Purdue News

January 11, 2002 Grigorovich Ballet brings "Spartacus" to Elliott Hall WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Grigorovich Ballet from Moscow will perform "Spartacus" at 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 25, in the Elliott Hall of Music. Tickets are $34, $28, $23 or $12 for general public; $20, $16, $14 or $12 for Purdue students and children K-12. Tickets can be purchased at Purdue box offices or charged by phone at (765) 494-3933 or (800) 914-SHOW. "Spartacus" is presented by Purdue Convocations. The Grigorovich Ballet was founded in the summer of 1990 by Yuri Grigorovich. Grigorovich served as artistic director and chief choreographer of the renowned Bolshoi Ballet from 1964 to 1994. The company is composed of 90 dancers who are graduates of ballet schools in Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev, Perm and Novosibirsk. The Grigorovich Ballet has toured throughout Europe, the Far East and North America. "Spartacus" features a score by Aram Khachaturian and a libretto by Grigorovich. It is based on the novel by Raffaello Giovagnolli and stories of ancient history. The ballet tells the story of an uprising of gladiators and slaves under the leadership of a young Thracian named Spartacus and their defeat by troops of the Roman commander Crassus. Grigorovich first choreographed "Spartacus" for the Bolshoi in 1968 and it has since become his signature work. In creating the ballet, Grigorovich developed a formula that ultimately became the hallmark of his choreography. He divides the action into massed forces contrasted with intimate scenes, which he calls tableaux. Using this technique, the love duets in "Spartacus" are seen in relief to the Roman orgies or marching battalions in the background. Grigorovich has staged his works in Copenhagen, Milan, Paris, Rome, Stockholm, Vienna and many other cities. CONTACT: Larry Sommers, Purdue Convocations, (765) 494-5045, lsommers@purdue.edu. NOTE TO JOURNALISTS: A publication-quality photograph of a scene from "Spartacus" is available at ftp://ftp.purdue.edu/pub/uns/spartacus.jpeg. Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu To the Purdue News and Photos Page