The very first Golden Soffit award ceremony celebrated the most significant achievements in the art of theatre all the way back in the 90s. And ever since then, the distinguished judges have been selecting new nominees every year. Yesterday’s ceremony was the 30th, making the much sought-after Golden Soffit statuette all the more prestigious.

For the first time in its history, the Leonid Yacobson Ballet Theatre will open its latest, 56th, season at the historic venue of the Mariinsky Theatre. The playbill begins with Don Quixote, one of the most popular productions in our classical repertoire. Even ahead of the planned showing date on 13 September, it is quite obvious that the season opening will be fully sold out.

The Gold Collection festival is drawing to a close. As the finishing touch for the event and the entire season, our troupe will perform the ballet classic, Swan Lake, at the Alexandrinsky Theatre on 13, 14, and 15 August.

We at the Leonid Yacobson State Academic Ballet Theatre would like to sincerely thank the St. Petersburg administration for supporting Andrian Fadeev in this momentous decision. Our art director and manager has been invited by Valery Gergiev to direct the ballet troupe at the Mariinsky Theatre. He will, however, also remain at the helm of the Yacobson Company, a position that he has held since 2011.