Thursday 11 July saw, for the first time in its history, English National Ballet performing at the Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow. The company performed Akram Khan’s Giselle on the New Stage of the Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow, as part of the Chekov International Festival. Performing for four days, the shows were the Company’s first performances at the prestigious venue, marking an important moment in the company’s history.
Giselle was Akram Khan’s first full length collaboration with English National Ballet. Co-produced with Manchester International Festival and Sadler’s Wells, the critically acclaimed reimagining of the iconic ballet received its world premiere in 2016 and has since been seen live by over 86,000 people through tours to eleven cities, both in the UK and internationally. Giselle has also been broadcast in cinemas, televised internationally and was recently released on DVD and Blu-ray. It has reached an audience of over 160,000 through broadcasts internationally. Akram Khan’s Giselle will next be performed at Sadler’s Wells, London, in September.
English National Ballet is a National Portfolio Organisation supported by Arts Council England, with a long and distinguished history. It has played a major role in the growth and history of ballet in the UK, and it is renowned for taking world-class ballet to the widest possible audience through its national and international tour programme, offsite performances at festivals including Glastonbury and Latitude. This is also done by its distinguished orchestra English National Ballet Philharmonic, and being a UK leader in creative learning and engagement practice and delivery, building innovative partnerships to deliver flagship programmes such as English National Ballet’s Dance for Parkinson’s.
Under the artistic directorship of Tamara Rojo, English National Ballet has gained new acclaim as it introduces innovative works to the Company’s repertoire while continuing to honour and reinvigorate traditional ballet.