LOS ANGELES──"This is an historic event," acknowledges Sheva Carr, CEO and former dancer, watching from the audience as Nina Ananiashvili graciously accepts flowers from the audience during a standing ovation at the State Ballet of Georgia's debut at UCLA Live on Feb. 23. Ananiashvili started her impressive career in 1981 with the Bolshoi Ballet and then soon became a world renowned Bolshoi prima ballerina and an American Ballet Theater principal dancer. She has since been invited to dance with prestigious companies around the world. Her elegant and fluid form, exceptional technique, and dramatic expression distinguished her from all others. And even today when she sweeps her languid arm, she is the definition of grace. In 2004, Mikhail Saakashvili, president of the newly independent Republic of Georgia, invited Ananiashvili to build a ballet company, and in doing so, built the national pride of Georgia—a country that had suffered civil war, economic strife, and social unrest since its secession from the Soviet Union in 1991. In four years, Ananiashvili has established a reputable company of 100 dancers.
Ananiashvili's Company performed the romantic classic, "Giselle," Ananiashvili's signature role. The costumes and sets are based on the designs of the 1910 production.
The two acts had distinctly different feelings; the first was very colorful─with costumes and scenery in cerulean blue and rich earth tones, green, brown, and oranges, and emitting a distinctly period flavor.
The second act, on the other hand, had a timeless and classic quality, as the dancers wore more traditional long white tulle skirts and form-fitting bodice tops and moved in a very hauntingly beautiful, dark, and moody set.
The state Ballet of Georgia made its official American debut at the Spoleto Festival this summer, an arts festival in Charleston, SC, with a counterpart held annually in Spoleto Italy, and are now on a seven-city tour that includes cities in northern and southern California, New York, Chicago, Iowa city, and Minneapolis.
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