International ballet stars Sergei Polunin and Johan Kobborg will perform in a new mixed programme at the London Palladium from 28 May to 1 June 2019. The programme on 28, 29 and 30 May will feature three one-act ballets: Fraudulent Smile, Paradox and Sacré. The programme on 31 May and 1 June will feature the world premiere of Rasputin, with a final ballet to be announced at a later date.
Fraudulent Smile is choreographed by Ross Freddie Ray to music by KROKE and will star Sergei Polunin and Johan Kobborg, with further casting to be announced.
Paradox and Sacré have both been choreographed by Japanese dancer and choreographer Yuka Oishi. Paradox is performed to music by Stravinsky (Soldier’s Tale) and Chopin and will star Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Music Theatre first soloist Alexey Lyubimov and Belgrade National Theatre first soloist Dejan Kolarov. Sacré is a piece of tanztheater set to Stravinsky’s iconic The Rite of Spring. It is a solo piece starring Sergei Polunin. Both Paradox and Sacré explore aspects of the life of famous dancer Vaslav Nijinsky in his 130th birthday year, with Sacré reinterpreting his infamous ballet Le Sacre du Printemps, originally created for Ballets Russes in 1913. The ballets are inspired by Nijinsky’s demand for a “feeling, not thinking Human”, by master pieces of the Art Brut – the movement of the outsider art, by the essence of rebellion.
The world premiere of Rasputin is also choreographed by Yuka Oishi, with a new score by Russia’s most prominent representative of the neoclassical music scene, Kirill Richter, set design by Otto Bubenicek. The title role will be performed by Sergei Polunin, the rest of the cast will be announced at a later date. Rasputin explores the life of the Russian mystic and self-proclaimed holy man who befriended the family of Tsar Nicholas II.
