Molly Grosskreutz
A&E Editor
Following winter break, the Viterbo Fine Arts Center sprang back into action on the evening of Tuesday, Jan. 17, with a beguiling performance of Tchaikovsky’s ballet, “Romeo and Juliet.” It was not, however, a night of Shakespearean rhetorical questions (“Wherefort art thou, Romeo?”), but a magical reinvention of the story as told by the Moscow Festival Ballet. That’s right: the story was told through dance, not through dialogue. In fact, not one word was spoken to the audience during the entire show, which lasted roughly an hour and a half.
The Moscow Festival Ballet is a ballet company founded by famous Russian dancer Sergei Radchenko in 1989. Radchenko continues to be an integral part of the company, serving as the artistic director for this show. The company is comprised of 50 members, and together have toured all over Europe, Asia, and the United States.
The first half of the show, “Chopiniana,” featured music by Frederic Chopin, but the dance was highly untraditional. The performance did not follow a linear narrative, but instead represented the reverie of a handsome young man and his romantic fantasies.
The second half of the show was “Romeo and Juliet.” Shakespeare’s characters leaped to life in beautifully dazzling period costumes. The Company perfectly embodied the rivalry between the Montagues and Capulets, using swordfighting and stabbing as actions that accentuated the dancers’ grace and precision. The romance between Romeo and Juliet was palpable as well. During both performances, the dancers’ athleticism, sculpted bodies, and grace of form captivated the nearly-sold-out audience.
