On 20 August the Ballet Company of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre concluded its first tour to St Petersburg. At the historic Mariinsky Theatre the Far East company presented the one-act ballets The Firebird with choreography by Eldar Aliev and George Balanchine's Apollo as well as the ballet Giselle with choreography by Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot and Marius Petipa.
On 15 August the tour opened with a ballet evening marking one hundred and thirty-five years since the birth of Igor Stravinsky. The company's leading dancers – Irina Sapozhnikova, Sergei Umanets, Anna Samostrelova and Kanat Nadyrbek – performed The Firebird with choreography by Eldar Aliev, Principal Ballet Master of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre, and George Balanchine's ballet Apollo.
Eldar Aliev was pleased with the dancers' performances: "All of my conscious life as a performer, as an artiste, has taken place in this theatre. I know and truly love this city and the St Petersburg public, and so I have a good understanding of what they accept here and what they reject. The company tries so hard, it doesn't always turn out the way we would wish, because it is impossible not to be worried about appearing on this stage."
The dancers stressed how perturbing it was to dance at this famous St Petersburg theatre: "This is the first time I've been in St Petersburg and the first time I've performed at the historic Mariinsky Theatre – it's a tremendous honour. We are all very anxious and are trying to demonstrate our worth and not let the Mariinsky Theatre down. We have had a surprisingly warm reception, because St Petersburg has a refined audience. Perhaps at the first performance there was a sense that the audience didn't clap with such fervour, but with each passing day it became warmer, and we really liked that," commented Irina Sapozhnikova.
During the tour there were three performances of Adolphe Adam's ballet Giselle with choreography by Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot and Marius Petipa. The first performance on 17 August was attended by Irina Alexandrovna Kolpakova, People's Artist of the USSR and retired prima ballerina of the Kirov (Mariinsky) Theatre: "I loved the performance. I am totally thrilled for the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre, for the performers and for Eldar with whom I have worked before. They showed themselves off to perfection. I think that, in becoming a branch of the Mariinsky Theatre, the Primorsky Stage will develop, the ballet company will improve and become more interesting and there will be many new productions. It is wonderful that the Mariinsky Theatre is assisting others in the development of ballet even in the remotest corners of our country."
In August the Ballet Company of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre also undertook its first ever international tour, visiting Harbin (China) as part of the international programme of the II International Far East Festival Mariinsky. On 9 and 10 August at the Grand Theatre of Harbin there were performances of Adolphe Adam's ballet Le Corsaire staged by Eldar Aliev (featuring highlights of the choreography by Marius Petipa).
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