YBhg Datuk Isham Ishak, Secretary General of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) announced its first ever major landmark international ballet performing arts festival weekend, Festival Tari, in Malaysia with The Dance Company (TDC) to promote Malaysia worldwide. In preparation for the Visit Truly Asia Malaysia 2020, the legendary and world-renowned ballet troupe, St. Petersburg Theatre Russian Ballet have just agreed on a three (3) year extended agreement to support Malaysia and to premiere at least three (3) major feature performances in Malaysia.
The partnership between The Dance Company and St Petersburg Theatre Russian Ballet has given Malaysia the chance to receive the prestigious invitation to join the “Russian Seasons”. The Russian Seasons is a global festival opening new vistas for an international dialogue and proving that culture can be a true ambassador of peace. Within the framework of the project, the splendor, authenticity and grandeur of the Russian culture are presented to the public in a selected country throughout the year.
At the press conference, the Asian World Premiere for The Sleeping Beauty revealed new extended showtimes for the feature presentation, exciting new programs and activities during the international ballet performing arts festival weekend, as well as some sneak preview festival plans for 2020 and beyond, in cooperation with MOTAC.
Following The Dance Company’s success in bringing in the first full professional UK cast fulllength ballet “Swan Lake by Ballet West” last year, this year The Dance Company brings ‘The Sleeping Beauty’ by the world-renowned St. Petersburg Theatre Russian Ballet with a full team of 37 Russian ballerinas to showcase their talent in executing the technically challenging choreography.
The Sleeping Beauty in Malaysia continues the long and great tradition of Russian classical ballet from what most would consider of being the Russian ballet’s golden age and will be performed in its most original choreography. The company tours 250 sold-out performances annually, in over 130 cities including those of Finland, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Canada, China and the United States of America (USA) to over 1 million audiences.
YBhg Datuk Isham Ishak, Secretary General of Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture said, “I am delighted to be part of this historic collaboration between Malaysia and Russia. I am honored to announce that The Sleeping Beauty is the first event in preparation for Visit Truly Asia Malaysia 2020. We are placing St Petersburg Theatre Russian Ballet next performance into the Visit 2020 calendar. I am proud to also announce that my ministry through our agency, National Department for Culture and Arts (JKKN), will be organizing a workshop entitled “Russian Ballet” conducted by Audrey Kwan, President of Dance Artistry International (DAI) in conjunction with Festival Tari for 200 JKKN dancers. Besides JKKN initiatives, Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board (MTPB) is also working closely with TDC to liaise with various travel agencies to promote The Sleeping Beauty to domestic and international tourist. My ministry believes that this feature performance (The Sleeping Beauty) is the right direction forward in achieving our Visit 2020 goal of 30 million tourist”.
Dr Ayrat A. Akhmetov, Director of the Russian Centre of Science and Culture said, “I am proud to announce that we, Russian Centre of Science and Culture (RCSC), will be hosting the Russian Education Fair during The Sleeping Beauty campaign. This Russian Education Fair will give many Malaysians the exposure on what Russia has to offer to them. I truly believe this initiative is another step closer in solidifying the relationship bond between Malaysia and Russia.”
Audrey Kwan, President of Dance Artistry International (DAI) said, “I am truly honored to announce that The Dance Company has sign a 3-year partnership contract with St Petersburg Theatre Russian Ballet from 2019 to 2021. I am proud to announce that we have just added a third day (13th October 2019) with an additional of 2 more show slots (afternoon show and night show) for The Sleeping Beauty, which makes a total of 4 show slots. This decision to add a third day was made due to the over-whelming ticket sales.”
The Dance Company is organizing a ticketing competition from today until 13th September 2019. The grand prize winner of this competition will win a 5 days 4 nights trip to St. Petersburg, Russia, which includes flights, hotels and tickets to watch the St Petersburg Theatre Russian Ballet at the Palace Theatre. To participate in this competition, you would need to purchase The Sleeping Beauty tickets during this campaign period to stand a chance to win the grand prize. The Dance Company also announced that they will be conducting nationwide ballet workshops to scout for talents in conjunction with The Sleeping Beauty.
The Sleeping Beauty show will take place on the 11th, 12th & 13th October 2019 at the Plenary Hall, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Kuala Lumpur. The Sleeping Beauty premiere show will include a live red-carpet broadcast by ASTRO, pre-cocktail and followed by an exclusive after-party hosted only for the Elites. The tickets are available at TicketCharge. The Official Venue is Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre while the Official Hotel is Alila Bangsar.
