From the three listed ballets, only “Illusive ball” is familiar to Moscow’s spectators. Dmitry Bryantsev’s masterpiece, accompanied by Frederic Chopin’s music, has been noted by every possible prize and award and, by recognition of critics, became the best composition of one of the brightest Russian ballet masters of the 20th century.

The two other productions are being staged in Russia for the first time. Nacho Duato, the head of the National Spanish Dance Company, the outstanding European choreographer is cooperating with Russian theatre for the first time. His ballets regularly feature in the repertoires of the world’s major theatres.

Heitor Villa-Lobos’s music and the gentle, sensual dances full of serenity and harmony praise the beauty of Amazonian woods, while the passion of the dances gives out Duato’s Spanish origins.

The second premiere is by the founder of classical English ballet, Frederic Ashton, who formed the famous Covent Garden troupe and is known the world over. His “Marguerite and Armand” is a very special production. For a long time since the premiere in 1963 it was performed by two great soloists, Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev, who were just beginning their long career in ballet back then. Ever since, this production has been associated with those two names.

After they finished dancing it was not staged anywhere for many years. In the early 1990s, the ballet was brought back on stage by the director of British Royal Ballet Anthony Dowell. Now, Sylvie Guillem and Nicola Rich dance this production. The artistic director of the royal ballet, Grant Coyle, says “[this ballet] hasn’t been done very much throughout the world. It’s usually done by very special dancers… It needs the dancers that have a very special relationship between themselves.”

The ballets will be staged at the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko musical theatre in Moscow on July 24 and 25.