CEREMONY OF PRESENTING BENOIS DF LA DANCE AWARDS IN BOLSHOI

MOSCOW, April 21 (RIA Novosti) - Gala concerts and the ceremony of awarding the Benois de la Dance international prize, established by the Bolshoi Theater thirteen years ago, will take place on the main stage of the Bolshoi on April 26 and 27. This award is sometimes called the Ballet Oscar. The Kommersant (Weekend) newspaper says that more and more world stars every year take part only in one concert.

The contest itself, the introduction of the members of the international jury and the presentation of statuettes by Igor Ustinov, a great-grandson of Alexander Benois, will take place on April 26.

The organizers of the ceremony promise a minimum of speeches and a maximum of dances. The program is really very interesting: ten duets and two leading soloists (Yan Godovsky from the Bolshoi and Loran Hilaire from the Paris Opera) will show their art. Dances of the Red Army from the Bolt ballet by Alexei Ratmansky will be shown.

The Russian spectators will have a chance to enjoy the art of the leading dancers of the Dutch, Swedish, American, Chilean, German and Hong Kong ballet who will perform in Moscow for the first time.

Alina Cojocaru and Johan Kobborg, the stars of the Royal Ballet of Great Britain, who are already known to the Russian spectators, will perform a duet from the "Spring Voices" by English classic Frederick Aston.

A lot of stars will take part in the concert on April 27: Vladimir Malakhov will dance a duet with Diana Vishnevaya from the "Manon" and a solo from the "Voyage." Elisabeth Platel (Paris Opera) will perform adagio from the "Swan Lake" with Nikolai Tsiskaridze. Paris stars Manuel Legris and Loran Hilaire will dance "The Song of Wandering Apprentices," staged by Maurice Bejart for Rudolf Nuriyev; Polina Semionova, who has become an idol of the German ballet fans, and Friedemann Vogel will show a miniature, "Sleep under the Lime Trees" by Uwe Sholz. The concert will be crowned by the Moscow premiere of the "Bolero" by Maurice Ravel, staged by Alexei Ratmansky.