EACC presents the national tour of the Russian National Ballet Theatre in Swan Lake on Saturday, April 22nd at 7:30 p.m. at the EACC Fine Arts Center as part of the 2016-17 performance season’s Spotlight Series. Purchase tickets online.

The esteemed Russian National Ballet Theatre brings to the Fine Arts Center state one of the most magical and well-known works from the classical ballet repertoire.  Inspired by the German legend of Odette, a beautiful princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer’s curse.  With melodramatic plot twists, majestic choreography, Tchaikovsky’s magnificent musical score, and stunning costumes, this stunning production of Swan Lake will be a delight for the whole family. 

The Russian National Ballet Theatre, founded in Moscow during the transitional period of Perestroika in the late 1980s, will bring the beauty and timeless tradition of classical Russian Ballet.  Many of the great dancers and choreographers of the Soviet Union’s ballet institutions began to exercise their new-found creative freedom by starting vibrant companies dedicated not only to the timeless traditions of classical Russian Ballet, but to invigorate it as the Russians began to accept new developments in global dance. 

The company was founded by and incorporated graduates from the great Russian choreographic schools of Moscow, St. Petersburg and Perm.  The principal dancers of the company came from the upper ranks of the great ballet companies and academies of Russia, and the companies of Riga, Kiev and even Warsaw.  Today, the Russian National Ballet Theatre is its own institution with over fifty dancers of singular instruction and vast experience, many of whom have been with the company since its inception. 

Legendary Bolshoi principal dancer Elena Radchenko serves as artistic director.  In 1994, Radchenko was selected by Presidential decree to assume the first permanent artistic directorship of the company.  As founder of the Russian National Ballet Theatre, she has focused on upholding the grand national tradition of the major Russian ballet works, as well as developing new talents throughout Russia.  The company’s ballet productions include Don Quixote, La Bayadere, The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Raymonda, Paquita, Coppelia and LaSylphide, as well as The Nutcraker, Sylvia, and La Fille Mal Gardee. 

Tickets for the Russian National Ballet Theatre’s performance of Swan Lake are $39 and are available online, by calling 870-633-4480, ext. 352, or in person at the Fine Arts Center Ticket Office.  Group discounts are available and save 20%.  The EACC Fine Arts Center is located at 1700 Newcastle Road in Forrest City, just off Interstate 40.