Purdue News

January 8, 1999 Magic of 'Swan Lake' comes to Elliott Hall of Music WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- On its first North American tour, the Russian National Ballet will perform Tchaikovsky's best-loved ballet, "Swan Lake ," at 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 24, at Purdue University's Elliott Hall of Music. A presentation of Purdue Convocations, the ballet is the haunting story of Prince Siegfried and his spell-breaking love for the swan maiden, Odette. It features lavish costumes and sets and a company of 50 highly skilled dancers. The performance, a part of the Lively Arts Package, is supported by Caterpillar of Lafayette and Eli Lilly & Co. Tippecanoe Labs. The Russian National Ballet was founded in Moscow during the transitional period of perestroika in the late 1980s, when many of the great dancers and choreographers of the Soviet Union's ballet institutions were exercising their newfound creative freedom by starting new companies dedicated not only to the timeless tradition of classical Russian ballet but also to invigorating this tradition with new developments from around the world. The company, then titled the Soviet National Ballet, was founded by and incorporated graduates from the renowned Russian choreographic schools of Moscow, St. Petersburg and Perm. The principal dancers of the company came from the upper ranks of the Bolshoi and Kirov, as well as the Stanislavsky Ballet, and the companies of Riga, Kiev and even Warsaw. In 1994, the legendary Bolshoi principal dancer Sergei Radchenko was selected by presidential decree to assume the first permanent artistic directorship of the company. Radchenko is the founder and also artistic director of the Moscow Festival Ballet, and he has focused the two companies in slightly different directions. The Moscow Festival company undertakes vast international touring, and it commissions modern works and new productions of full-length ballets. The Russian National company now focuses on upholding the grand tradition of the major Russian ballet works and developing new Russian talent. Tickets to the performance of "Swan Lake " at Purdue are $26, $20, and $13 for the public, and $14 or $12 for Purdue students. Charge by phone at (765)494-3933 or 1-800-914-SHOW. CONTACT: Sue Stevens, Convocations publicist, (765) 494-9712; e-mail, snstevens@convos.purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu To the Purdue News and Photos Page