Lehman Center for the Performing Arts, in association with OZ Productions, International Concerts and Love Productions, is proud to present the world-class ballet company State of Ballet Of Georgia on Sunday, April 16, at 6 p.m.
As a part of the Z. Paliashvili Opera and Ballet State Theater, the State Ballet Of Georgia has a rich history dating back to 1852, when the St. Petersburg Ballet Company performed at the Ballet State Theatre in Tbilisi, the capital city of Georgia. The company has hosted world-renowned dancers such as Anna Pavlova, Isadora Duncan and Mikhail Fokine. Legendary choreographers such as George Balachine, Alexei Ratmansky, Alexey Fadeechev, Yuri Possokhov, Trey McIntyre, Stanton Welch and Jorma Elo also collaborate with the theater.
Led by Nina Ananiashvili, a native of Georgia and a former Bolshoi prima ballerina, the State Ballet Of Georgia will present their triple bill “Mostly B”: Serenade, Choreography: George Balanchine, Music: P. I. Tchaikovsky; Concerto Barocco, Choreography: George Balanchine, Music: J. S. Bach; Sagalobeli, Choreography: Yuri Possokhov, Music: Georgian Folk music.
Since September 2004, Ananiashvili, the former prima ballerina with Bolshoi Ballet, The Royal Ballet and American Ballet Theatre, has served as the artistic director of the Zakaria Paliashvili Ballet Theater’s Ballet Ensemble and Director of the Vakhtang Chabukiani State Choreographic School in Tbilisi. As the the most sought-after ballerina of the present day, Ananiashvili had received numerous awards and accolades including the National Prize of Russia and the title of “Woman of the Year” awarded by the American Biography Institute. Her biography has also had an important place in the New York City Ballet, where she danced with Andre Liepa in 1988, becoming the first dancer from the former USSR invited to this theater. Ananiashvili danced the principal roles in Balanchine’s ballets “Symphony in C,” “Raymonda Variations” and “Apollo.” Between 1993-2009, Ananiashvili was also the guest prima-ballerina of American Ballet Theater.
Ananiashvili has revitalized the State Ballet of Georgia. Under her leadership, more than fifty ballets and miniatures have been staged at the Georgian Opera and Ballet Theater in Tbilisi. Over the years, the State Ballet Of Georgia has toured in the United States, Japan, Israel, Egypt, Italy and more. In 2008, the ballet company of the Georgian Opera and Ballet Theater was awarded the prestigious Herald Angels award at the Edinburgh International Festival.
The State Ballet Of Georgia’s debut program at the Lehman Center features two works by famed 20th century Georgian American choreographer George Balanchine including “Serenade,” set to music by Tchaikovsky, and “Concerto Barocco,” set to J.S. Bach’s Concerto in D minor for two violins. The impeccably precise dancers of this company will also bring Georgian folk melodies to life in “Sagalobeli” by Yuri Possokhov, the Ukraine-born international choreographer.
Lehman Center for the Performing Arts is on the campus of Lehman College/CUNY, located at 250 Bedford Park Blvd. West. Tickets can be purchased for $25, $35, $45, $55 and $75 by calling the Lehman Center box office at (718) 960-8833; Para Español: 9718) 960-8835 (Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and beginning four hours prior to showtime on weekends), or through online access at https://www.lehmancenter.org/
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