The Swann Lake / International Festival ballet & Hungary Festival Orchestra

When the new programs of Swan Lake, Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty go on sale this summer, the Saint Petersburg Festival Ballet is going to get a new name.

Shocked and affected by the Russia's war of inhumane aggression against Ukraine, the famous ballet is changing its name into International Festival Ballet.

International Festival Ballet
With this change, the artists express their crystal clear position. The Festival Ballet is an international ballet that thinks beyond national borders and represents understanding and coexistence in the poetry of art, music and dance. Since the beginning of the war, the artists have expressed their position against the Russian aggression by numerous protest actions before each of their performances. Therefore, they are now also threatened by Russia. The team, which also includes a large number of Ukrainian dancers, naturally sees itself as a ballet of peace and cohesion between all people.

Artistically, the ballet represents the Russian school of classical ballet in its purest form. Rigorous elegance combined with modern and 21st century influences, that is to say, a high-class dance performance – all this combined with splendid costumes and sumptuous sets.

The immortal ballet classics by Pyotr I. Tchaikovsky's are known all over the world and never cease to enchant people of all ages. Everyone knows the romantic story of “Swan Lake” which features the white and the black swan and has become synonymous with the elegance of classical ballet at the highest level. The century-old sleep of Sleeping Beauty, from which only the love of a prince can rescue her, has enthralled audiences for generations. And the story of the ballet “Nutcracker” offers the perfect winter and Christmas magic for the whole family. The International Festival Ballet's unique performances bring popular ballets to life in ravishing beauty and perfection.

Classical ballet has a long tradition in Russia, which is still celebrated today. The country has produced many renowned prima ballerinas, dancers and choreographers. The renowned Russian ballet schools are known for their high standards and rigor, and the students for their drive to perform, their ambition and their enormous talent. The 42 dancers of the International Festival Ballet have also passed through this tough school, be it the Vaganova Academy in St. Petersburg, the Moscow Academy of Choreography, the Ufa Ballet School or the Perm Ballet Academy. Most of the dancers of the corps de ballet now have their artistic home in the world-famous Samara Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet. They have all worked in the main ballet theaters of Russia and have won numerous prizes at international ballet festivals and competitions. Together, they have become one of the most aesthetically and technically successful ballet companies not only in Russia, but also in the world as part of the Saint Petersburg Festival Ballet. In addition to absolutely precise dance technique, this high-level ballet is distinguished by a harmonious and consistent overall image and elegant lightness. The International Festival Ballet shines with a perfect dance performance which takes the audience's breath away.