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Bolshoi’s prima ballerina to kick off world tour with daring new solo program

The Russian prima has said she is not afraid to experiment and likes being unpredictable on stage
Svetlana Zakharova Artyom Geodakyan/TASS
Svetlana Zakharova
© Artyom Geodakyan/TASS

MOSCOW, March 9. /TASS/ Bolshoi Theater prima ballerina Svetlana Zakharova is set to hold a world tour with her solo program Amore, and create a new modern choreography project, the performing artist said at a press conference on Thursday at TASS with Yuri Baranov, her colleague at the Bolshoi, soloist of the ballet troupe and general producer of the MuzArts production company.

"Before going on a world tour with her solo project Amore, Svetlana Zakharova will roll out this program on the historical stage of the Bolshoi Theater, on March 14-15," Baranov told TASS.

He said that the Amore was shown at the Bolshoi last May and had quickly sold out.

"Many people then did not get to see the performances, so we decided to hold ‘encore’ performances this year, and the tickets are nearly gone," Baranov stated.

According to Baranov, it is fully understandable that people want to see Zakharova in this production, since it is very different from what she usually does. In fact, the performance includes three one-act ballets that the People’s Artist of Russia has never danced before.

"I don’t like dancing the same thing for a long time," Zakharova emphasized. "That is not the case with classical ballets, those you want to dance as long as possible. Contemporary ballets are totally different story. It is necessary for an artist to risk, to try yourself out in a different style."

"I’m not afraid to experiment, I like to be different, unpredictable,’ she added.

Amore is full of love stories, as the name would suggest - Francesca da Rimini, choreographed by Yuri Possokhov (San Francisco Ballet), Rain Before it Falls, choreographed by Patrick de Bana (Vienna State Ballet) and Strokes Through the Tail choreographed by Marguerite Donlon, an Irish choreographer, based in Berlin.

After Moscow, Amore will set off to Italy to launch the tour that is scheduled to last until 2018, stopping in Cyprus, Japan, and the UK.

"Zakharova's project is very successful and in great demand," Baranov said, adding that the ballerina does not intend to stop, on the contrary, she is thinking about a new program.=

"We have been picking out different choreographers that are worlds apart from one another, original in style. We want to make an even more interesting three-act project that won’t leave the audience indifferent. We expect to show the world premiere of the new program by Svetlana Zakharova in March of 2018," Baranov said.