Performing Arts - Moscow - page 405

Ratmansky's productions were well received, even when he stretched the traditionally
narrow focus of the Bolshoi. In 2006, in honour of the 100th anniversary of Dmitry Shos-
takovich's birthday, the Bolshoi ballet premiered the composer's ballet Bolt . Prior to that,
the ballet was performed exactly once - in 1931 - before it was banned for its 'most serious
formalist errors'. Ratmansky earned the Golden Mask in 2007 for his staging of Jeu de
Cartes . In 2008 he re-created the revolutionary ballet Flames of Paris, which was originally
performed in the 1930s. At the end of the 2008 season Ratmansky resigned.
Ratmansky was succeeded by Yury Burlaka, who is known for reconstructing classical
ballets. The Bolshoi administration also appointed Yury Grigorovich as staff ballet master.
Burlaka was a discreet presence in the Bolshoi, but he succeeded in carrying on Rat-
mansky's legacy, promoting promising young dancers and directing innovative program-
ming. Prima ballerina Svetlana Zakharova starred in the 2009 one-act ballet Zakharova Su-
pergame . The unusual piece was an on-stage video game by Italian choreographer
Francesco Ventriglia.
The 2010 season opened with a ballet by French choreographer Angolin Preljocaj. En-
titled And then, 1000 Years Peace - Creation 2010, the abstract piece was composed spe-
cially for the Bolshoi dancers. It was not your traditional ballet, as there is no storyline, but
it was a cool, contemporary creation, with music by Laurent Garnier and costumes by Igor
Chapurin.
Burlaka's contract expired in 2011. Around the same time, the director of the company,
Gennady Yanin, also resigned suddenly amid scandal, when a website full of erotic photos
(featuring Yanin) became public knowledge. Without a director or an artistic director, the
Bolshoi administration acted quickly: soloist Yan Godovsky was named director, while
Sergei Filin - previously director of the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko dance
company - was appointed artistic director. Two years later, Filin was attacked with sulphuric
acid, causing severe disfiguration and loss of eyesight. Three dancers were charged with the
crime.
Despite these devastating developments, Filin has stayed on as artistic director at the
Bolshoi, emphasising the artistry of the ballet and the importance of preserving the work of
Grigorovich and Ratmansky. The show must go on. And the world awaits to see if this most
celebrated theatre can recover from this latest, most horrific incident.