The Bolshoi Ballet competition of the federal TV channel Kultura begins today. Among others, the principal dancers of the Hvorostovsky Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theatre Anna Fedosova and Marcello Pelizzoni are going to win the hearts of the competition jury and viewers from entire Russia.

On November 4, in the first part of the competition named The Calling Card, young artists present the piece “Awakening” to the music by Sergei Rachmaninoff, staged by the Artistic Director of the Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theatre Sergei Bobrov.

Also, the Krasnoyarsk dancers are going to put on five more performances of classical and contemporary choreography. Three of them are couple dances (Criss Cross Dance (choreography by Olesya Aldonina and Demid Zykov), Esmeralda (choreography by Marius Petipa), Ave Maria (choreography by Francesca Frassinelli)) and two solo pieces: the Russian Dance from the Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s ballet Swan Lake (choreography by Sergei Bobrov) performed by Anna, and A Heroic Study (choreographic miniature by Leonid Yakobson) danced by Marcello. The grandiose final performance, in which all the contestants took part, will be a surprise for the audience.

The artists have been preparing for the competition for several months in adverse conditions of the pandemic: rehearsals were held both online and offline. The filming of the project took place in July. The TV channel Kultura will broadcast six episodes in November and December 2020; its viewers will see a spectacular award ceremony on New Year's Eve. The rivals of Krasnoyarsk dancers are seven couples representing theatres of Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Buryatia, the Republic of Komi, Voronezh, Saratov, and St. Petersburg.

The hosts of the fourth season of the Bolshoi Ballet project are the world ballet star, laureate of the State Prize of the Russian Federation Svetlana Zakharova and the world-famous opera singer, twice Grammy awardee Ildar Abdrazakov.

The competition jury includes the best dancers of modern times: the prima ballerina of the Mariinsky Theatre, People's Artist of Russia Diana Vishnyova, People's Artist of Russia Farukh Ruzimatov, Honoured Artist of Russia, laureate of international competitions, awardee of the National Theatre Award Golden Mask, choreographer Alexei Miroshnichenko, as well as Honoured Artist of Ukraine Denis Matvienko, Artistic Director of the ballet company of the Novosibirsk Opera House.

“This season is exceptional,” commented Svetlana Zakharova, “There have never been so many premieres at the Bolshoi Ballet competition. Some of these magnificent productions are unfamiliar not only to the mainstream audience but also to professionals. This really is a big day for all the ballet fans!”