Polina Semionova and Roberto Bolle in Carmen Pas de Deux

Polina Semionova and Roberto Bolle in Carmen Pas de Deux, music by Georges Bizet, choreography by Roland Petit. Shot on 2014.09.27, State Kremlin Palace, Kremlin Gala: The Ballet Stars of 21.th Century.

 

 

 

 

Polina Semionova is Principal with the American Ballet Theatre. She was born in Moscow in 1984, is a classical ballet dancer and Principal with the American Ballet Theatre (ABT). Polina studyied at the Bolshoi Ballet School in Moscow, Russia. She graduated in 2002, joined the Ballet Staatsoper Berlin as a principal upon the invitation of Vladimir Malakhov, becoming the youngest principal in the company’s history at the age of 18. She toured Japan as Malakhov’s partner, the reason he had invited her to be a principal in the company.

Roberto Bolle is currently a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre (ABT). He was born 1975 in Casale Monferrato in the Piedmont Region of Italy. He began ballet studies at age seven at a local school, and was accepted at the La Scala theatre ballet school in Milan at the age of eleven.In 1996, twenty year old Bolle was promoted to principal dancer at La Scala. He left that position when he was 21 to pursue a freelance career. During the 2003-2004 season, he was promoted to etoile of La Scala Theatre. He and also holds guest artist status with The Royal Ballet and La Scala Theatre Ballet, making regular appearances with both companies.

Carmen is a ballet created by Roland Petit and his company ‘Les Ballets de Paris’ at the Prince’s Theatre in London on 21 February 1949 which has entered the repertory of ballet companies in France and around the world.  The original designs and costumes were by Antoni Clavé. The music is taken from the 1875 opéra comique of the same name by Georges Bizet, arranged and orchestrated by Tommy Desserre. The scenario is based on the 1845 novella by Prosper Mérimée. The principal roles were created by Petit’s wife Renée Jeanmaire (Carmen), Roland Petit (Don José) and Serge Perrault (Le Toréador). Over 5,000 performances of the work were given around the world over its first 50 years.

Photo by Jack Devant ballet photography © with kind permission of the State Kremlin Palace and ms. Anastasia Kulikova, special thanks Konstantin Yaroshevsky.