Award Winning Russian-European Dance Fusion
A UK First for Russian ACT
- Russia's Newest Dance Stars Hit London For Russian ACT Festival -
- Rare Opportunity To See And Compare With Bussell And Zelensky -

2 November, London: Darcy Bussell and Igor Zelensky, Dina Husein and Anna Abalihina are all part of the dance element of the Russian ACT festival (www.russianact.co.uk), a major celebration and showcase of Russian arts and culture taking place at venues across London from 4 October - 2 December

Dina Husein and Anna Abalihina are performing their critically acclaimed contemporary dance production In The Place of My Dream for the first time in the UK. The performance is a rare opportunity to see modern dance stars from a country famed for ballet and dance traditions. In The Place Of My Dream will be performed at The Place, 17 Duke's Road, WC1, from 1-2 December at 8pm.

Darcy Bussell and Igor Zelensky are performing at Sadler's Wells (28 November - 2 December at 730pm). Joined by dancers from the Bolshoi and Royal Ballet they explore what is possible when the great Russian and British schools of dance combine. The special programme comprises work by George Balanchine, Roland Petit and modern choreography from Alistair Marriott and Alla Sigalova.

In The Place of My Dream and the Bussell and Zelensky collaboration offer dance fans a unique perspective into Russia's rich cultural heritage of dance and the performing arts. Husein and Abalihina, graduates of both the Moscow Chorographical Lyceum and the Rotterdam Dance Academy, fuse classical and contemporary dance elements drawn from European and Russian styles and their own experience of dancing in Russia, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. The 23 year old pair won the Golden Mask Award, Russia's highest prize for contemporary dance, in 2005.

In The Place of My Dream showcases Husein and Abalihina's talents in a performance that combines animation and audiovisual effects to explore the deepest reaches of human emotions through a surreal world that sucks the audience into the dancers' dreams and fantasies.

In The Place Of My Dream was created with support from Russia's State Nations Theatre and is set to music by Richardas Norvilla.

The Russian ACT festival (www.russianact.co.uk) is a compelling programme of arts and culture put together by Russia's newest cultural leaders. From previously unseen performers to opportunities to experience Russia's past masters, this year's festival includes orchestral, theatre, jazz, and dance events. Russian ACT takes place at venues across London from 4 October to 2 December. [Full festival details in notes to editors].


Booking Tickets

In The Place Of My Dream
1 - 2 December at 8pm
The Place, 17 Duke's Road, WC1.
Tickets range from £5-£15. Book online at www.theplace.org.uk or call Tickets and Information at The Place on 020 7121 1100

Igor Zelenksy and Darcey Bussell
28 November - 2 December at 730pm
Sadler's Wells Rosebery Avenue, EC1.
Tickets range from £13-£40. Book online at www.sadlerswells.com or call Tickets and Information on 0870 737 7737.

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Further information and images

Kallaway
Anna Cusden
anna.cusden@kallaway.co.uk
020 7221 7883

Will Kallaway
will.Kallaway@kallaway.co.uk
020 7221 7883

Images from In The Place Of My Dream, can be viewed and downloaded from: http://www.kallaway.co.uk/russian-act-picture-library.asp


The Place
Richard Thompson richard.thompson@theplace.org.uk 020 7121 1023


Notes to Editors

ABOUT RUSSIAN ACT (www.russianact.co.uk)
Russian ACT is an international festival that showcases Russia's rich and diverse culture at venues across the world. This year Russian ACT takes place in Singapore and London. Compelling programmes are put together by Russia's newest cultural leaders, while concerts and exhibitions provide an opportunity to experience Russia's past masters.

Russian ACT in London (October 2 - December 4, 2006).
Russian ACT has been run in London for three years, providing an insight into the arts and culture of a country that has largely baffled the British. Churchill referred to Russia as a 'riddle wrapped inside an enigma'.

Artists taking part at events across London include Igor Zelensky and Darcy Bussell, exploring what happens when two great ballet traditions meet; violin virtuoso, Gidon Kremer with Kremerata Baltica; Maxim Shostakovich, revisits his father's 15th symphony; Max Penson's photographic chronicles of the massive social changes in central Asia are displayed for the first time; Diana Husein and Anna Albalihina, two rising stars of Russian modern dance; Sergei Leiferkus returns to his St Petersburg roots with a tribute to Shostakovich; Dmirty Krymov and the School of Dramatic Art, bring images to life and turn people into puppets; the Moscow Composers Orchestra rift with Russian Folk.

Russian ACT is organised by: marka:face:fashion and supported by the
Russian Federal Agency for Culture and Cinematography, Alfa Bank and Ural Sib.

Upcoming Russian ACT events in London:


JAZZ
Moscow Composers Orchestra
CARGO, 83 Rivington Street, Shoreditch, 14 November, 8pm
Presented in association with the London Jazz Festival
Led by Vladimir Miller, a British pianist and composer born to a Russian émigré family in Chile, the Moscow Composers Orchestra brings together celebrated musicians - including bassist Vladimir Volkov and trumpeter Slava Gayvoronsky - whose roots are in Russia but whose careers span continents. The Moscow Composers Orchestra offers fascinating musical innovations from the border where two cultures collide, taking harmonies from the West and interlacing them with variations of Russian folk. Combining original concert programming with electronica, academic music, jazz and world music, the Centre occupies a unique niche in Moscow's rich cultural landscape.

TICKETS: £12.50. Book online at www.cargo-london.com or call Tickets and Information on 020 7749 7840. See also www.londonjazzfestival.com


THEATRE
The School of Dramatic Art
Director DMITRY KRYMOV
Riverside Studios, Crisp Road, London, W6
24 - 27 November, 7.45 p.m.
Presented in association with FEEAST
The laboratory space that is Moscow's School of Dramatic Art arrives in London to tell two new and very strange dramatic tales. In Donky Khot, a wordplay on Cervantes' supernovel, director Dmitry Krymov brings to life a nostalgia for a world culture. What results is a theatre in which reality is as changeable as in cartoons, where drawn images come alive and where people turn into puppets. Not a Fairy Tale is a collage of Russia's favourite stories turned on their head: Red Riding Hood beaten to death by hungry urchins; the Frog Princess fried up for dinner, and the villainous dragon Gorynich becoming an innocent victim. This highly original piece was recently recognised with a nomination for innovation at the Russian Golden Mask awards.

TICKETS: £19 (£14 concs). Book online at www.riversidestudios.co.uk or call Tickets and Information on 020 8237 1111. See also www.feeast.com


DANCE
Igor Zelensky and Darcy Bussell
Sadler's Wells Theatre
28 November - 2 December, 7:30pm.
Darcy Bussell, the prima ballerina and the principle guest soloist of the Royal Ballet, Covent Garden join forces with Igor Zelensky to create a spectacle of dance at Sadler's Wells. Internationally acclaimed Igor Zelensky, one of the worlds most accomplished ballet dancers, is a principle of the Mariinksky Theatre in St. Peterburg. Darcy Bussell has been the Royal Ballet's prima ballerina for almost two decades. Joined by colleagues from the Bolshoi, Mariinsky and Royal Ballet companies Bussell and Zelensky will present a special programme of work by George Balanchine and Roland Petit accompanied by modern choreography from Alistair Marriott and Alla Sigalova. Russian ACT showcases the collaborative possibility of the marriage of these two schools.

TICKETS: £13-£40. Book online at www.sadlerswells.com or call Tickets and Information on 0870 737 7737

Dina Husein and Anna Abalihina
In the Place of my Dream
The Place, 17 Duke's Road, WC1
1- 2 December, 7.30 p.m.
Graduates of both the Moscow Choreographical Lyceum and the Rotterdam Dance Academy, Dina Husein and Anna Abalihina, have pioneered a unique fusion of classical and contemporary dance of Russian and western European styles. After several years spent dancing in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, the 23 year old duo are now based in Moscow, where they regularly collaborate with leading Russian and foreign choreographers, and always evoke huge interest from both critics and the public when they perform. Russian ACT brings to London a highly acclaimed new piece, In the Place of my Dream, created with the support of the Russian State Nations Theatre. Set to music by Richardas Norvilla, and making inspired use of animations and video effects, their work explores the deepest reaches of human emotions and creates a surreal world which sucks the audience into the dancers' dreams and fantasies.

TICKETS: £5-£15. Book online at www.theplace.org.uk or call Tickets and Information on 020 7387 0031


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