March 29, 2024
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Recital to mark Bossov ballet’s 10th

ORONO – Two of Russian-born choreographer Andrei Bossov’s original works, “Bolero” and “A Few Ballroom Dances,” will be staged at 7 p.m. Friday, March 3, at Hauck Auditorium, University of Maine.

The event will mark the 10th anniversary of Bossov Ballet Theatre, based in Pittsfield. The program also will include an excerpt from “The Sleeping Beauty” and a preview of Bossov’s coming attraction, “The Red Shoes.”

Bossov created “Bolero” in 1984 when he was director of the Kirov Chamber Ballet in Russia. The Chamber Ballet was established only occasionally in the Kirov’s long history, when a young choreographer of great promise emerged. In that way, the artist could create with some of the world’s finest dancers and without the limitations imposed by inability of the dancers at hand to perform at the level of the choreographer’s ability to create.

For a Bossov ballerina to be cast in “Bolero” is a rite of passage. Bossov describes his ballet as depicting “the inner world of the woman,” and to be selected means the ballerina has reached a new level of maturity. Unlike most of Bossov’s ballets, which capitalize on his sense of humor, “Bolero” is serious. Eight young women in black unitards come on stage one at a time and form a unified ensemble that rises with the emotion of Maurice Ravel’s music.

“A Few Ballroom Dances” was Bossov Ballet Theatre’s first performance in 1996 when the company was incorporated. The ballet is set in a 1940s dance hall where single men and women go with hopes of finding romance.

Among the invited guests who will attend an invitation-only reception after the performance on March 3 is Nina Alovert of New York City, the Russian-born ballet critic, photographer and author of books about ballet, including a 1984 biography of Mikhail Baryshnikov.

For ticket information, call the Bossov Ballet Theatre at 487-6360.


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