At 8.00 pm on 20 August, as part of this year’s 72nd Ljubljana Festival, the curtain will rise at Cankarjev Dom on a Gala of the Stars of World Ballet starring prima ballerina Svetlana Zakharova. The internationally acclaimed dancer’s last appearance at the Festival was five years ago, when she left an unforgettable impression on a packed-to-the-rafters Gallus Hall. This time she will share the stage with a number of world-famous ballet dancers from some of the world’s most prestigious ballet companies. Together, they will offer us a selection of some of the most dazzling excerpts from classical and contemporary ballet.
World-renowned prima ballerina Svetlana Zakharova continues to inspire an extraordinary variety of esteemed artists throughout the world, as she shines with graceful poise on the world’s great stages. Born 45 years ago in the Ukrainian city of Lutsk, she began dancing at the age of six and was accepted into the Kyiv Choreography School at the age of ten. After winning second prize at the 1995 Vaganova-Prix international ballet competition in St Petersburg, at which she was the youngest contestant, she entered the famous Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet to continue her training, skipping the second year and going straight into the diploma class – the only student ever to do so in the entire history of the Academy.
Having joined the resident ballet company of the Mariinsky Theatre immediately upon graduating, the young star of the Russian ballet quickly rose to prominence. In 1997, at the age of eighteen, she became a principal dancer of the famous Mariinsky Ballet. Her coach at this time was the famous dancer Olga Moiseyeva. Zakharova’s greatest success came as Giselle in the eponymous ballet. Her performance was rapturously received by both audience and critics, and interest in her soared. Shortly after the premiere, she received an invitation from Vladimir Vasiliev to join the Bolshoi Ballet. She has been a member of the latter since 2003.
Today one of the most celebrated ballerinas in the world, she will be joined at the gala evening in Ljubljana by several stars of world ballet: Artemy Belyakov, Kristina Kretova, Igor Tsvirko, Liudmila Konovalova, Vsevolod Maievskyi, Nicoletta Manni, Timofej Andrijashenko, Tatyana Melnyik and Motomi Kiyota. Speaking ahead of her performance in Ljubljana, Zakharova told us what we can expect: “I believe that this will be a festival of talent, excellence and camaraderie. My profession is the apotheosis of love and commitment to art and the audience. And this evening will show how varied dance can be. Timeless classics and contemporary pieces performed by today’s artists will enthral and inspire the audience.”
