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Moscow Festival Ballet brings classical masterpiece to Madison
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by Timothy Kiefer
Tuesday, January 27, 2004
Sergei Radchenko is the artistic director of the Moscow Festival Ballet, which will be performing “Swan Lake” on Tuesday at the Madison Civic Center (211 State Street).
“Swan Lake” premiered in Moscow in 1877, but it was not until 1895, when a restaged production was presented in St. Petersburg, that the work achieved critical renown. Since that time, “Swan Lake” has been considered one of the “Big Three” of Russian classical ballet, the other two being “The Nutcracker” and “Sleeping Beauty.”
The Moscow Festival Ballet is a product of Mikhail Gorbachev’s perestroika reforms and the subsequent opening of Russia to the West in the post-Soviet period. Radchenko and his wife Elena founded the company in 1989, the same year the Berlin Wall came down. The company was the first independent ballet company to be established in what was then the Soviet Union. Currently touring the United States, the company travels with approximately 50 dancers, as well as another 10 non-dancer staff members.
Prior to founding the Moscow Festival Ballet, Radchenko spent 25 years as a dancer with the Bolshoi Ballet, Russia’s most prestigious ballet company. He lives in Moscow when he is not on tour.
Radchenko spoke with the Herald by telephone from Purdue University, where his company was performing a Sunday matinee of “Cinderella” before heading to Madison for “Swan Lake.” An edited transcript follows.
Badger Herald: How would you compare the “Swan Lake” that will be performed in Madison with “Swan Lake” as it was performed in Russia back in the 19th century?
Sergei Radchenko: The second act [the “swan act”] is kept, but the other acts are absolutely different. New choreographic techniques were invented after many, many years. And we developed these techniques until the very highest superb level, and of course we use it nowadays. It was different ballet, absolutely different ballet. Of course, the ballet of the 19th century is not adoptable now for modern audiences. It was very long, it was too slow, not so dynamic as we offer now.
BH: Some versions of “Swan Lake” have a tragic ending and some have a happy ending. Can you tell us which ending we will be seeing in Madison?
SR: We have the happy ending.
BH: It seems sometimes that the American audiences prefer the happy ending.
SR: Of course, of course. That’s why elsewhere in the world, the happy ending is now international.
BH: In Russia, do you perform it with the happy ending or the sad ending?
SR: Happy. We follow American tradition.
BH: As the artistic director of the company, what does “Swan Lake” mean to you?
SR: It’s one of the genius pieces of Russian classical choreography. And we must keep it, because it’s known all over the world. We try to keep it because we’re carrying the tradition of Russian choreography. “Swan Lake,” “Sleeping Beauty,” “Nutcracker,” it’s what we’re known for. Not only our company, but all [Russian] companies try to keep it if they can. It’s very difficult to keep traditions because it means lots of money nowadays. People must be very well trained. You must have a classical school and for each dancer, the training is for nine years. You can be a modern dancer in a couple of years.
BH: How is Russian ballet different now than it was in the Soviet era?
SR: Not too much different. Politics change very quickly, but not the classical masterpieces.
BH: What aspect of American life do you enjoy the most?
SR: American dream. American dream is always very strong when you are outside of America. For you, it’s normal life staying in the United States. But for foreigners, they dream the so-called American dream.
BH: Do you find American ballet audiences to be different from Russian audiences?
SR: The best audiences in the world are American audiences. They accept everything. I’ve been everywhere, but the best audiences are American audiences.
“Swan Lake” will be performed Tuesday, Jan. 27 at 7:30 p.m. at the Madison Civic Center, 211 State Street. Tickets are $31 and $38 and can be purchased at the Civic Center box office or at 258-4141.
