Bolshoi Ballet’s Canadian comeback

Swan Lake featuring Maria Alexandrova (Odette-Odile) and Ruslan Skvortsov (Prince Seigfried) / Photo by Damir Yusupov

>> by Jacqueline Hansen
The Bolshoi Ballet made its Canadian comeback last month after a thirty-three-year hiatus. The world-renowned Russian ballet company started what it is calling its “Great Tour” in Toronto with performances of Swan Lake. This classical, Tchaikovsky-scored ballet is the company’s signature work; Bolshoi Ballet danced the world premiere of Swan Lake in 1877. Now in its 236th season, the company is introducing North America to its new generation of Bolshoi ballerinas. The dancers completed their Canadian visit with performances of Don Quixote in Ottawa and then continued to Washington and Los Angeles.