A Thing Of

'Beauty'

New Jewish star of Russia's
famed Kirov Ballet performs
in Tchaikovsky classic at
Detroit Opera House.

October 20 • 2005

he worldwide reputation of the Detroit Opera
House and Michigan Opera Theatre has once
again attracted the legendary Russian Kirov
Ballet to the Motor City. And Nikolay Zubkovsky,
the new star of an equally legendary Russian
Jewish ballet family, will be a featured performer in
the troupe's presentation of Tchaikovsky's The
Sleeping Beauty.
On a brief U.S tour, Kirov will perform in only
three cities: Los Angeles, Berkeley, Calif., and
Detroit, where the company will put on five per-
formances Thursday-Sunday, Oct. 20-23. There will
be a troupe of close to 100 dancers and 66 musi-
cians from the famed Mariinsky Theatre of St.
Petersburg, Russia, plus a large support staff.
Kirov's last Detroit Opera House appearance was in
2003, dancing La Bayadere.
"We selected Detroit as the only Midwestern city
because MOT and the [Detroit] Opera House do a
great job; Detroit is recognized throughout the
world as having an excellent cultural tradition'
said Sergei Danilian, the Jewish chief of Ardani
Artists, promoters of the tour.
"We're honored because Kirov is the giant of the
ballet world:" said David DiChiera, MOT general
director. "The Sleeping Beauty is a spectacular pro-

T

duction, replete
with magical
fairies and fairy-
tale favorites — an
exceptional ballet
experience for the
whole family!'
Dancing as "the
Wolf," in a charac-
ter dance solo, is
Zubkovsky, the lat-
est generation of a
famous Russian
Kirov star Nikolay Zubkovsky
hails from a legendary Russian
Jewish family of
ballet dancers and Jewish ballet family.
teachers.
"We call our-
selves the 'Dancing Mafia:" the young dancer said
in a phone interview from his home in St.
Petersburg. "Many members of my family have
become part of the renowned Kirov family."
The Sleeping Beauty will be performed in three
acts, with internationally acclaimed Diana
Vishneva dancing the role of Princess Aurora on
opening night. In a tale of treachery and love, she is
stricken by a wicked curse and rendered uncon-
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