Landgraf on Dance

30. April 2026

Congratulations

“Giselle”
Vienna State Ballet
Vienna State Opera
Vienna, Austria
April 26, 2026 (live stream)

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2026 by Ilona Landgraf

The Vienna State Ballet’s recent live stream of Giselle was one of those precious events where everything is perfect. Choreographed for Vienna in 1993 by Elena Tchernichova, the piece is the company’s “calling card.” Additionally, perhaps due to the new artistic director, Alessandra Ferri, who passed on her experience studying with Tchernichova herself, the dancers performed especially well. “Elena Tchernichova was the person who first taught me the role of Giselle when I was just twenty-one, dancing with American Ballet Theatre alongside Mikhail Baryshnikov,” Ferri revealed.
“I still vividly remember her notes, her corrections, and the wonderful imagery she gave me to understand each moment of the role. She coached me for many years, and even now I still hear her voice—not only when I danced the ballet, but also when I coach others.”

Laura Fernandez Gromova, who joined the company only this season, danced the title role for the second time. Her fabulous interpretation was consequential given her artistic career. Fernandez Gromova completed her training at the St. Petersburg Vaganova Academy and danced with the Mariinsky Ballet, the Stanislavsky Ballet in Moscow, and the State Ballet of Georgia.
Her Giselle reverberated with life. In a port de bras, for example, her arms not only enjoyed the warm air but even inhaled it. Within seconds, the shock from Albrecht’s betrayal made her hallucinate. Her face seemed to belong to another person, and sudden dark circles under her eyes gave them a sunken look. When entering the realm of the Wilis, her Giselle became gossamer-like. She bent like a delicate branch in the breeze when being carried by Albrecht. Yet her will was as steely as Joan of Arc’s, and her heart’s greatness was infinite. She did everything in her might to protect and save Albrecht.

Compared to the mature and likeable Hilarion (Alessandro Cavallo), António Casalinho’s young, handsome Count Albrecht seemed too eager and smart for a reliable husband-to-be. And indeed, his very first reaction to Giselle’s death was to dodge responsibility and accuse Hilarion and the peasants. Over time, grief chastened him, and the Albrecht who approached the cross that marked Giselle’s grave was humble, more in love than ever, and brimming with regret. Even his dancing seemed more refined. One couldn’t help but empathize with him. Casalhino, a former principal of the Bavarian State Ballet, joined the company this season and is definitely an asset.

The second act’s largely empty stage made the commanding force of Rosa Pierro’s Myrtha particularly evident. Although calm and poised on the surface, the malicious glint in her eyes betrayed her mercilessness. The Wilis did not dare look at her. Their slightly stooped shoulders, bent necks, and downcast eyes expressed absolute obedience. The sight of their billowing white skirts moving in perfect unity in front of a pitch-black backdrop was mesmerizing.

In Act I, a corps of fleet-footed, buoyant peasants multiplied Giselle’s and Albrecht’s bliss. In the pas de quattre, Václav Lamparter combined immaculate tours with quicksilver feet, the cheerful Rinaldo Venuti seemed careful to curb his haste, Margarita Fernandes finished her flawless solo with a disarming smile, and Sinthia Liz delivered a graceful closure. No one was a mere bystander but naturally engaged in the goings-on. Close-up pictures later showed everyone’s different reactions to Giselle’s madness. Her mother, Berthe’s (Franziska Wallner-Hollinek’s), premonition of the Wilis was serious and unambiguous but in vain.
A bright red hunting dress ensured that Albrecht’s fiancée, Bathilde (Elena Bottaro), attracted all the attention. I disliked her the moment she used her riding whip to make Giselle lift her head. The smug face of Albrecht’s companion, Wilfrid (Trevor Hayden), fit the cliché of an aristocrat, but in reality, he was a true friend.

The Vienna State Opera orchestra always delivers quality. Their rendition of Adolphe Adam’s score was played under the baton of Luciano di Martino. It was so colorful that even a concert performance would have been worthwhile.

Links:		Website of the Vienna State Ballet
		Giselle—Trailer
Photos:	1.	Laura Fernandez Gromova (Giselle) and Antonio Casalinho (Count Albrecht), “Giselle” by Elena Tchernichova, Vienna State Ballet 2026
	2.	Laura Fernandez Gromova (Giselle) and Antonio Casalinho (Count Albrecht), “Giselle” by Elena Tchernichova, Vienna State Ballet 2026
	3.	Laura Fernandez Gromova (Giselle) and ensemble, “Giselle” by Elena Tchernichova, Vienna State Ballet 2026
	4.	Laura Fernandez Gromova (Giselle), Antonio Casalinho (Count Albrecht), Franziska Wallner-Hollinek (Berthe), and ensemble; “Giselle” by Elena Tchernichova, Vienna State Ballet 2026
	5.	Margarita Fernandes, Rinaldo Venuti (Giselle’s friends), and ensemble; “Giselle” by Elena Tchernichova, Vienna State Ballet 2026
	6.	Sinthia Liz (Giselle’s friend), “Giselle” by Elena Tchernichova, Vienna State Ballet 2026
	7.	Sinthia Liz and Václav Lamparter (Giselle’s friends), “Giselle” by Elena Tchernichova, Vienna State Ballet 2026
	8.	Rosa Pierro (Myrtha), “Giselle” by Elena Tchernichova, Vienna State Ballet 2026
	9.	Rosa Pierro (Myrtha), “Giselle” by Elena Tchernichova, Vienna State Ballet 2026
	10.	Alessandro Cavallo (Hilarion), “Giselle” by Elena Tchernichova, Vienna State Ballet 2026
	11.	Laura Fernandez Gromova (Giselle), “Giselle” by Elena Tchernichova, Vienna State Ballet 2026
	12.	Antonio Casalinho (Count Albrecht), “Giselle” by Elena Tchernichova, Vienna State Ballet 2026
	13.	Antonio Casalinho (Count Albrecht) and Laura Fernandez Gromova (Giselle), “Giselle” by Elena Tchernichova, Vienna State Ballet 2026
	14.	Laura Fernandez Gromova (Giselle) and Antonio Casalinho (Count Albrecht), “Giselle” by Elena Tchernichova, Vienna State Ballet 2026
		all photos © Vienna State Ballet/Ashley Taylor
Editing:		Kayla Kauffman

29. April 202630. April 2026

Retrospection

“Tribute to Tetley”
Stuttgart Ballet
Stuttgart State Opera
Stuttgart, Germany
April 25, 2026

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2026 by Ilona Landgraf

In 1972, no one foresaw how fateful Glen Tetley’s (1926-2007) invitation to stage his 1965 piece, The Mythical Hunter, for Stuttgart’s junior company would be. He and the artistic director, John Cranko, got along, and Tetley was commissioned to create a new ballet for the main company. It was June 1973, and Voluntaries wasn’t yet finished when news of Cranko’s sudden death on a transatlantic flight reached Stuttgart. At the request of Marcia Haydée and Cranko’s heir, the late Dieter Graefe, Tetley subsequently took over as the company’s artistic director. But administrative work burdened him. After two seasons, he passed the reins to Haydée, relieved to renew his focus on choreography. Yet fate had something else in store. In 1986, just as Tetley agreed to become Erik Bruhn’s artistic associate at the National Ballet of Canada, Bruhn died. Tetley kept his word, took up the post, and stayed for five years. Continue reading “Retrospection”

24. April 202629. April 2026

Growing From Solid Roots

“Miniatures”
Les Ballets de Monte Carlo
Salle Garnier Opéra de Monte-Carlo
Monte-Carlo, Monaco
April 18, 2026

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2026 by Ilona Landgraf

Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo’s recent premiere, Miniatures, takes up the 2004 project of the same title. Back then, Bruno Mantovani, artistic director of the festival Printemps des Arts de Monte-Carlo and director of the Ensemble Orchestral Contemporain, challenged Le Ballets de Monte-Carlo’s artistic director, Jean-Christophe Maillot, with seven contemporary compositions. Each of them represented another mindscape; none was written for dance, and Maillot was tasked with choreographies. He was successful. Mantovani threw four new compositions commissioned for this year’s festival into the ring (and also played them with the Ensemble Orchestral Contemporain during the run of the program), which former and current dancers of the company put into dance. Two of Maillot’s 2004 works complemented the ninety-minute program. Continue reading “Growing From Solid Roots”

11. April 202624. April 2026

A Man of Mystery

“Pushkin”
Ballet of the Krasnoyarsk State Opera and Ballet Theatre
Hvorostovsky Krasnoyarsk State Opera and Ballet Theatre
Krasnoyarsk, Russia
March 15, 2026 (video)

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2026 by Ilona Landgraf

Three years after Catharsis Dante, the Moscow-based choreographer Nikita Dmitrievsky created a second piece, Pushkin, for the Krasnoyarsk Ballet. Its two densely pact acts deal with Russia’s literary hero, Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837), and his inner life and spiritual being. Except for the music, which is by Konstantin Borosov (his first ballet composition), Dmitrievsky was in charge of the entire production (i.e., the choreography, libretto, lighting, and set, costume, and video design). I had the opportunity to watch a video of the premiere, which took place on March 15th.

As the libretto comprises no fewer than twenty-seven scenes, becoming familiar with the synopsis in advance is highly recommended. Continue reading “A Man of Mystery”

30. March 202611. April 2026

A Conversation With Pavel Glukhov

Moscow, Russia
March 16, 2026 (video conference)

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2026 by Ilona Landgraf

In recent years, Pavel Glukhov has carved out a place for himself at the forefront of contemporary dance in Russia. Two of his latest pieces, Pavlova and Russian Character, were created for MuzArts; The Nutcracker. Not a Fairy Tale premiered with Ballet Moscow. Thanks to MuzArts’s executive producer, Daria Faezova, I was able to talk with him via video conference. Alexei Faezov kindly interpreted from Russian to English and vice versa.

What encouraged you to become a dancer? Were there any role models in your family or other sources of inspiration?
Actually, no one in my family is directly connected to art. I’m the only one. I started dancing around the age of nine. Once, when I was walking with a friend, we entered a culture club, which offered dancing classes, and I stayed there right away. I felt connected to it and liked it very much. Continue reading “A Conversation With Pavel Glukhov”

25. March 202630. March 2026

Unrealistic

“Nureyev”
State Ballet Berlin
Deutsche Oper
Berlin, Germany
March 21, 2026

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2026 by Ilona Landgraf

Last weekend, Yuri Possokhov’s and Kirill Serebrennikov’s joint production Nureyev premiered with the State Ballet Berlin. I remember well the piece’s 2017 world premiere at the Bolshoi Theatre and the troubles preceding it. In 2022, Nureyev was removed from the Bolshoi’s repertory following new Russian anti-LGBTQ+ legislation that made it illegal to promote the success and power of queer personalities, per Serebrennikov’s explanation.

Bringing this ballet back to life could have been a tribute to not only Rudolf Nureyev but also Russian ballet as well as a gift to the Bolshoi, which celebrates its 250th anniversary this year. Continue reading “Unrealistic”

4. March 202625. March 2026

The Benchmark

“Coppélia”
Bolshoi Ballet
Bolshoi Theatre (New Stage)
Moscow, Russia
February 21, 2026 (evening performance)

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2026 by Ilona Landgraf

My hopes on a new video release were raised when I noticed the cameraman at the Bolshoi Ballet’s performance of Coppélia, until he explained that the recording was for internal use only. It’ll set the bar high for future generations of dancers.

Sergei Vikharev’s production, which he said is the most complete and exact rendition of what Nicholas Sergeyev noted from his St. Petersburg memories (his manuscripts are stored at Harvard University), has been in the Bolshoi’s repertory since 2009. It preserves all the details that fell victim to artistic, financial, and producing conditions in many Western stagings. Continue reading “The Benchmark”

28. February 20264. March 2026

Restorative

“The Snow Maiden”
Ballet of the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Music Theatre
Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Music Theatre
Moscow, Russia
February 21, 2026 (matinee)

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2026 by Ilona Landgraf

The legend of a girl made of snow who falls in love with a human but cannot survive the warmth of spring has its roots in Slavic mythology. The fairy tale entered the stage in 1873 when, due to the renovation of Moscow’s Maly Theatre, all three Imperial companies—drama, opera, and ballet—were accommodated by the Bolshoi Theatre. To seize the occasion, the management decided to unite them in a single fairy tale production. The Russian author Alexander Ostrovsky was commissioned for the libretto and Pyotr Tchaikovsky a composition. A few months later, Nikolay Rubinstein conducted the premiere. This marked the stage birth of The Snow Maiden. Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov’s 1880/81 opera version is also based on Ostrovsky’s libretto. Continue reading “Restorative”

26. February 202628. February 2026

Recovery

“The Nutcracker. Not a Fairy Tale”
Ballet Moscow
Novaya Opera Theatre
Moscow, Russia
February 20, 2026

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2026 by Ilona Landgraf

The premiere of a new Nutcracker in late February sounded uncommon to my Western ears until I noticed the still festive decorations of Moscow’s streets and the growing piles of snow lining them. Snow also fell in Pavel Glukhov’s The Nutcracker. Not a Fairy Tale and much more fiercely than outside, as if to herald his version’s chilling content, the First World War. Told with warmth and ending happily, Glukhov’s Nutcracker has characteristics of a fairy tale but is recommended for children aged twelve and older. He choreographed it for Ballet Moscow, the home base of which is the Novaya Opera Theatre in the city center.

The story’s hero is Nathaniel, a figure E.T.A. Hoffmann created not for his The Nutcracker and the Mouse King but for his spooky The Sandman, which later served as the basis for Coppélia. A crossbreed between Coppelius, the Nutcracker, and Drosselmeyer, Glukhov’s Nathaniel is a puppet maker who specializes in wooden nutcrackers in military dress. Continue reading “Recovery”

25. February 202626. February 2026

Someone is in Control

“Master and Margarita”
Bolshoi Ballet
Bolshoi Theatre (New Stage)
Moscow, Russia
February 18/19, 2026

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2026 by Ilona Landgraf

Around two years ago, I saw Edward Clug’s ballet adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov’s novel The Master and Margarita at the Bolshoi Theatre and found it fabulous. Last week’s two performances corroborated my impression. They also reminded me that, however chaotic the world might get, there’s no need to worry; someone is in control. In Clug’s version, it’s the Satan alias Woland and his accomplices. That hell and heaven commonly coordinate their actions went by the board.

Bulgakov intertwined two storylines (one deals with the absurd mayhem caused by Woland and his entourage on a 1930 visit to Moscow, the other is an eyewitness account of the trial of Jesus of Nazareth under Pontius Pilate’s governance), which are connected by the Master (an unrecognized Muskovit author, i.e., Bulgakov’s alter ego) and his muse, Margarita. Continue reading “Someone is in Control”

23. February 202625. February 2026

Heavy

“Planida” (“Russian Character”/“Nerve”/“Francesca da Rimini”)
MuzArts
Maly Theatre
Moscow, Russia
February 16, 2026

Due to popular demand, MuzArts’ triple bill Planida returned to the Maly Theatre this Monday. I was previously familiar only with the video production. Seeing it live opened new perspectives.
The cast of Pavel Glukhov’s Russian Character was the same; Alexei Putintsev portrayed the tanker, Yegor Dryomov; Elizaveta Kokoreva danced his bride, Katya; Ekaterina Krysanova and Mikhail Lobukhin played Yegor’s parents; and Georgy Gusev and Ivan Sorokin performed the roles of Yegor’s comrades. Continue reading “Heavy”

22. February 202623. February 2026

“I’m a supporter of talented people”

“Marco Spada”
Bolshoi Ballet
Bolshoi Theatre (Historic Stage)
Moscow, Russia
February 15, 2026

The Bolshoi Ballet has two choreographies by Pierre Lacotte (1932-2023) in its repertory: his recreation of Petipa’s La Fille du Pharaon (which he entrusted to no other company) and Marco Spada, a 1857 ballet d’action for the Paris Opéra by Joseph Mazilier to music by Daniel Auber, which was lost except for a few sketches and reviews. In 1981, Lacotte choreographed and staged it from scratch for the Teatro Dell’Opera di Roma with Rudolf Nureyev in the title role. Despite being peripatetic, Nureyev was so eager to participate in the production that he signed a contract on the tablecloth during a restaurant outing with Lacotte. “I, Rudolf Nureyev, guarantee that for the duration of a month I will attend daily rehearsals in Rome for the ballet Marco Spada,” he wrote.

Continue reading ““I’m a supporter of talented people””

15. February 202622. February 2026

Traumata

“Planida” (“Russian Character”/“Nerve”/“Francesca da Rimini”)
MuzArts
Maly Theatre/Alexandrinsky Theatre
Moscow/St. Petersburg, Russia
September/November 2025 (video)

Tomorrow, MuzArts’ triple bill Planida returns to Moscow’s Maly Theatre where it premiered in September 2025. It combines two old pieces—Nerve by Anna Shchekleina and Francesca da Rimini by Yuri Possokhov—along with Russian Character, a then-new creation by Pavel Glukhov. As in previous productions, dancers of the Bolshoi Ballet will be on stage. Thanks to MuzArts’ executive producer, Daria Faezova, I was able to watch videos of the program recorded at the Maly Theatre and St. Petersburg’s Alexandrinsky Theatre. Continue reading “Traumata”

11. January 202615. February 2026

Live Life to the Fullest

“Zorba the Greek”
Tartar State Academic Ballet
Jalil Opera and Ballet Tartar State Academic Theatre
Kazan, Russia
November 2025 (video)

“A man needs a little madness or never dares to cut his ropes and be free,” urged Zorba the buttoned-up aristocrat Basil, in Michael Cacoyannis’s 1964 film Zorba the Greek. The film is based on Nikos Kazantzakis’s 1946 novel Life and Times of Alexis Zorbas, won three Academy Awards, and featured Anthony Quinn as Zorba and Alan Bates as Basil. Zorba, an earthy and boisterous peasant, had this kind of madness and, on their venture to Crete, instilled it in Basil as well.
In addition to the film, the novel inspired a musical, radio play, telemovie, and ballet, which was choreographed by Lorca Massine (Léonide Massine’s son), includes music by Mikis Theodorakis, and premiered at the Arena di Verona in 1988. Vladimir Vasiliev and Gheorghe Iancu danced the leading roles. Continue reading “Live Life to the Fullest”

4. January 202611. January 2026

Believe in Miracles

“The Nutcracker. Waiting for a Miracle”
Bolshoi Ballet
Bolshoi Theatre
Moscow, Russia
December 29, 2025 (documentary)

Of the many special moments in Yuri Grigorovich’s The Nutcracker, there’s one you shouldn’t miss: when the Christmas tree is growing, and Marie’s transformation takes place. Then you need to make a wish. At least, that’s the insiders’ tip from the Bolshoi Ballet’s artists involved in the production.

Grigorovich’s The Nutcracker premiered at the Bolshoi Theatre in 1966 and was performed for the eight hundredth time earlier in December. Perhaps that’s why the Russian Channel One broadcast a one-hour documentary about The Nutcracker at the end of December. The film outlines the plot, provides insight into the music, set, and costumes, and looks at sixty years of performance history, during which nothing changed. Numerous coaches and ballet masters guarantee that Grigorovich’s legacy is preserved and kept alive. Continue reading “Believe in Miracles”