Anna Karenina – April 15-18, Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier LiveEvents April 9, 2015 5564 Les Grands Ballets Canadiens presents Anna Karenina – Eifman Ballet, St. Petersburg Theater Anna Karenina – Photo: Damian Siqueiros/ Zetaproduction.com Dancer: Maria Abashova Eifman’s Anna Karenina is a story of passion, rejection and self-destruction, a work of raw emotions. Having cut out the counterplot lines of Leo Tolstoy’s novel, choreographer Boris Eifman focuses on the Anna-Karenin-Vronsky love triangle. The psychological twists and turns of Tolstoy’s novel are perfectly rendered by the dancers’ technical maestria and Boris Eifman’s sublime choreography. Offering both classical romance and modern technique, this Russian ballet will captivate audiences with its magnificence. Boris Eifman founded his own company in 1977, breaking with the strict rules of Russian academism and asserting his fierce independence. He developed his own style for audiences who love both classical and contemporary dance, resisting the trends and instead opting for his own very personal form of expression. He describes his creative composition this way: “Everything is in the esthetics, but the formal beauty of gesture is not an end in itself. This doesn’t mean that the physical quality of choreography is any less important than finding a certain dramatic intensity in given situations. I simply believe that we can’t comprehend beauty as an abstract notion. When I create a movement, it’s of course based on the idea of conveying an emotion, expressing a feeling, but this emotion is necessarily translated through the strictures of esthetics.” www.grandsballets.com For tickets and information: www.laplacedesarts.com 514-842-2112 or 1-866-842-2112 Les Grands Ballets Pre-Show Talks Beginning an hour before each performance, spectators are invited to pre-show talks. These exciting half-hour talks are a rare opportunity to gain insight on the work presented. Each pre-show talk will be hosted by journalist Shelley Pomerance who will share anecdotes on the production’s creative process, inspiration, music and costumes. Purchase a ticket at the cost of 5$ at Place des Arts ticket office counter. Admission is free for Les Grands Ballets subscribers. Please note that for individual ticket holders, both the performance ticket and the pre-show talk ticket will be required at the entrance.