Moscow Ballet’s beloved Great Russian Nutcracker receives consistent critical acclaim:
2019, Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Eric Harrison
“Dove of Peace Aidana Amirkhanova and Rafael Urazov … brought down the house with very athletic performances of the Arabian Variation”
2019, Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Eric E. Harrison
“[Alexandra] Elagina… delicately aced the Sugar Plum Fairy solo”
2019, The Spokesman Review, Don Chareunsy
“One of the most wonderful aspects of Moscow Ballet is its engagement with the community... Some 10,000 youth dancers, Scouts, college students and more work each year alongside the Russian dancers in programs developed by Moscow Ballet: New Horizons, Fine Art with Moscow Ballet, Musical Wunderkind and Dance with Us.”
2018, Broadway World
“Sergey Chumakov and Elena Petrichenko... stole the spotlight.”
2018 Broadway World
“The puppets were a delight.... Case in point: when each puppet took a bow!”
2017 Baltimore Sun, Carolyn Keleman
“The Great Russian Nutcracker is a splendid ballet in every sense ... from grand dancing to delicate partnering”
2016, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Eric E. Harrison
“Nutcracker dazzlingly shows Russian roots” and “Tatiana Nazarkhevich as Masha and Andrey Batalov as Nutcracker Prince showed why the Russians remain the principal keepers of the classical ballet tradition.”
2015 New York City The New York Times, Gia Kourlas
“Moscow Ballet Great Russian Nutcracker...a magnetic sense of theater, a hot ticket”
2014 The New York Times, Brian Seibert
“A Christmas tale from a faraway Land of Snow and Ice…real beauty…good, precise dancing… well-trained cast”
2014 Cleveland Plain Dealer, Steve Sucato
“Danced exquisitely by Ekaterina Bortiakova...[her] technical prowess, especially in her footwork and turns, coupled with an endearing smile and girlish innocence, was…truly great.”
2013 Los Angeles Times, Lewis Segal
“Karyna Shatkovskaya…[showed] faultless mastery of the steps and a floating jump. Vladimir Tkachenko…contributed bravura expertise.”
2012 Time Magazine Lightbox, NYC, NY
“President Barack Obama attends a dress rehearsal of Moscow Ballet's “Great Russian Nutcracker,” in which his daughter, Sasha, portrays a mouse.”
2010 New York Times, NYC, NY, Alastair Macaulay, Chief Dance Critic
“Knockout… Brimful with feeling…Expansive… the Russian style is elegantly generous, and so the experience is never meager. Kids…were wide-eyed with delight.”
Moscow Ballet – In addition to the popular Great Russian Nutcracker, company repertory includes classic ballets Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Romeo and Juliet, Cinderella and more. The company features award-winning and rising star dancers, from Lilia Sabitova in 1994 to Alisa Voronova in 2014. It performs 100+ engagements annually across Canada and in most of the United States’ largest cities consistently receiving critical acclaim. In addition to public performances, Moscow Ballet dedicates resources to community engagement programs. The 23 year old Dance with Us program shares the Russian Vaganova ballet training with over 5000 American dance students annually bringing them on stage in ancillary roles to perform side-by-side with the professionals. Underwritten by Moscow Ballet, the program was developed by choreographer and co-producer Mary Giannone Talmi. The intensive cultural immersion project “New Horizons – A Children’s Program for Life” benefits thousands of school children in tour cities and programs Musical Wunderkind and Summer Intensivesalso touch the lives of many children and young adults. Moscow Ballet’s partnerships with corporations and not-for-profit organizations such as the President’s Challenge Program and Children’s Hospitals, has raised significant revenue. www.moscowballet.com.