The Moscow Ballet’s “Great Russian Nutcracker” is coming to Rochester and Minneapolis in early December and will feature the company’s award-winning couple Cristina and Alexei Terentiev.
The Terentievs will headline the Ballet’s so-called West Coast tour, which has them performing the “Nutcracker” in Grand Forks on Dec. 1, Rochester on Dec. 2 and the State Theater in Minneapolis on Dec. 3 and 4.
From here they go to Cedar Rapids Dec. 5, and Sioux City on Dec. 7.
The same cast also will perform “Swan Lake” at some of its tour stops; the closest to us is Thunder Bay, on Nov. 31.
The Moscow Ballet has these nice things to say about the Terentievs:
Hailing from the capital city of Moldova, Cristina (Borta) Terentiev dances to acclaim around the world and boasts prestigious recognition and awards. Most recently Cristina won the Gold Medal, 1st award of 23rd International Ballet Competition in Varna 2008. There she also won Award for Original Contemporary Choreography by Radu Poklitaru, a Special Notice Award and an Award from Sansha, the General Sponsor of the event. Cristina started her ballet studies at the Choreographic School of Chisinau in 1991 and in 1994 received her first award from the Minkus Association and, two years later, she won second prize in the International Ballet Competition in Constanta, Romania. In 1998 she received an award in Varna, Bulgaria which was handed to her by prima ballerinas assoluta N. Bessmertnova and N. Makarova, members of the jury. Cristina has also been acknowledged by the international organization Diagelev Association.
In 2000 Cristina graduated school and became leading ballerina for the National Opera and Ballet Theatre of Moldova. There she directs the repertoire with husband Alexei, also a leading dancer. She is a former principal dancer with the Atlantic Ballet Theatre in Canada. In addition to the Great Russian Nutcracker, her repertoire includes principal roles in Don Quixote, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Nutcracker, Giselle, La Sylphide, Chopiniana, La Fille Mal Gardee, Paquita and Coppelia.
Alexei Terentiev dances the roles of the Nutcracker Prince of the Great Russian Nutcracker and Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake. Born in 1976, Moldova Alexei began his training at the age of 10 at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy, in the class of Peter Korogodsky. He continued his training at Moldavian State Choreographic School graduating in 1993 and has been a leading dancer with the Moldavian National Opera and Ballet Theatre since then.
In 2008 he was awarded Best Partnership and Original Contemporary Choreography by Radu Poklitaru at the 23rd International Ballet Competition in Varna, with partner and wife Cristina Terentieva. Alexei also won Gold in the Senior Men`s Division for dancing Pas de Deux in 1995 at the Danovsky Ballet Competition in Constanta, Romania and a Special Award for the Highest Jump, and he has received an award from the distinguished Diagilev Center. He tours extensively through Europe with the Moldavian National Opera and Ballet Theatre and his repertoire includes principal roles in Don Quixote, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Nutcracker, Giselle, La Silphyde, Chopiniana, The Wayward Daughter, Paquita, and Coppelia.
