Violent Dances: Clay, Quatre chansons de Don Quichotte, Le Bœuf sur le toit (premiere)

CLAY
Music by Darius Milhaud
Choreography by Vladimir Varnava
Costume Designer: Irina Varnava
Lighting Designer: Igor Vints
Premiere: 21 March 2015, Mariinsky Theatre (as a part of the project A Creative Workshop of Young Choreographers)

Cast:
Zlata Yalinich
Viktoria Brilyova
Tatiana Tkachenko
Vasily Tkachenko
Maxim Zenin
Alexei Nedviga

QUATRE CHANSONS DE DON QUICHOTTE
Jacques Ibert
Four songs from the film Don Quichotte

Mikhail Petrenko (bass)
Piano: Yuri Kokko

LE BŒUF SUR LE TOIT (premiere)
Music by Darius Milhaud
Choreography and libretto by Vladimir Varnava
Costume Designer: Galya Solodovnikova
Lighting Designer: Igor Fomin

Cast:
Zlata Yalinich
Vasily Tkachenko
Anastasia Asaben
Olga Belik
Veronika Selivanova
Anastasia Yaromenko
Alexei Nedviga
Erwin Zagidullin
Maxim Zenin

The characters of this infernal divertissement are a trio of mariachi musicians, a female character reminiscent of a certain famous Mexican artist, the legendary Latin American folklore figure of El Diablo, who also appears as "the Christmas Demon" and the principal instigator of carnival, and, of course, Madame Death (La Muerte), who, apropos, remains on the peripheries of the general merriment. To amuse themselves, the protagonists dance on red-hot boards to the melodies of the Argentinian tango, the Brazilian maxixe and samba and the Portuguese fado, combining these with elements of flirtation and improvisation. In the general madness there is no room for loneliness. The dances of the dead force the Earth to rotate on its axis, making night interchangeable with day. This feasting during an outbreak of plague engenders the idea of how all of life is an amazing dance, the charms of which even Madame Death herself is unable to resist. Vladimir Varnava

The Mariinsky Orchestra
Conductor: Arseny Shuplyakov
Stage Director: Vladimir Varnava
Lighting Designer: Igor Fomin

In accordance with amendments to the Government of St Petersburg's Regulation No 121, members of the audience under the age of 16 will not be admitted to the performance.