Alexander Vetrov – Landgraf on Dance

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”

21. June 202424. January 2026

Dancer Nominees for the Prix Benois 2024

Prix Benois de la Danse
Bolshoi Theatre (Historic Stage)
Moscow, Russia
June 2024

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2024 by Ilona Landgraf

Thirteen dancers from eight companies are nominated for this year’s Prix Benois. Of the seven women and six men, two dance in China, Hungary, and Italy; one dances in Japan, and six in Russia. Next week, the laureates will be announced in an award ceremony at the Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow.

Here’s a short overview of the nominees in alphabetical order by company names:
Continue reading “Dancer Nominees for the Prix Benois 2024”

19. August 201618. January 2017

“I feel like Lensky”

Semyon Chudin, Bolshoi Ballet
Royal Opera House
London, Great Britain
August, 2016

I first saw Semyon Chudin dance in Stuttgart Ballet’s end-of-the season gala this July. He had danced the Wedding Pas de Deux from “Sleeping Beauty” next to Anna Osadcenko and immediately caught my attention. Chudin has an aura, which only a great personality is able to radiate.

As it happens the Bolshoi toured London for three weeks during this summer. One and a half weeks after the Stuttgart gala I sat in the Royal Opera House, watching the company in Jean-Christophe Maillot’s “The Taming of the Shrew”. The following day I met Chudin in the Opera House’s cafeteria to talk about his career and his life offstage. We spoke twice, first in the afternoon, and, after rehearsals and with translation support by Sonia Serduk, a longstanding friend of Chudin from St. Petersburg’s Mikhailovsky Theatre, again in the evening. Chudin’s English is good but he feels more at ease when speaking Russian. I guess our group of three attracted attention as we had much fun.

Chudin is natural, kind and easy-going. He does not make the slightest attempt to cultivate a glossy image of himself or to feign a conformist mindset. Telling people what they want to hear isn’t his. The timbre of his voice simply reveals his true opinions. Centered in himself Chudin radiates calmness but at the same time is very self-critical. After the Stuttgart gala he asked Filip Baranciwicz and Mikhail Kaniskin to give him corrections. How many principals act in the same way? “One could always improve something. When you’re satisfied with yourself you should stop,” he later stated. Continue reading ““I feel like Lensky””