"The Pas De Deux For Toes and Fingers" Is A Dialogue of Violin and Dance

Anastasia Shkitina, reporter: "It is not just a ballet scene. It is a dialogue of a violin and a dance. And the conversation is almost intimate. The conversation is happening between spouses and at the same time the world-known icons."

The prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Theatre Svetlana Zakharova and a violin player Vadim Repin are on stage. They rehearse the performance "Pas De Deux For Toes and Fingers". Everything is happening for real: work till you drop, till your fingers and toes bleed, and love with all your heart.

Svetlana Zakharova, ballet dancer: "When I heard him play for me for the first time, it was amazing! Now, every time I come on stage and he plays for me – the feeling is quite different. This project is special, because, when we are on a stage together, there is some special energy between us."

No wonder that even the performance is called "The Pas De Deux For Toes and Fingers", for pas de deux can be translated as ‘a dance for two’. The ballerina jokes: together both on stage, and in real life.

Though they have been a family for almost ten years, they did not manage to make a joint project for a long time. The busy artistic schedule interfered. And then in Switzerland, almost six thousand kilometers from the Homeland, this performance was born. Then it traveled all over the world and only 5 years later, it reached the stage of the Bolshoi Theatre. But for the Moscow audience, artists have prepared a special repertoire.

Vadim Repin, violin player: "We have chosen for Moscow just that very variant, which we have gathered little by little from all over the world. We represented it already, together with the program Svetlana wanted to perform. And because those small intermezzos are a part of this program, I tried to choose the pieces which the audience consider to be the violin hits."

Among them, there are Paganini’s, Glazunov’s, Saint-Saens’s, Sarasate’s and Monty's pieces. The conversation of violin solo and dance is supported by the leads of the Bolshoi Theatre and the musicians of the Chamber String Orchestra. They breathe in sync with Vadim Repin, understanding him without words. He is not just the soloist in this show, he is also the conductor.

Stanislav Spiridonov, contrabass player, Musica Viva Orchestra: "We play with the soloist, according to his motion, gesture. Music is performed like this sometimes, it is a normal practice. It is the first time I work with him, but it is very interesting, a very good person, he radiates such warmth and kindness, so it is very pleasant to work with him. I am very glad to participate in this project."

It’s no coincidence that the artists present to the Moscow citizens modern and classical works by world famous composers right before the main winter holidays. They say, this is their New Year's gift.

And even if the audience doesn’t watch the show from behind the scene and sees it only well-prepared, actors promise there will still be a lot of revelations. They uncover souls and feelings before their audience. They argue, feel excited and agree with each other in one language – the language of music.

Anastasia Shkitina, Vladimir Bragin, TV BRICS.