WHEN THE GREAT BALLERINA NATALIA MAKAROVA DANCED AGAIN WITH THE KIROV (MARIINSKY) BALLET

(The great ballerina Natalia Makarova as Odette and Odile)

I have been reviewing some of my earlier blogs and I remembered when we managed to bring the great ballerina Natalia Makarova back to the mighty Kirov Ballet (known today as the Mariinsky Ballet). I wish I could find the photographs of how we turned the Business Design Centre in London into a superb dance theatre - but sadly they seem to have got lost in the mists of time. However, thousands of dance and ballet fans poured into this specially constructed theatre to wonder and watch this great ballerina come back to the company that nurtured her and was home to her for so many years. The political and cultural walls were tumbling down....

(The DVD cover of when Natalia Makarova and the Kirov Ballet were reunited)

We had produced and presented the magnificent Bolshoi Ballet in an agricultural hall in Dublin (The Royal Dublin Society) and turned it into an opera house fit for Kings! We had produced and presented the Bolshoi Ballet in a massive tent in London’s Battersea Park and had the show filmed by BBC Television and broadcast in prime time on a Saturday night! Now we were going to turn London’s Business Design Centre into a theatre fit for the Queen.

(the magnificent Mariinsky/Kirov Corp de Ballet)

We had been touring the Mariinsky Ballet or the Kirov Ballet as it was more famously known in August of 1988 and had presented them at both the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden and at the London Coliseum (and in New York, Washington D.C. and in the USA and Canada), but what we were about the create was something special.

(Prima Ballerina Absoluta Natalia Makarova)

The Business Design Centre in the London area of Islington is primarily a large space dedicated to businesses, conferences and exhibitions – but we were looking for a London based venue that we could turn into a splendid theatre for dance and indeed the greatest ballet dancers in the world.

(The outside of the Business Design Centre - I wish I could show you photos of how we turned this into a wonderful theatre for dance)

Not only were we going to present a stunning programme of dance we were achieving something quite extraordinary. The great Ballerina Natalia Makarova, who had defected to the West in 1970 and caused an artistic and political storm (as had Rudolf Nureyev and Misha Baryshnikov) was to be re-united with the Kirov Ballet and would perform a piece from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake.

But first we had to turn the empty space of the Design Centre into a world-class theatre. Architect Gar Holohan came in from Dublin and with our technical team headed by Bill Hammond we installed 3,200 seats with superb sight lines – built a magnificent stage and a grid in the roof able to take the front curtain, all the scenery and the large lighting rig. An orchestra pit was dug for the 90 musicians of the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra. BBC camera positions mounted and a ton of electronic wires covered to make the ground safe for the public. I seem to recall we were still hammering away as the public arrived!

The Kirov (Mariinsky) Ballet were magnificent - Dierdre McMahon from the Spectator described the moment:

"Tension mounted as the sellout audience of 3,200 at a London Design Center waited expectantly through four opening selections. At precisely 9:28 p.m., Makarova, now 47 and in the twilight of an illustrious career, glided onstage, surrounded by 24 elegant Kirov Swan "maidens. At the close of Makarova's flawless, nine-minute performance, the audience erupted into a thunderous, three-minute ovation. The dancer, a sheen of perspiration—and a giddy grin—on her finely boned face, accepted a bouquet of roses and plucked one, which she kissed and presented to her Russian partner, Konstantin Zaklinsky.

Later, in a joint curtain call, the other dancers gave Makarova the honor of the last solo bow. Then she briefly turned her back to the audience, and curtsied deeply to the Kirov ensemble. "It was emotional ecstasy," she said later, backstage. "I was so nervous I was shaking, shaking like I have never done before. I wanted this moment for 18 years. I never dreamed I would be able to dance with the Kirov so soon."

This was a goose bumps moment – the dancing sublime, the superb corps de ballet supreme and the magic of Natasha Makarova and Konstantin Zaklinsky on stage truly unforgettable – what’s more the BBC captured this moment and it is forever enshrined on DVD (and YouTube) for all to see and enjoy.

The New York Times reported:

"Natalia Makarova, the Russian ballerina who defected to the West 18 years ago, danced with the Kirov Ballet here last night, becoming the first Russian dancer allowed to perform with a Soviet company after emigrating to the West.

Her emotional performance of the Act II adagio from ''Swan Lake,'' her own choice for the evening, drew a standing ovation from the capacity audience at the 3,200-seat Business Design Center, where the Kirov had performed all week.

A huge smile on her face, Miss Makarova plucked a rose from her bouquet, kissed it and handed it to her partner, Konstantin Zaklinsky. She then turned her back to the audience and curtsied deeply to the Kirov dancers who filled the stage".

''It was emotional ecstasy,'' she said later in her dressing room, wearing her tutu and a white Kirov sweatshirt signed by members of the company. ''I was so nervous I was shaking, shaking like I have never done before. I wanted this moment for 18 years. I never dreamed I would be able to dance with the Kirov so soon.''

We miss the ballet – and will never forget those incredibly magical moments when Natalia Makarova danced again with the Mariinsky Ballet from St.Petersburg 

– happy and wonderful memories - thanks for reading