Ballet Gains a Toehold in the Middle East

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/25/world/middleeast/ballet-gains-a-toehold-in-the-middle-east.html

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DUBAI — Amid a burst of colorful costumes and ornate set design, the principal dancer in the ballet “Scheherazade,” in midriff-baring top and loosely flowing harem pants, danced seductively at center stage with a freed slave, leading her ladies-in-waiting in a group choreography of hedonism and desire.

The world-renowned Mariinsky Ballet was performing the risqué piece, choreographed by Michel Fokine to music by Rimsky-Korsakov, not at its home theater in St. Petersburg or in one of its regular touring venues in Vienna, Washington or Tokyo, but in conservative, strait-laced Abu Dhabi.

In its first visit to the United Arab Emirates, the dance company performed on March 14 and 15 as the highlight of the Abu Dhabi Culture Festival, selling out the Emirates Palace auditorium, a sumptuously gilded hall in a luxury hotel with seating for 1,100 spectators.

The Mariinsky’s only previous exposure to a Middle Eastern audience had been a performance at the Royal Opera House in Oman two years ago. But visits by touring dance companies are becoming increasingly frequent, helping to popularize classical ballet in the Gulf region.

In mid-April, the Sofia Ballet from Bulgaria performed “Don Quixote” in Dubai, while the Royal Danish Ballet, accompanied by the Royal Danish Orchestra, performed two classic romantic works — “La Sylphide” and the third act of “Napoli” — in Oman in January.

Last October, Russian dancers from the Mariinsky Ballet and the Kremlin Ballet Theater, including Ilze Liepa, performed for the first time in the Qatar National Convention Center in Doha, dancing parts of various classics before a sold-out crowd.

“We would like to explore the Mideast market more,” Yuri Fateyev, director of the Mariinsky Ballet, said in an interview here. “It’s important for us to be here to see if the audience responds to high quality classical art like this.”

The show in Abu Dhabi was scheduled as part of a world tour, with earlier performances in Frankfurt and Moscow. From Abu Dhabi, the company headed back to St. Petersburg for rehearsals and local performances before embarking on the Asian leg of the tour this month, with performances in Taiwan, South Korea and Japan.

Fitting Abu Dhabi into the touring schedule was not easy, Mr. Fateyev said. But, he added, “we wanted to see how the public in the Middle East would react, because if they like it, it will be great for both sides.”

First indications from the sold-out shows last month were encouraging, he said. The audiences included a mix of seasoned ballet lovers and newcomers to the classical art form.

Alchemy Project, a three-year-old Dubai events company, is betting on ballet’s crowd-drawing potential. Alchemy, with its affiliate, Atelier Festival, has previously brought big-name popular culture acts like the Cirque du Soleil, Snoop Dogg and Nicki Minaj to Dubai; this year, it has added classical dance to its list of offerings.

Large blue billboards along Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai’s main highway, portray a dancer in feathered costume, arms and legs outstretched behind her, to advertise coming performances of “Swan Lake” by the Royal Moscow Ballet Company. Alchemy has booked the company for seven shows in five days, starting May 9.

“We hope to create interest among people who have never experienced ballet before, as well as entertain those who have seen ‘Swan Lake’ over and over,” said Mac S. Far, the chief executive of Alchemy. “That’s the key to building a sustainable audience so we can bring more ballet to Dubai.”

The United Arab Emirates in particular has no shortage of cultural offerings across a range of genres. “Swan Lake,” in May, will follow hard on the heels of two concerts by Justin Bieber, May 4 and May 5, and a set by the French D.J. David Guetta. The emirates also hosts artistic events like the Sharjah Biennial and contemporary dance shows by local artists.

Yet event organizers say that the inclusion of ballet is an important addition to the list of offerings, promoting cultural diversity, pushing boundaries in new ways and, not least, holding out the promise of good financial returns.

“There’s already a big supply of D.J.’s and concerts by international artists, so exploring another form of entertainment like ballet is about diversity — but it has to make financial sense for us, too,” Mr. Far said. “For any business to survive, we need to make money and invest in promoting it in the right way.”

“Swan Lake” will be a full production, rather than a medley of popular excerpts, with the complete Royal Moscow Orchestra in the pit. Encouraged by strong demand for tickets, Alchemy is seeking to add a day of performances and is also trying to organize a return visit by the company later in the year, with another ballet, “Sleeping Beauty.”

Sponsors are lining up to lend support: The Cavalli Club, for example, an upmarket restaurant and lounge designed by Roberto Cavalli in the Dubai Fairmont Hotel, is sponsoring “Swan Lake.”

“It’s about promoting cross-cultural forms of art, which is part of society’s development, finding new means of expression,” said Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, the culture minister of the United Arab Emirates.

Classical dance is facing tough financial times worldwide, with governments cutting back financing during the crisis years and high-priced ballet shows having to compete for younger audiences against more-accessible forms of entertainment.

The prospect of reaching new markets, with new financing and new audiences, is attracting the companies. In turn, their higher profile in the region is encouraging the development of local talents — reflected in the opening of the Dubai Dance Academy in 2011, a school teaching pure classical ballet to both children and adults.

“Heightened demand and exposure to this art form in the region can only add to the aesthetics and the diversity we have here,” Mr. Far said. “And maybe it can inspire in ways we didn’t predict.”