Perm Ballet

The Perm State P. Tchaikovsky Opera and Ballet Theatre of Russia is one of Russia’s oldest and most distinguished companies. The Tchaikovsky House, as the theatre is often called, is an establishment of impeccable cultural credentials, brimming with old musical traditions. It has produced an ever increasing number of works with particular emphasis on the operas and ballets of Pyotr Tchaikovsky who was born near Perm and whose name the theatre bears.

Perm has an honorable place in ballet history: it was the home of Sergei Diaghilev and the famous Kirov Ballet was evacuated from Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) during World War II. There have been close links between the two companies since then, which has greatly influenced the Perm performing tradition. With a company of 80 dancers, its current repertoire features ballet’s most-treasured classics as well as the works by contemporary choreographers, such as Vladimir Vasiliev, Oleg Vinogradov, Radu Poklitaru, Tatyana Baganova, Yuri Possokhov and Alexei Miroshnichenko.

The Company is unique in that it draws all of its dancers from its own school, which is one of the most prestigious training institutions for ballet in Russia.

It has become a tradition to do co-productions on the Perm stage with choreographers, directors and set designers from Germany, Spain, Switzerland, the USA and the U.K. Choreographic versions of Swan Lake (2005) mounted by the legendary ballerina Natalia Makarova (USA) and Le Corsaire (2008) by Vasiliy Medvedev (Germany) are perfect examples of such a highly favorable artistic collaboration.

The Perm Ballet has also brought its new versions of the magical productions of The Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote, The Nutcracker, Les Sylphides and Giselle.
The Perm Ballet has benefited from the collaboration with the George Balanchine and the Jerome Robbins Trusts having carried out the joint Russian – American projects “George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins Choreography on the Perm Stage”.
The Ballet received the national prestigious Golden Masque arts award for G. Balanchine’s Ballet Imperial (2004).