A debut by Alexei Popov

The ballet The Little Humpbacked Horse was first staged at the Mariinsky Theatre in 1864. That ballet was choreographed by Arthur Saint-Léon to music by Cesare Pugni. At that time, ballerinas reigned supreme in dance and lead roles in all choreographic works were created for them. Male dance in ballets was all but a “by-product” and so the role of Ivan the Fool in Saint-Léon’s production was almost entirely mime-based. The choreographer made the Tsar-Maiden the protagonist and the production, unlike its literary source, came to be known as The Little Humpbacked Horse, or the Tsar-Maiden. But despite the virtuoso quality of the ballerina’s dancing, at the premiere one eye-witness wrote that Ivan the Fool was the central character. In that production he was allocated pantomime scenes and, for example, a mechanical prop horse was used to depict Ivan’s flights of fantasy. In today’s production Ivan’s flights of fantasy with the horse are depicted through dance. The current production of The Little Humpbacked Horse features choreography by Alexei Ratmansky and music by Rodion Shchedrin. This production is a true child of the early 21^st century, while the role of Ivan the Fool in it features a great deal of movement in accordance with the aesthetics of modern dance And yet there is also great scope for acting in this humorously staged ballet. So as Ivan the Fool Alexei Popov will have the opportunity to display both his virtuoso dance skills as well as those of a witty actor.