Royal Moscow Ballet returns yet again
Nnasaretha Kgamanyane | Friday February 16, 2018 13:45
This time around it will be held on March 7, 2018.
Addressing the media at a press briefing on Wednesday, the managing director of OP Advertising, Francis Gleeson said they will be bringing the Royal Moscow Ballet back to the country because they want to share the Russian culture with Batswana through ballet dance.
He added that the concert would also give local ballet school children an opportunity to learn more about the dance and perform alongside the renowned Russian ballet group.
“When we heard that the ballet is touring Southern Africa, we jumped at the opportunity. The event would pay tribute to great Russian composers, Sergei Rachmaninov, Pyotr Tchaikovsky and Aleksander Borodin,” he said.
Gleeson explained that just like the previous years, the opening act would be a performance by local children from ballet school, Risa Ballet that has been teaching ballet to children in Botswana for over 40 years.
Children from primary and secondary schools have been taught ballet under the directors of the school, Rita Lee and Elizabeth Lee.
The acts that are expected to mesmerise the audience on the day include The Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet, Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake composed by great Russian composer of the 1800s, Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Serenade for strings by the first American Ballet set composed by George Ballentines, Black pas de deux (the black swan), which will be the third act from Swan Lake.
He explained that Black Swan has powerful dramatic choreography and music. It was composed by Francesca da Rimini and is a story of a noblewoman who falls in love with the brother of her cruel husband who discovered the affair and decided to seek revenge.
However, this year, Capital Bank Botswana has come on board and is the main sponsor of the Royal Moscow Ballet 2018. Capital Bank is a part of the Mauritius-based FMB Capital Holdings plc, which in addition to Botswana has banking operations in Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
The bank provides comprehensive financial services geared towards servicing the needs of the country’s business sector as well as offering a range of personal banking services for individuals.
“We are proud of our association with the Royal Moscow Ballet as we recognise the significant appeal it holds for our customers and the wider Botswana public.
An event such as this has the ability to bring together a variety of stakeholders from the business and social communities and further spotlight our vibrant city of Gaborone as an attractive location for the global arts industry,” Capital Bank CEO, Jaco Viljoen said.
The Royal Moscow Ballet is presented in Southern Africa by Edouard Miasnikov Agency, whose objective is to widen cultural exchange and sharing between Russia and Southern Africa and brought to Botswana by OP Advertising, a Botswana-based event management and advertising agency.