Season 54 Review

    On 20 August, Leonid Yacobson Ballet Theatre closed both the Second Annual Gold Collection festival and its 54th season with the final showing of Swan Lake.
    This season has been incredibly eventful. The Yacobson troupe presented two new premières. One of them, Vyacheslav Samodurov’s Cheeky Chastushki, first performed at Mariinsky Theatre’s historical venue on 16 December 2022, was a gift for the distinguished composer Rodion Shchedrin’s 90th birthday. Whereas Brilliant Divertissement, a collection of Leonid Yacobson’s revived ballets, premièred on the main stage of Alexandrinsky Theatre on 24 April, 2023.
    The troupe also travelled extensively throughout the 54th season, visiting a variety of memorable locations. In November and May, the Yacobson Company dancers performed at the Mariinsky branch in North Ossetia-Alania. The theatre-goers of Vladikavkaz enjoyed ballet classics like Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, and Don Quixote. In March, the troupe toured Yerevan, playing Don Quixote at the Armenian National Opera and Ballet Theatre to a resounding success.
    In April, Yacobson Ballet contributed to the 27th International Ballet Festival in the city of Cheboksary. The Chuvash State Opera and Ballet Theatre hosted a première of a special programme, titled Forever Timeless. Leonid Yacobson’s Choreographic Masterpieces. In May, the unique miniatures created by the troupe’s founder were put on the playbill of the 36th Rudolf Nureyev International Festival of Classical Ballet in the city of Kazan.
    And in June, both Brilliant Divertissement and the Cheeky Chastushki one-act ballet were presented at Ural Opera Ballet in Yekaterinburg.
In addition, performers from Leonid Yacobson Ballet Theatre continued the beloved tradition of taking part in the 22nd Dance Open International Festival Galas and in the Classics in the Palace Square celebration in honour of St. Petersburg’s founding anniversary.
    The 54th season culminated with the second iteration of the Gold Collection annual ballet festival, organised by our theatre. During the season’s last month, Mariinsky, Alexandrinsky, and Bolshoi Theatres hosted a veritable ballet extravaganza. The hospitable venues of the nation’s best theatres welcomed the best of the best in modern and classical choreography.
    Starting from 21 August, Leonid Yacobson Ballet will be on summer break. The 55th season will open with a tour to Samara. Our dancers will return on 28 September, playing a collection of Leonid Yacobson’s choreographic miniatures during the Shostakovich. Beyond Time international art festival at the Samara Opera and Ballet Theatre.