Dance Review by Hedy Weiss

THE BOLSHOI BALLET IN ROMEO AND JULIET

...Created in 1940 by choreographer Leonid Lavrovsky - who worked in close collaboration with composer Sergei Prokofiev - this is the land mark production upon which all other major late 20th century balletic versions of the story were built...

No one would dispute the fabulous lushness and visual splendor of this production, with sets and costumes by Petr Williams that almost seem to dwarf the vast Auditorium stage. In scene after scene masterpieces of Italian Renaissance painting appear to have been brought to life, as vast architectural landscapes, gorgeous town squares and graceful arches give way to gilded interiors with vivid tapestries, weighty doors and curtains...

As Juliet, prima ballerina Nina Ananiashvili - a long- limbed, raven-haired beauty with an exquisite line - moves with a unique combination of feathery lightness and steely perfection... Her Romeo’s (Andrei Uvarov) vertical lift of her apparently lifeless body in the death scene is an image of breathtaking power. Ananiashvili’s rejection of her suitor, Paris (well-played by Alexei Barsegyan), also was beautifully done...