Passion et Puissance

by Luca Catalano Gonzaga

The story of passion and power, of fatigue and of beauty, of grace and strength, of fantasy and feeling, is brought to life inside the National Academic Opera Theatre in Kiev,the Taras Shevchenko.
The Theatre,built in 1901, is considered today as one of the most famous ballet schools in Europe, training ground for some of the most famous twentieth century dancers, such as Vaclav Nijinsky and Serge Lifar. Since the post-war period, the Kiev Opera Ballet has become one of the biggest European companies. In 1964, at the Paris Festival, the company was awarded the Etoile d’or of the French Dance Academy. From 1992 to 2000 the Theatre’s Ballet Company company was directed by the Ukrainian choreographer Anatolij Severa. His staging of Sergey Prokofiev’s 1971 ballet “Romeo and Juliet” has been performed around the world for over thirty years and received the UNESCO medal as the best interpretation of Prokofiev’s ballet. The company currently consists of 150 dancers and stages 16 productions a month in the Kiev Theater, as well as numerous international tours. (text by Muriel de Meo).