Poetry in motion

With both the Golden Mask Festival and the Chekhov Festival lifting their respective curtains in the coming weeks and months, the choice for cultural devotees is overwhelming and dance enthusiasts especially will be hard pressed not to find something to their taste. Guests of honor at this year's Chekhov Festival are the French, so it is time to dust off your beret and perfect your ooh-la-la - not since 1812 have so many Frenchmen been seen on the Moscow horizon. This year's festival season promises an unprecedented caliber of performances from all over the world, tickets are already on sale and are selling fast. Leading the invasion in le grand style is renegade former ballet wunderkind Sylvie Guillem, who performs in the capital for the first time as part of the Golden Mask Festival.
Sylvie Guillem, one time protege of Rudolf Nureyev and the youngest ever etoile at the Paris Opera Ballet, is as known for her willfulness and defection to London as she is for her lithe limbs and inimitable flexibility. Over the years Guillem has moved further from the classical repertoire that brought her fame and leaned towards more experimental modern pieces. Her association with Sadler's Wells Theatre in London has propelled her star beyond balletic boundaries, while her collaboration with Russell Maliphant in the brilliant "Push" has earned rave reviews and several awards.
Showing for the first time in Moscow, "Push" is an exquisite show in four parts. The first, "Solo", features a lone Guillem against a score of passionate flamenco music, during which I challenge anyone to take their eyes off her perfectly sculpted limbs. Maliphant performs the second part, "Shift", another physical soliloquy, before Guillem returns to perform solo in the dazzling "Two". The final part is the eponymous "Push," which features both Guillem and Maliphant in a flawless climactic duet. The simple movements and seamless transitions throughout the pieces, together with uncommon angles and unnatural contortions, seem breathtakingly effortless when performed by these masters of motion. The pair's bold, uncomplicated movements, though detached until the final part, seem to string together to form a physical stream of consciousness. The whole is an intoxicatingly sensual visual feast, almost ritualistic at times and reminiscent of a tribal courtship.
"Push" is on stage at the Chekhov MKhAT on March 14-15, and so popular has this show proved to be, tickets are selling seriously fast. There have recently been some available for 8,250 rubles.
As well as "Push", there is a veritable smorgasbord of shows for the dance aficionado.
The Golden Mask Festival also boasts the improv-inspired dance piece "Last Touch First" by renowned Czech choreographer Jiri Kylian and performer Michael Schumacher, in association with the Holland Dance Festival. The improv-inspired dance piece is on March 27-28 at the Pyotr Fomenko Theatre. Tickets start at 3,300 rubles.
Nominated for a Golden Mask Award in the category of Best Ballerina is prima ballerina Diana Vishneva. Watch her perform in the three-act production "Diana Vishneva: Beauty in Motion" on April 5-6 at the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Musical Theatre, tickets start at 5,500 rubles.
For those traditionalists among you, there is a chance to see the recently-revived revolutionary ballet "The Flames of Paris" which was said to be Stalin's personal favorite. The production is nominated in the Best Ballet category of the Golden Mask Awards and is on stage at the Bolshoi Theatre on March 19 - 20. Tickets start at 2,035 rubles. (Also, separately from the festival but still an upcoming dance highlight on Moscow's cultural calendar, the Bolshoi is to present the premiere of the comic ballet "Coppelia" on March 12. Tickets are available for 2,035 rubles.)
At the Chekhov Festival, flying the flag for contemporary dance from Taiwan are the Cloud Gate Dancers who bring together poise, meditation, martial arts and intense control in their fantastic show "Cursive", inspired by the ancient Chinese art of calligraphy and accompanied by traditional music. This is the second piece in their impressive trilogy, in which the performers breathe life into this ancient art of Eastern penmanship, transcending the boundaries of media. "Cursive" is on stage on June 3 - 5 at the Maly Theatre, with tickets from 550 rubles.
Also at the Chekhov Festival is celebrated Swedish playwright August Strindberg's surreal work "A Dream Play", which has been reworked by influential choreographer and fellow countryman Mats Ek. The discordant fantasy exploits the semi-truths of dreams to portray the harsh realities of life and is to be performed from June 9 - 11 at the Maly Theatre. Tickets are currently on sale from 550 rubles.
Meanwhile, German choreographer Pina Bausch brings her version of Kurt Weill's and Bertolt Brecht's satirical ballet chante "The Seven Deadly Sins" to the Chekhov Festival. The production runs from July 15 -18 at the Mossovet Theatre, tickets from 550 rubles.
Matthew Bourne‘s adaptation of Oscar Wilde's dark masterpiece "Dorian Gray" is at Mossovet from July 28-August 2. The British choreographer has updated the story, setting it in the image-frenzied fashion world. The show was a sell-out at the 2008 Edinburgh Festival, becoming the most attended dance performance in its history. Tickets are available from 825 rubles.
CALENDAR

Golden Mask Festival: March 27 - April 18

Highlights: n March 14 -15: "Push" at Chekhov MKhAT, 3 Kamergersky Per., 629 8760, www.mxat.ru
March 19 - 20: "The Flames of Paris" at the Bolshoi Theatre, New Stage, 1 Teatralnaya Ploshchad, 250 7317, www.bolshoi.ru
March 27-28: "Last Touch First" at the Pyotr Fomenko Theatre, 29 Naberezhnaya Tarasa Shevchenko, (499) 249 1136, www.fomenko.theatre.ru
April 5-6: "Diana Vishneva: Beauty in Motion" at the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Musical Theatre, 17 Ul. Bolshaya Dmitrovka, 629 2835, www.stanislavskymusic.ru
Ticket office: 7 Mokhovaya Ul. (inside the Na Mokhovoi trading complex), open daily from noon to 8 pm.
http://www.goldenmask.ru/

The Chekhov Festival: May 26-August 2

Highlights: n June 3-5: "Cursive" at the Maly Theatre,
1/6 Teatralnaya Ploshchad, 623 2621, www.maly.ru
June 9-11: "A Dream Play" at the Maly Theatre,
1/6 Teatralnaya Ploshchad, 623 2621, www.maly.ru
July 15-18: "The Seven Deadly Sins" at the Mossovet Theatre,
16 Bolshaya Sadovaya Ul., 699 2035, mossovet.theatre.ru
July 28-August 2: "Dorian Gray" at the Mossovet Theatre,
16 Bolshaya Sadovaya Ul., 699 2035, mossovet.theatre.ru
Ticket office: 21/1 Leontyevsky Per., 223 9651, 223 9650, open weekdays from noon to 7 pm and on Saturdays from noon to 6 pm.
www.chekhovfest.ru