By Beatriz Miranda, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – This Thursday, April 12th, the Saint Petersburg State Ballet on Ice will be opening a short season at Teatro Bradesco Rio, in Barra da Tijuca. The Russian company will debut on a Carioca stage with classic ballet spectacles, like “Cinderella” and “The Sleeping Beauty,” they will be running until Sunday, April 15th.
Founded in 1967, originally as the Leningrad State Ballet on Ice, by choreographer Konstantin Boyarsky, the Saint Petersburg State Ballet on Ice was born from the notorious tradition of the Saint Petersburg school of classical ballet.
Combining artistic figure skating and classical ballet techniques, the Saint Petersburg group is proud to be composed of some of the most talented names from the classical dance scene, such as critically acclaimed artistic director, Konstantin Rassadin, the prominent conductor and musical director, Leo Korkhin, and the double Olympians and dancers, Ludmila Beloussova and Oleg Protopopov.
What’s more, the company has around 20 ballerinas who hold honorable titles known as the “Masters of Sports” in Russia.
In 1995, the Saint Petersburg State Ballet on Ice was the very first-time classical ballet was presented on an ice rink installed into the stage of an opera theater. The company’s musical repertoire is composed mostly of the Russian composer, Tchaikovsky (“Sleeping Beauty”, “Swan Lake”, and the “Nutcracker”), as well as the Ukrainian composer, Prokofiev (“Cinderella” and “Romeo and Juliet”).
Merging elegance and expression in breath-taking spectacles, the Russian company has already performed to audiences across the world. In their first 13 years of existence, the group performed over 5,000 times on stages in Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Presenting classics beloved by Carioca audiences, the Brazilian gig, which has already performed in São Paulo and Porto Alegre, includes 40 outstanding dancers who will grace Teatro Bradesco’s stage in a true fairytale fashion.
According to Alexander Rodriguez, the company’s manager in Latin America, all the ballerinas are Russian and have significant ballet experience:
“It requires a lot of dedication to become a professional dancer. In order to become figure skaters, they have to study classical ballet for 18 years, and some other 3 or 4 of artistic figure skating,” says Rodriguez to media outlet O Globo.
For the ballet on ice to be possible, a special 148 square-meter skating rink will be brought from Germany and set up on stage. Five tons of ice will be needed for making the Russian ballet on ice possible.
What: Saint Petersburg State Ballet on Ice
When: April 12th to April 15th – Thursday to Friday: 9PM; Saturday: 4PM and 9PM; Sunday: 3PM and 8PM.
Where: Teatro Bradesco – Village Mall – Av. das Américas, 3.900 – Barra
Entrance: R$150 – R$500