Dance has the power to move audiences through movement. Dance can express emotions when words alone fail. Dance can provide hope in hopeless times.
And for one night at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, dance displays the resilience of dancers during a time of monumental change.
On Saturday, Nov. 12, renowned dancers from around the world impacted by the war in Ukraine are coming together for an extraordinary performance called “Reunited in Dance.”
Led by British-born Artistic Director Xander Parish, a former principal dancer at the Mariinsky Ballet, the dancers taking part in “Reunited in Dance” were previously part of Russia’s elite companies, including the Bolshoi Ballet, Mariinsky Ballet, Mikhailovsky Ballet, Stanislavsky Ballet, and others.
According to information from Segerstrom Center, “Reunited in Dance” features new choreography as well as beloved classics: the world premiere of a new ballet choreographed by Parish to Tchaikovsky’s “Children’s Album,” performed by special guest artist and pianist Behzod Abduraimov, who appears in collaboration with the Philharmonic Society of Orange County; a performance of Christopher Wheeldon’s “After the Rain” plus selections from “Le Corsaire,” “Raymonda,” and “Paquita,” and other pieces.
Many of the dancers who will perform in “Reunited in Dance” have appeared at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, which thanks to Elizabeth and Henry Segerstrom has become one of the world’s leading presenters of international ballet.
Segerstrom Center for the Arts is paying tribute to Judy Morr, the Executive Vice President behind the longstanding tradition of world-class ballet programming at Segerstrom Center.
For “Reunited in Dance,” the featuring dancers include:
- Xander Parish (UK, former principal dancer at the Mariinsky)
- Jacopo Tissi (Italy, formerly with the Bolshoi)
- Svetlana Bednenko (Ukraine, formerly with the Mikhailovsky)
- Christine Shevchenko (Ukraine, currently with ABT)
- Andrea Laššáková (Slovak Republic, formerly with the Mikhailovsky)
- Adrian Blake Mitchell (U.S., formerly with the Mikhailovsky)
- Boris Zhurilov (Russia, formerly with Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Theatre)
- Ilya Jivoy (Russia, formerly with the Mariinsky)
- Lizi Avsajanishvili (Georgia, formerly with the Mariinsky)
- David Motta Soares (Brazil, formerly with the Bolshoi)
- Jasmine Sophie Henry (Australia, formerly with the Mariinsky)
- Vsevolod Maevsky (Ukraine, formerly with the Mariinsky)
- Anastasia Demidova (Russia, formerly with the Mariinsky)
- Katia Raj (U.S., formerly with the Saint Petersburg State Academic Leonid Yacobson Ballet Theatre)
- Veronika Selivanova (U.S., formerly with the Mariinsky)
- Alexis Tutunnique (Ukraine, formerly with National Opera of Ukraine and currently with The United Ukrainian Ballet)
- Joy Womack (U.S., formerly with Astrakhan Opera and Ballet Theatre)
- Laura Fernandez (Switzerland and Ukraine, formerly with Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Theatre).
Reunited in Dance is made possible by the generous support of Elizabeth Segerstrom and the Henry T. and Elizabeth Segerstrom Charitable Foundation.
Tickets start at $29. Visit www.scfta.org for more information.
