About performance

The ballet epic about the gifted composer created by Boris Eifman, the 20th century magician of choreography is a probe into the life of his favourite composer. It is a testimony of the challenges and strokes of fate, and the suffering of the favourite composer. The ballet isn’t intended to be merely a historical narrative about Tchaikovsky’s private life. Instead, it is an attempt to capture the milestones that affected the work of the outstanding Russian composer, the author of the most famous classical ballets.

Boris Eifman says of PRO et CONTRA, as well as other of his works: “ I freed myself from a specific technique, yet I am trying to express everything that can be expressed by human body. It is most subtle instrument; body potential is unique and deserves to be advanced. It isn’t merely about technique. We are immersing ourselves into the depths of human soul. That can only be expressed by new means of dance, not by classics or neoclassic. I believe we have found symbiosis between traditional Russian ballet culture of the 19th and 20th centuries, and the fruit of contemporary world choreography.”

Suitable for age: 13+

It is the first time ever that the St. Petersburg company is presenting itself with this production. The performance is accompanied by a medley of Tchaikovsky’s major works.

130 min. (1 intermission)