Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Dance Venues
Bolshoi Theatre
Stanislavsky & Nemirovich-Danchenko Musical Theatre
New Ballet
Kremlin Ballet
Other Dance Companies
The Bolshoi is Moscow's best known (and therefore most political) ballet company, but oth-
er companies in the city have equally talented dancers and directors. Both the Kremlin Bal-
let and the Stanislavsky & Nemirovich-Danchenko Musical Theatre stage excellent per-
formances of the Russian classics.
The New Ballet, directed by Pavel Nestratov, stages a completely different kind of dance.
Dubbed 'plastic ballet', it combines dance with pantomime and drama. Productions vary
widely, incorporating elements such as folk tales, poetry and improvised jazz. This bizarre,
playful performance art is a refreshing addition to Moscow's dance scene.
Anton Chekhov describes his style: 'All I wanted was to say honestly to people: have a
look at yourselves and see how bad and dreary your lives are! The important thing is that
people should realise that, for when they do, they will most certainly create another and
better life for themselves.'
Theatre
Moscow's oldest theatre, the Maly Theatre, was established in 1756 upon the decree of Em-
press Elizabeth. But Russia's theatre scene flourished under the patronage of drama-lover
Catherine the Great, who set up the Imperial Theatre Administration and herself penned
several plays. During her reign Moscow playwright Denis Fonvizin wrote
The Brigadier
(1769) and
The Minor
(1791), satirical comedies that are still performed today.
Alexander Ostrovsky (1823-86) was a prominent playwright who lived in Zamosk-
vorechie and based many of his plays on the merchants and nobles who were his neigh-
bours. As the director of the Maly Theatre, he is credited with raising the reputation of that
institution as a respected drama theatre and school. Other 19th-century dramatists included
Alexander Pushkin, whose drama
Boris Godunov
(1830) was later used as the libretto for
the Mussorgsky opera; Nikolai Gogol, whose tragic farce
The Government Inspector
(1836)
