St. Petersburg Ballet Theatre Performs Modern Romeo and Juliet April 4
March 11, 2008
St. Petersburg Ballet Theatre, which last visited the Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State in an April 2005 performance of Giselle, returns with a modern retelling of the romantic classic Romeo and Juliet at 8 p.m. Friday, April 4, in Eisenhower Auditorium.
Serge Vikulov choreographed this two-act Romeo and Juliet, based on Shakespear'‚s play about star-crossed lovers from the feuding Capulet and Montague families, to music composed by Sergei Prokofiev in the 1930s.
Section one and two tickets for the Center for the Performing Arts presentation are $36 and $29 for an adult, $20 and $13 for a University Park student and $23 and $16 for a person 18 and younger. Buy tickets online at www.cpa.psu.edu or by phone at (814) 863-0255. Outside the local calling area, dial 1-800-ARTS-TIX. Tickets are also on sale at four State College locations: Eisenhower Auditorium (8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays), Penn State Tickets Downtown (10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday), HUB-Robeson Center (11 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays when Penn State classes are in session) and Bryce Jordan Center (10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays).
"St. Petersburg Ballet Theatre's Romeo and Juliet was a fresh and welcome interpretation of Shakespeare's play," wrote a critic for the San Antonio Express News. The production features "classical purity and modern innovation," noted a New York Post reviewer. A Charlotte Observer critic praised the ballet for it's "electric choreography."
The younger sibling of the Kirov and Bolshoi ballets, St. Petersburg Ballet Theatre, founded in 1966 and headed by Artistic Director Yuri Petukhov, embodies the tradition of excellence associated with Russian dance. Most of the company's dancers, teachers and coaches studied at the Vaganova Ballet Academy, one of the most prestigious dance schools in the world. At home in St. Petersburg, the birthplace of Russian classical ballet, the company performs at the Mariinsky and Hermitage theatres.
As artistic director and manager, Leonid Jacobson shaped the direction of the theatre in its early years. He fashioned a company in which any of the more than 50 dancers could become a soloist. "All of them are real, profound and very subtle professionals," Jacobson observed. "They are masters of different styles. Just dancing, even good dancing, does not automatically lead to communication. Thousands of people finish ballet schools and dance brilliantly, but very few speak to the audience through the language of dance. Our artists can."
After Jacobson died in 1976, his friend and favorite dancer Askold Makarov took the helm of the company. During the 22 years of Makarov's leadership, the theatre's dancers worked with almost 20 ballet masters from throughout the world. The unusually long list of dance creators included a rich variety of traditionalists and innovators.
Spaces Design Center sponsors the performance. Artistic Viewpoints, an informal moderated discussion featuring Yuri Petukhov, St. Petersburg Ballet Theatre artistic director and Romeo and Juliet choreographer, is offered in Eisenhower Auditorium one hour before the performance and is free for ticket holders. Artistic Viewpoints regularly fills to capacity. Seating is available on a first-arrival basis. Audio description, which is especially helpful to patrons with sight loss, is available for this performance at no extra charge to ticket holders. A grant from the Penn State Student Activities Fee Funds makes University Park student prices possible.
Contact: Laura Sullivan, 814-863-6379