Bolshoi Ballet: Romeo and Juliet

Bolshoi Ballet
“Ratmansky’s extraordinary musical sense... wins out.”—Russia’s Kommersant
with the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra
Romeo and Juliet

“Bolshoi” means “big” in Russian—and the world-renowned company more than lives up to its name with its latest production of Romeo and Juliet choreographed by former Artistic Director Alexei Ratmansky, one of today’s hottest, most visionary, and most in-demand dance-makers. The Bolshoi Ballet is celebrated for its daringly athletic and highly theatrical style of ballet. It’s been nearly six years since the mighty company last performed for us, and this time the Bolshoi’s incomparable stars immerse themselves in Shakespeare’s enduring tragedy of star-crossed love.
 
Danced to Prokofiev’s richly cinematic score, Ratmansky’s version shines with the characteristic style that audiences have come to adore from him: quick steps, vigorous lifts, and surprising dashes of humor. Leveraging the Bolshoi dancers’ dynamic range, his staging feels at once both epic and human, a sweeping spectacle that more deeply and poetically explores the young couple’s burning attraction to each other amidst the suffocating circumstances of family feuding in 14th-century Verona. When the Bolshoi tours in 2020, Washington is the only U.S. city lucky enough to host Romeo and Juliet. Don’t miss this remarkable opportunity!