Classical Russian ballet takes Drayton Hall stage
The University of South Carolina Dance Conservatory will present “From Russia With Love,” featuring excerpts from classical 1800s ballet originally choreographed and performed in St. Petersburg, Russia, Friday and Saturday, Oct. 22-23 at Drayton Hall.
Tickets are $16 for the public, $14 for military, USC faculty and staff and $10 for students. Show times are 7:30 p.m. both evenings, plus a 3 p.m. performance Saturday.
Performers will include students from the USC Dance Conservatory, ranging in age from 11 to 17 years, plus members of the USC Dance Company.
The ballets featured in the production represent the great golden age of classical ballet in late 19th-century Russia that are still popular today. Selections include “Paquita,” the first work ever staged by legendary choreographer Marius Petipa in Russia; the pas de trois (a ballet dance for three) from Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker”; and choreographer Arthur Saint Leon’s “La Vivandiere.”
Among the pieces, one that stands out for conservatory director Marissa Freeman is “The Nutcracker” pas de trois (known as “The Dance of the Mirlitons,” or more commonly, “The Dance of the Reed Flutes”).
“The selection we’re doing is very specific to the Russian version in that it features three children, a boy and two girls, and utilizes choreography which is rarely done in American versions of the ballet,” Freeman said.
For more information about “From Russia With Love” and other conservatory events, contact Kevin Bush at 777-9353 or bushk@mailbox.sc.edu.