The 22nd International Baltic Ballet Festival to Present Exciting Performances by Dance Companies from Chicago, Beijing and Italy

This spring – from 7 to 24 April – the International Baltic Ballet Festival will take place for the 22nd time, offering audiences performances in Riga, Rēzekne, Preiļi and Ventspils. The festival motto remains “From Classics to the Avant-Garde”, while this year’s theme is “Love”, intended to foster goodness, beauty, nobility and eternity in the world and in people.

As festival director Lita Beiris reports, this year’s special guests are the Beijing Dance Theater and Giordano Dance Chicago. The festival programme will also include the traditional opening concert at Riga International Railway Station (ORIGO shopping centre), an exhibition dedicated to the festival at Galerija Centrs, a Swedish film evening, as well as other activities. 

It should be noted that the avant-garde ballet programme by the Beijing Dance Theater, which will be presented at the Latvian National Opera on 24 April, is the main performance of this year’s festival. Cooperation with this company forms part of the Silk Road platform connecting China, Central Europe and Eastern Europe, helping to raise awareness of the participating countries’ cultures. The Beijing Dance Theater was founded in 2008 and represents the modern ballet genre. BDT is led by choreographer Wang Yuanyuan, whose choreographies have won recognition and high praise internationally, on every continent. The dance theatre’s programme consists of three one-act works, each different in character, so that together they can appeal to a wide range of audiences: young people, senior citizens, admirers of neoclassical ballet and devotees of the avant-garde,” says the festival director. This performance can also be enjoyed on 23 April in Rēzekne, at the Latgales Embassy GORS. At both performances, audiences will be presented with Wang Yuanyuan’s latest choreographies, “Farewell Shadows”, “Poison” and “The Nightingale and the Rose” (based on the work by Oscar Wilde). More information about the Beijing Dance Theater can be found here: www.beijingdancetheater.org. 

Founded in 1963, Giordano Dance Chicago (GDC) is America’s original jazz dance company, captivating audiences in countries around the world with its powerful dynamism and diverse repertoire. Its choreographies reflect innovative forms of jazz expression. Their performances can be seen on 9 April at the Preiļi Municipality Culture Centre, on 11 April at the Jūras Vārti Theatre House in Ventspils and on 13 April at Riga Congress Hall. A masterclass for dancers and ballet artists, led by the Chicago dance company’s ballet master, is also scheduled for 10 April. More information about the Chicago jazz dance company can be found here:  http://giordanodance.org/history.html

This year’s special surprise will be the performance “Roots” by Italian choreographer Benedetta Capanna – a tribute to her grandmother, Mirzda Kalniņa, a former Latvian ballet soloist. The performance will take place on 23 April at the Theatre House “Zirgu pasts” of the Latvian Academy of Culture.

“And, of course, the festival’s opening concert will take place as usual at Riga International Railway Station, at the ORIGO shopping centre; this year it is scheduled for 7 April. Audiences will be offered music, song and dance,” emphasises festival director Lita Beiris.

The festival is organised by the non-profit organisation “Dance Rainbow”, which has public benefit status. As Lita Beiris emphasises, the festival continues to pursue its objective of enriching Latvia’s cultural environment, promoting the art of professional ballet, educating the public about the latest trends in classical and modern ballet, and organising a charity campaign for socially vulnerable groups.

Tickets for performances and concerts of the 22nd International Baltic Ballet Festival will soon be available through the “Biļešu Paradīze” and “Biļešu Serviss” networks.

Publicity photographs from the festival guests’ performances are available here: 

https://failiem.lv/u/yyy99466

More information:

Lita Beiris,

Director of the 22nd International Baltic Ballet Festival

e-mail: lita.beiris@apollo.lv 

Una Griškeviča,

Public Relations Manager of the 22nd International Baltic Ballet Festival

e-mail: baletafestivals@gmail.com, mobile: 29151986