The State Ballet of Georgia

About the Company

The establishment of the Georgian Ballet Theater in Tbilisi was initiated by Count Mikhail Vorontsov, a Russian governor of Georgia, in 1852. For over 84 years ballet troupes from St. Petersburg, Moscow, Kiev, and Warsaw presented their performances choreographed by F. Manokhin, M. Mordkin, V. Litvinenko, P. Yorkskiy, and others. The incomparable Anna Pavlova, Matilda Kshesinskaya, Tamara Karsavina, Olga Preobrazhenskaya, Ekaterina Geltser, Mikhail Mordkin and others graced its stage. In the early 1900s Mikhail Fokine tested his innovative ballets in Tbilisi before presenting them to audiences in Paris at Diaghilev's "Saisons Russes."

In 1935, brilliant dancer and choreographer Vakhtang Chabukiani, composer Andrey Balanchivadze (George Balanchine's brother), and designer Simon Virsaladze (longtime Chief Designer of the Bolshoi and Kirov) established State Ballet of Georgia (SBG) as the resident company of the Theater. In 1941 Mr. Chabukiani became Artistic Director of the SBG, transforming the company into one of the leading dance ensembles of the former Soviet Union. For 30 years of his directorship he had choreographed ballets, which instantly became Soviet classics: The Heart of Mountains, Sinatle, Laurensia, Gorda, and Othello.

Leningrad choreographer George Aleksidze was invited to become the next Artistic Director of the company in 1973 after Mr. Chabukiani's retirement. Mr. Aleksidze, famous for his works for N. Makarova and M. Baryshnikov, created more than forty pieces throughout his tenure of 30 years and brought the SBG to another level. 

In 2004, Nina Ananiashvili, Prima Ballerina of the Bolshoi and the principal of the American Ballet Theatre, returned to Georgia to lead the SBG. 

The company has premiered 21 ballets since Ms. Ananiashvili's arrival, including Swan Lake,Giselle, and Don Quixote of M. Petipa; G. Balanchine's Serenade, Apollo, Mozartiana, Donizetti Variations, The Western Symphony, Chaconne, Duo Concertant, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux,Tarantella; La Fille Mal Gardée, and Two Pigeons of F. Ashton; Dreams about Japan andLeah of A. Ratmansky; T. McIntyre's Second before the Ground and Midsummer Night's Dream; Green of Stanton Welsh; Leonid Lavrovsky's legendary Romeo and Juliet, among others.

Nina Ananiashvili: Artistic Director

Born in Tbilisi, Georgia, Nina Ananiashvili became a champion ice skater at the age of ten, before entering the State Choreographic School of Georgia. She continued her training at the Bolshoi Choreographic School under the famous teacher Natalia Zolotova. “Today she is the classical ballet’s undeniable superstar”, - wrote Clive Barnes in “NY Post”. 

Nina Ananiashvili has the unprecedented four highest awards of the international ballet competitions:- Gold Medal of 10th Varna (Bulgaria) competition, 1980 (junior group);- Grand Prix of 4th Moscow competition, 1981 (junior group);- Gold Medal of 5th Moscow competition, 1985 (senior group);- Grand Prix of 3rd Jackson (USA) competition, 1986 (senior group).

In 1981 Ananiashvili joined the Bolshoi Theatre as a ballerina. She is the prima ballerina of the company now. For all those years she has been coached by the legendary Russian dancers, Raissa Struchkova and Marina Semyonova, for the roles of Swanilda in Coppelia; Odette/Odile in Swan Lake (which she has performed for the first time with the Bolshoi Ballet in Hamburg at the age of seventeen; the performance was followed by the 30 minutes ovation); Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty; title roles in  Giselle, Romeo and Juliet (original production of L. Lavrovsky and Y. Grigorovich version), Raymonda; Kitri in Don Quixote; Medora in Le Corsaire;  Clara inThe Nutcracker (Y. Grigorovich version); Nikia in La Bayadere; Eleonore in Kermesse in Bruges of A. Bournonville; Rita in The Golden Age; leading roles in Les Sylphides, Paquita, Pas de Quatre, Le Spectre de la Rose, etc. The title role in the Bolshoi Theatre’s production of the opera-ballet Mlada by N. Rimsky-Korsakov was created for her.

The superb technique, virtuosity, exquisite and refined style, flowing movements and rear dramatic talent of Ms. Ananiashvili quickly turned her into the most sought after ballerina of the present times.

Unique place in the ballet world has given to Nina Ananiashvili the possibility to enlarge her theatrical and artistic perceptions, by performing the masterpieces of the Western choreography with almost all of the great companies of Europe and North America. In a historic engagement with the New York City Ballet (1988) Ananiashvili was the first guest ballerina to appear in G. Balanchine’s Raymonda Variations, Symphony in C and Apollo followed by the rapturous reception of the audiences and the critics.

Ananiashvili is frequently guested with the Royal Ballet, where since 1990 she has performed the role of Princess Rose in K. MacMillan’s Prince of the Pagodas; Lise in F. Ashton’s La Fille Mal Gardee; title roles in Romeo and Juliet of K. MacMillan; Cinderella of F. Ashton andFirebird by M. Fokine; Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker of P. Wright among others. 

Nina Ananiashvili became the first Russian ballerina to be invited by the Royal Danish Ballet to Copenhagen to perform the title role in La Sylphide, Terezina in Napoli and Flower Festival in Genzano pas de deux (all by A. Bournonville) as well as other ballets.

Ananiashvili had been a regular guest with the Mariinsky (formerly Kirov) Ballet, where she premiered the revival of the legendary production of L. Lavrovsky’s Romeo and Juliet, and had performed Don Quixote, Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty among others.

Since 1993 Nina Ananiashvili has been the principal dancer of the American Ballet Theatre, performing at the Metropolitan Opera House  Swan Lake, La Sylphide, Don Quixote; N. Makarova’s version of  La Bayadere; K. MacMillan’s Sleeping Beauty, Romeo and Juliet andManon; Merry Widow of R. Hynd; Cinderella and The Snow Maiden (the title role was created for her) of B. Stevenson; Medora in Le Corsaire, works of G. Balanchine, A. Tudor, M. Morris etc. 

‘Nina Ananiashvili’s Odette/Odile allowed us to gauge the sweep and breadth of her sovereign, if not to say, monumental interpretation of the role. It is the purity and authenticity with which Ms. Ananiashvili epitomizes the Great Russian school. She dances her Odette/Odile, which is such a colossal creation, in a direct line of succession from the Great Russian ballerinas of the past”, - wrote L. Kaplan after her New York performance in Ballet Review.

Nina Ananiashvili also guested with the Royal Swedish Ballet, Norwegian National Ballet, National Ballet of Portugal, National Ballet of Finland, Bavarian National Ballet, Grand Ballet de Monte Carlo, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Boston Ballet, Tokyo Ballet, etc. Together with the artistic director of the Royal Danish Ballet, Frank Andersen, she has created the touring group, consisting of the best dancers from Russia, France, Denmark and USA, which has performed successfully in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Copenhagen, Paris, Dallas, Tokyo, Osaka and other cities of Japan.

In 1996 - 2003 Nina Ananiashvili premiered at the Bolshoi Theatre V. Vasiliev’s production ofGiselle; Charms of Mannerism, Dreams about Japan and Leah of Alexei Ratmansky;Mozartiana, Symphony in C of George Balanchine; Don Quixote of Alexei Fadeyechev;Pharaoh’s Daughter of Pierre Lacotte; Green and Opus X of Stanton Welch.

Ananiashvili is the People’s Artist of Russia and Georgia.

She became the first ballerina to be awarded the National Prize of Russia, “Triumph,” for outstanding achievements in Fine Arts and State Prize of Georgia for outstanding contribution to Georgian culture. In 2001 Nina Ananiashvili became the recipient of the highest Russian State Award “Order for the outstanding services to the Fatherland”. 

In 1997 American Biography Institute awarded Nina Ananiashvili the title of “Woman of the Year.”

In 2002 Ananiashvili was named a Dance Magazine 2002 Awardee, receiving the most prestigious annual dance prize of the USA.

She has been Artistic Director of the State Ballet of Georgia since September of 2004.

Performances at Northrop

2008

Critic's Comments

“Georgian dancers bring a lot of beauty, heart, and soul to their work.”-Georgian Times (November 28, 2005) 

"The dynamic Nina Ananiashvili...can transfix an audience with her dead-on pirouettes or her blazing drama."-Dance Magazine