January 27th and 28th 2023 at 8.00pm, the Dubai Opera, UAE
Dubai, UAE, 20 December 2022; Internationally renowned ballerina Svetlana Zakharova – the Bolshoi’s prima and the first and only Russian Etoile at Teatro alla Scala – has announced an additional performance date at Dubai Opera due to high demand for tickets.
It comes after the star announced last month that she would perform in Dubai with Stars of the Bolshoi this January and shared the details for the historical first ever world’s ballet superstar performance in the UAE. The original date at the Dubai Opera announced was Friday, January 27th, 2023.
Now, Zakharova is doing an additional show the following day, Saturday, January 28th.
Speaking about her upcoming Dubai performances, Svetlana said:
“I am very excited to be performing at the Dubai Opera for the first time and really look forward to meeting my fans in the UAE. These are going to be amazing shows.”
A towering figure in the 21st century ballet, Zakharova comes to the Dubai Opera in January with MODANSE, a thrilling double bill that brings together the world of fashion and the art of the dance. It was produced by MuzArts specifically for Svetlana Zakharova who will be joined onstage by a star-studded cast of dancers from the Bolshoi Ballet including Mikhail Lobukhin, Denis Savin, Artemy Belyakov, Anastasia Stashkevich, Elizaveta Kokoreva and also by a modern dance star Ildar Gainutdinov.
The night will open with a ballet Come Un Respiro (Like a Breath) set to the 18th century Baroque music by George Frideric Handel. Incidentally, the Baroque period is present not only in the music, but also in the intricate choreography by a famous Italian choreographer Mauro Bigonzetti and the fanciful costumes designed by a Portuguese artist Helena de Medeiros exclusively for this ballet.
The second part of the performance will feature a tribute to Gabrielle Chanel — the legendary couturier and the founder of the House of CHANEL. The ballet Gabrielle Chanel created by a renowned Russian choreographer Yury Possokhov narrates Chanel’s journey from an obscure provincial singer to the head of one of the world’s most influential Fashion Houses – a journey that has forever overturned the world of the 20th century fashion. CHANEL’s Fashion studio under the impetus of Virginie Viard’s Artistic Direction has designed more than 80 costumes specifically for Gabrielle Chanel ballet.
Fashion House faced a difficult task — not only to create costumes that correspond to the historical era, but also to make sure that their designs provide the freedom of movement for the dancers to perform the spectacularly bright, but at the same time technically complex, sometimes almost acrobatic choreography by Yuri Posokhov. CHANEL’s Fashion studio in cooperation with the workshops of the Bolshoi Theatre succeeded brilliantly in solving this problem.
Photo by CHANEL/MUZARTS — Svetlana Zakharova in «Gabrielle Chanel»
Collaboration with CHANEL was not limited to creating all 85 costumes for the ballet. The fashion house also provided texts of Chanel’s personal letters, which were useful in creating the libretto, as well as archival photographs and film materials that were used in the unique video scenography for the performance.
Videography of the ballet «Gabriel Chanel» deserves special mention. Instead of a flat screen, the production uses a complex three-dimensional construction of 28 screens, onto which content is projected from several projectors.
Chanel was inspired by dance as a form of self-expression, as a metaphor for freedom and an expression of beauty. She fruitfully collaborated with the greatest artists and choreographers of her time, including supporting Ballets Russes founder Sergei Diaghilev, who revolutionized the world of dance in the 1920s. Chanel designed the costumes for Diaghilev’s ballet productions ‘Le Train Bleu’ in 1924 and ‘Apollon Musagète’ in 1929 in Paris. Audiences who make it to the performance at the Dubai Opera will have the opportunity to see these costumes in two insert episodes presenting «selected scenes» from both ballets.
Tickets for the additional Saturday’s show by Svetlana Zakharova and Stars of the Bolshoi starting from AED 349, on sale now at dubaiopera.com and platinumlist.net, +971 508702674.
The UAE premiere is presented by MuzArts in collaboration with M Premiere. For any enquires and PR requests you can email Ravshan@mpremiere.com.
