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The 2008 winner is the New York City Ballet
The nominations for 2008 were:
Mikhailovsky Ballet, National Ballet of China and New York City Ballet
More information about each company is given below:
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Mikhailovsky Ballet
The Mikhailovsky Ballet (known as the Maly in Soviet times) takes its name from the St Petersburg opera house where it is resident. With Farukh Ruzimatov as artistic director since 2007 and Nikita Dolgushin (also previously a star dancer) as ballet coach, high standards are assured. During their brief debut visit to the London Coliseum, the dancers demonstrated their strength in Spartacus, their Romantic style in Giselle with husband and wife stars Anastasya and Denis Matvienko, and their versatility and charm in the closing mixed bill, featuring Petipa's delightful Halte de cavalerie, new to the UK, with many winning characterisations as well as virtuosity.
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National Ballet of China
China’s national ballet company grew out of beginnings in 1959 with the start of the performing group of the Beijing Dance Academy under the direction of the Soviet teacher Petr Gusev. It became a full-time company in 1963, and went on to survive the upheavals of the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Its visit to the Royal Opera House in 2008 spotlighted its continuing commitment to Western ballet heritage, through a new staging of Swan Lake by Natalia Makarova, and its own desire to find new ways forward for Chinese ballet, with a masterful dance adaptation of the hit Chinese film, Raise the Red Lantern.
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New York City Ballet
Founded in 1948 by George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein, New York City Ballet is one of the world’s most important companies. With its exhaustive repertoire of Balanchine and Robbins ballets, it boasts an extraordinary legacy of 20th-century choreography. Its dancers have a unique style bred by the Balanchine technique. For its first visit to London in 25 years, City Ballet presented four programmes at the Coliseum which showcased the works of its twin creative geniuses, along with dances by Peter Martins, its long-serving director, Alexei Ratmansky, Christopher Wheeldon and Mauro Bigonzetti.
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Picture credits
Merce Cunningham Dance Company © Merce Cunningham Company,
Mikhailovsky Ballet © Gene Schiavone,
National Ballet of China © Liu Yang,
New York City Ballet © Paul Kolnik.
All text is © copyright of the Critics' Circle / National Dance Awards. |
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