St Petersburg Ballet Theatre is delighted to announce its 2007-8 season. The company present perennial favourites - the Tchaikovsky trilogy Nutcracker, Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty, as well as special performances of ‘Stars of SPBT Celebration Gala’ which received rave reviews from the few performances introduced on the last tour. The Gala programme includes some of classical ballet’s greatest highlights including the popular one-act ballet Chopiniana, Paquita, a witty Harlequinade and the Dying Swan.


The talented young company from St Petersburg is acknowledged as one of the few genuine Russian companies visiting the UK and Republic of Ireland. The company of 100 artists including a 38-piece orchestra celebrated its twelfth anniversary last November. Almost 100,000 people bought tickets during their last tour and witnessed the gorgeous productions of this dazzling young company with its world class Prima Ballerina Irina Kolesnikova and excellent Principals, including some fine young dancers who joined SPBT last year.


The company welcomes new principals and character dancers this year: Oleg Harutkin, Dmitry Lisenko, Astkhik Ohannesian,Vladimis Iznov also Alexander Yakovlev and Svetlana Bekk from Vaganova. SPBT are delighted to announce that Alexander Kurkov, former principal dancer with the Mariinsky (Kirov) Ballet, has joined the company as a coach. Company director Konstantin Tachkin says “We are delighted that Mr Kurkov has joined us.


He is an excellent coach and admires our dancers so I am sure he will work very well with them, especially with this season's new dancers.”


On the forthcoming tour SPBT makes a debut appearance at the Thêatre Champs Elysées in Paris, a debut appearance in Cardiff at the magnificent Wales Millennium Centre, and return visits to some of their favourite UK theatres including the beautiful and soon to be refurbished Norwich Theatre Royal.


SPBT in presented by Artsworld Presentations, a sponsor of a prize category in the National Dance Awards .


The season opens on 14 October on the magnificent stage of the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. SPBT perform Swan Lake at the Royal Albert Hall, London on 26 November.


SPBT make their Paris debut performing Swan Lake with Irina Kolesnikova dancing Odette-Odile at the Theatre Champs Elysées on Wednesday 17th October.


Prima Ballerina Irina Kolesnikova appears in the Stars of the 21st Century Gala in Paris on 22, 23 and 24 September, partnered by Dmitry Semionov from the Ballet de l'Opéra de Berlin.


Full listings information overleaf or available online at:

www.arts-world.co.uk

Additional information available from:

www.spbt.ru

www.irinakolesnikova.com