ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE

1. Numbers like “Mishka”, “A Round Dance” and “Antsukh”, a specialty of the Caucasian horsemen keep accelerating to a furious tempo, then just as fever is reached, it gets faster still with a series of ever more spectacular solos.

“Festival In A Mountain Village” goes at a furious pace and is full of gravity defying pyrotechnics by dancers and acrobats. In “The Mountaineers”, fierce looking horsemen in black sheepskin cloaks glide in intricate formation, their rapid unseen footwork making it appear as if they’re on rollers. And there’s a show stopping and dangerous saber dance in which sparks literally fly. The fabulous drummers are always on display at the heart of the orchestra, and they also have their own sensational specialty numbers.

2. While much of the program was pure spectacle, there were also some lovely moments of introspection.

3. “Festival In A Mountain Village” was a delightful picture of a village celebration. The women were serene, charming and graceful in jackets of rich purple, gold and red. The men were also costumed in red. The company presented a tapestry of dance and acrobatics which also included a tightrope walker doing splits, leaps, balances and runs across the rope 15 feet above the stage.

A favorite of the audience was the impeccably danced “Askery” – the famous saber dance of Dagestan warriors. Costumed in black tunic jackets, trousers and boots, this men only dance had all the traditional dance moves with exciting saber choreography. There were literally sparks flying from the stage and fire in the eyes of the dancers.

One entire number was performed by virtuoso drum corps who juggled their drums like batons and never missed a beat.