swan Lake enters in the same sweeping way). Vyskubenko has elegant lines, excellent jumps, and a likable nature. His performance was polished to perfection. In the hunting scene, each step of his solo spoke to the superb coaching he went through.
Alyona Kovalyova’s mature Lilac Fairy stood above all evil. Her calm and unwavering kindness reduced Carabosse to an incorrigible (but manageable) troublemaker. Except for Angelina Vlashinet’s Fairy of Audacity, the good fairies who bestowed their well-wishes on the newborn Aurora exaggerated their characters. Yuri Ostrovsky, whom I often saw in the role of a churchman, played Catalabutte, the Master of Ceremonies who hardly ever got it right.
Of the fairy tale characters, I especially liked Makar Mikhalkin’s powerfully soaring Blue Bird. Anastasia Smirnova was his lightweight Princess Florine.
The star of the evening was the corps whose perfect lines enraptured me. Regardless of the pace, their unity in the vision scene was impeccable and surpassed everything I’ve seen elsewhere.
The Bolshoi Orchestra played under the baton of Pavel Sorokin and was, as always, outstanding.

Link:		Website of the Bolshoi Theatre
Photos:	1.	Dmitry Vyskubenko (Prince Désiré) and Maria Koshkaryova (Princess Aurora), “The Sleeping Beauty” by Yuri Grigorovich, Bolshoi Ballet 2026
	2.	Dmitry Vyskubenko (Prince Désiré) and Maria Koshkaryova (Princess Aurora), “The Sleeping Beauty” by Yuri Grigorovich, Bolshoi Ballet 2026
		all photos © Bolshoi Theatre/Damir Yusupov
Editing:		Kayla Kauffman

10. November 202612. November 2026

Done With Love

“The Era of Maya Plisetskaya”
Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center
Moscow, Russia
November 02, 2026

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2026 by Ilona Landgraf

One year after Maya Plisetskaya would have celebrated her centenary, an exhibition at Moscow’s Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center brought her spirit back to life. The date coincides with the Bolshoi Theatre’s 250th anniversary, an institution with which she was a ballet icon.

Located in a spacious former bus garage and depot, the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center serves multiple functions. It houses exhibitions, conferences, lectures, education programs for children and families, a research center for Jewish culture, a library, and a cozy cafe. Signposts help navigate the venue’s 8,500 square meters (not including the underground exhibition space). Bare brick walls and clear, modern interior design create a space in which thinking freely feels safe. Continue reading “Done With Love”

7. November 202610. November 2026

Hidden Desires

“Carmen In My Head”
Ballet Moscow
Novaya Opera Theatre
Moscow, Russia
November 1, 2026

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2026 by Ilona Landgraf

The welcoming, warm vibes of Moscow’s Novaya Opera hit me so unexpectedly that I had to sit down in the foyer before walking to the cloakroom. I know the company only from Pavel Glukhov’s The Nutcracker. Not a Fairy Tale and was curious to see Carmen In My Head by Tatiana Baganova, a contemporary dance choreographer and the artistic director of the Provincial Dances Theatre, Yekaterinburg.

Instead of re-telling the love triangle between Carmen, Don José, and Escamillo, her 2025 piece takes place in José’s mind, which is haunted by the impulses Carmen triggers. Continue reading “Hidden Desires”

6. November 20267. November 2026

Selective

“More Than Theater: Celebrating the 250th Anniversary of the Bolshoi Theatre”
Museum of Contemporary Russian History
Moscow, Russia
November 1, 2026

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2026 by Ilona Landgraf

The announcement of a large-scale exhibition to celebrate the Bolshoi Theatre’s 250th birthday made me reflect on the period from 1776 (when Empress Catherine the Great granted Prince Pyotr Urusov permission to establish a theater company in Moscow, the Bolshoi Theatre’s predecessor) to today, admittedly, a gigantic undertaking. But, after all, the Bolshoi is Russia’s most prestigious theater.

But the Museum of Contemporary Russian History’s exhibition More Than Theater takes a different approach. In collaboration with Moscow’s private MustART Gallery, the museum assigned sixteen contemporary Russian artists to “unravel the Bolshoi’s stage’s captivating and infinite mystery.” It is questionable whether the paintings, drawings, sculptures, and installations to which the theater added archived video performances achieved this goal. Many of the works show past and present artists, but the selection criteria remained unclear. I didn’t count the objects but had the impression that the ballet company was better represented than the opera company. Continue reading “Selective”

24. October 20266. November 2026

It Is What It Is

“Nijinsky”
Vienna State Ballet
Vienna State Opera
Vienna, Austria
October 20, 2026 (live stream)

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2026 by Ilona Landgraf

The insight I gained from the Vienna State Ballet’s premiere of Nijinsky hit me at the curtain call when choreographer John Neumeier took his bow. He looks back on an oeuvre of more than 180 pieces, and though his foundation’s website announces a new choreography for 2027, his career is nearing its end. He held on past his prime and missed the right time to hand over his company. On stage, another career was over: Nijinsky’s. But he certainly hadn’t yet realized his full potential. Continue reading “It Is What It Is”

6. October 202624. October 2026

Resilient

“Masurca Fogo”
Tanztheater Wuppertal
Opera House
Wuppertal, Germany
October 02, 2026

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2026 by Ilona Landgraf

The last time I saw the Tanztheater Wuppertal on their home stage was in 2014, five years after Pina Bausch’s untimely death. Gloom weighed on the Opera House. Its artistic heart had stopped beating, and tight finances worsened the outlook.

Longstanding members kept the company going; Dominique Mercy and Robert Sturm, and later Lutz Förster, stepped in as interim artistic directors. In 2017, outside expertise should have revived the company. Adolphe Binder, former artistic director of the Komische Oper Berlin’s dance theater and the Danskompanie Göteborg, was engaged but left after only one year due to differences with management. Continue reading “Resilient”

14. September 20266. October 2026

Legendary

“Swan Lake”
Bolshoi Ballet
Bolshoi Theatre
Moscow, Russia
September 7 and 8, 2026 (Historic Stage)

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2026 by Ilona Landgraf

The Bolshoi Ballet is legendary for its Swan Lake. The first performance took place in 1877, almost one hundred and fifty years ago. This September, the swans danced for the 1,868th time, which translates to roughly thirteen Swan Lakes per year. Since 2001, the company has performed Yuri Grigorovich’s version, which includes scenes by Marius Petipa, Lev Ivanov, and Alexander Gorsky.

Grigorovich’s Swan Lake is grand. Its concepts and ideals represent the highest achievements of humanity and culture—dignity, decorum, grace, love, and unmatched beauty—and it shows how easily human nature can be led awry. Compared to Vladimir Bourmeister’s Swan Lake at the Stanislavsky Theatre, a ballet that reveals the protagonists’ inner life like none I’ve seen so far, Grigorovich portrays them as emblematic figures in an allegory, the sad ending of which Tchaikovsky’s prologue forebodes. Continue reading “Legendary”

12. September 202614. September 2026

Focused

“Anna Karenina”
Ballet of the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Music Theatre
Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Music Theatre
Moscow, Russia
September 05, 2026 (evening performance)

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2026 by Ilona Landgraf

Over the past twenty years, Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina has become increasingly popular among choreographers. In 2011, the Mariinsky Ballet toured Alexei Ratmansky’s 2004 adaptation to Baden-Baden. It told the story in retrospect, beginning with the heroine’s suicide, and it revolved primarily around her. I only remember Anna’s red dress, trains, and a lot of steam. Christian Spuck’s 2014 version for Zurich Ballet tried to retell the story in jam-packed, hectically changing scenes while wasting time on insignificant aspects. In John Neumeier’s 2017 ballet, Vronsky was a fancy lacrosse player, and the story was infused with sentimentality (I well remember its bare-chested Levin with a cowboy hat, sitting on a stack of straw next to an old farm tractor with his arms enthusiastically stretched toward a full moon and accompanied by Cat Stevens’s Moonshadow). Continue reading “Focused”

9. September 202612. September 2026

First Time

“Cinderella”
Bolshoi Ballet
Bolshoi Theatre
Moscow, Russia
September 05, 2026 (Historic Stage)

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2026 by Ilona Landgraf

Of the two Cinderellas that premiered last May on major Russian stages in celebration of Sergei Prokofiev’s 135th birthday anniversary, I saw Nadezha Kalinina’s version for the Kazan Ballet a few weeks later on video. With some delay, I got to know Vyacheslav Lopatin’s Cinderella for the Bolshoi Ballet last Saturday during the new season’s opening matinee. Lopatin, principal of the company and fledgling ballet master, had never choreographed before. Giving his debut with no less than a full-blown production was due to the artistic director’s, Makhar Vaziev’s, encouragement and support. The outcome isn’t (and realistically couldn’t be) mind-boggling, but it is respectable.

Continue reading “First Time”

12. August 20269. September 2026

Torn Between Two

“Elláda” (“Minotaur”/“Leda and the Swans”)
MuzArts
Maly Theatre
Moscow, Russia
June 15 and 22, 2026 (video)

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2026 by Ilona Landgraf

In mid-June, Moscow’s production company MuzArts premiered the double bill Elláda at the Maly Theatre. Moscow’s local press called MuzArts’ director, Yuri Baranov, “Russia’s current top ballet producer with an excellent grasp on the global ballet scene who knows how to create ideas, discover and recruit talent, and attract sponsors,”—in short, a Diaghilev 2.0. So I was glad that MuzArts’ executive producer, Daria Faezova, sent video recordings of both performances. If a company is in the vanguard of a dance scene as vibrant as Russia’s, you won’t want to miss their productions. Continue reading “Torn Between Two”

4. August 202612. August 2026

Squandered

“Scirocco” (“Death in Venice”/“Bridge of Sighs”)
WINNDance
Teatro Malibran
Venice, Italy
August 01, 2026

“When if not now” (WINN) is the attitude of movers and shakers. Earlier this year, two such movers and shakers, Slava Tutukin (former soloist of the Mikhailovsky Ballet, St. Petersburg, and the Aalto Ballet, Essen) and Marijn Rademaker (choreographer and ex-principal of Stuttgart Ballet and Dutch National Ballet) founded WINNDance, a Stuttgart-based dance company for dancers forty years old and older. It attracted renowned names: People’s Artist of Russia, Diana Vishneva; the late Hans van Manen’s muse, Igone de Jongh; Hamburg Ballet’s Ivan Urban, Silvia Azzoni, and Oleksandr Ryabko; the Royal Ballet’s former principal, Mara Galeazzi; and Polina Semionova (who didn’t perform in Venice). The new enterprise includes an educational platform (WINN&Learn) and an exploratory platform for collaboration with different industries (WINNLab). Continue reading “Squandered”

29. July 20264. August 2026

A Ballet Onion

“Ma Bayadère”
Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo
Forum Ludwigsburg
Ludwigsburg, Germany
July 24, 2026

The pronoun Ma in Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo’s 2025 Ma Bayadère is a clever modification. It allows the ballet’s creator, artistic director Jean-Christophe Maillot, to twist and mock Petipa’s La Bayadère with impunity while also advertising his brand. Ma Bayadère is like an onion of correlating layers. Like previous productions by Maillot, it reinterprets ballet history. Last weekend, the audience of the annual Ludwigsburg Festival had the opportunity to watch the German premiere of Ma Bayadère at the Ludwigsburg Forum.

Maillot transforms Petipa’s Indian Rajah from a palace ruler to a company’s choreographer who dances the role of the Rajah in his own La Bayadère. Niki, Gamza, and Solo are dancers of his company and prepare for the roles of the temple dancer, Nikiya, the Rajah’s daughter, Gamzatti, and the warrior, Solor, respectively. Continue reading “A Ballet Onion”

15. July 202629. July 2026

A Swansong and a Phoenix’s Rise from the Ashes

“Curtain Call”
Leonid Yacobson Ballet
Alexandrinsky Theatre
St. Petersburg, Russia
June 01, 2026 (video)

Few ballets have been so ingenious and gripping that I stopped taking notes so as not to miss a single moment. Vyacheslav Samodurov’s new choreography, Curtain Call, for the Leonid Yacobson Ballet, St. Petersburg, was one of them. Luckily, I received a video that I could replay.
The one-act piece premiered in early June as part of a triple bill alongside a new creation by Igor Bulytsyn’s (Bruch. Suite) and Samodurov’s 2024 award-winning 598 Beats. In mid-July, the company assembled all three pieces Samodurov has created for them so far (including the 2022 Cheeky Chastushki) in a new triple bill.

Continue reading “A Swansong and a Phoenix’s Rise from the Ashes”

10. July 202615. July 2026

Stellar

XV International Ballet Competition—Laureates’ Gala
Bolshoi Theatre
Moscow, Russia
July 05, 2026 (live stream)

After three rounds of competition in ten days, the XV International Ballet Competition’s jury awarded medals, certificates, and diplomas to 50 of 131 contestants. Due to the high standards, discussions to determine the laureates continued late into the night after the final round. A laureates’ gala concert concluded the competition.

Of the seven gold medals, three were awarded to competitors from the USA and the Republic of Korea and one to a Japanese dancer. Russian dancers received seventeen prizes, Chinese six, and Mongolians four. Western Europe wasn’t represented, and only a few dancers from Central Europe scored: the Swede Auguste Marmus (bronze medal men, duet), coryphée and, as of late, Kammertänzer of the Hungarian National Ballet, the Serb Jana Zimonjic (bronze medal women, solo), and the Slovene Vid Vogrin (silver medal boys, duet). What mattered, though, wasn’t nationality but talent. Continue reading “Stellar”

4. July 202610. July 2026

“It is necessary to notice talent and to help it.”

XV International Ballet Competition
Bolshoi Theatre
Moscow, Russia
June 25–July 05, 2026 (live streams)

Last week, the International Ballet Competition kicked off in Moscow for the fifteenth time since its foundation in 1969. This year, it is dedicated to Yuri Grigorovich (1927–2025), the competition’s artistic director and permanent chairman of the jury for more than half a century. His Legend of Love, performed by the Mariinsky Ballet, opened the competition.

Held every four years, the International Ballet Competition is compared to an Olympic contest in which participation is an honor. This year, a record 362 dancers from thirty-five countries applied, of whom 131 were invited to Moscow. They compete in two age categories—the junior group, ages 15-19 years, and the senior group, ages 20-27 years (many of whom are leading members of a company)—each divided into solo performances and duets. Laureates will emerge from Continue reading ““It is necessary to notice talent and to help it.””