RIA-Novosti Presents… Photos of the Week, 21-27 December 2013: Olympic Fire, Ded Moroz, Kobzon the Terrible, and Others…

A cop on duty during the Olympic torch relay in Ufa.

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Policeman salutes a driver dressed as Ded Moroz, who brought the New Year’s tree to the Moscow Kremlin.

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Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former CEO of YUKOS, at a press conference at the Museum of the Berlin Wall {the place is a crapitalist rip-off, the admission is 12.50 Euros (564 Roubles. 17 USD. 18 CAD. 19 AUD. 10.40 UK Pounds) per person! An appropriate venue for a scammer, isn’t it?: editor}.

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Demonstrator at pro-EU rally on the Maidan in Kiev from the Narodnoye Veche  group.

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Dynamo-Kazan goalkeeper Anders Svensson with Yevgeni Ivanushkin (Dynamo-Moscow) and Aleksei Bushuev (Dynamo Kazan) (left to right) in the Russian Super Cup for Bandy.

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Iosif Kobzon, First Deputy Chairman of the RF Gosduma Committee on Culture, and Valentina Tereshkova, Deputy Chairman of the RF Gosduma Committee for International Affairs, at a plenary meeting.

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Pussy Riot member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova leaving the correctional colony after her amnesty.

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President Vladimir Putin, First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev (right to left) before the beginning of the session of the Supreme Council of the Eurasian Economic Community in the Kremlin.

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Yevgeni Plyushchenko competing in men’s single figure skating short programme at the Russian Cup figure skating championship in Sochi.

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The view from the top of the main New Year’s tree in Cathedral Square in the Moscow Kremlin.

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Opera singer Yelena Obraztsova and Vladimir Urin, the Director of the Bolshoi Theatre, at a press conference devoted to the 50th anniversary of Obraztsova’s début on the stage.

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A scene from Tchaikovsky‘s ballet The Nutcracker staged by Igor Zelensky on the stage of the Novosibirsk State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre.

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Ded Moroz made a lap around the Garden Ring.

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Actors wearing deer antlers play with children at the Moscow Zoopark during a presentation featuring Ded Moroz.

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Lying in state of the coffin of small arms designer Lieutenant General Mikhail Kalashnikov at the Cathedral of the Holy Archangel Michael in Izhevsk.

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27 December 2013

RIA-Novosti

http://ria.ru/photolents/20131227/986810952_986799180.html

A Multimedia Presentation. RIA-Novosti Presents… “Viva Alicia!” The Legendary Cuban Ballerina and Her Students at the Bolshoi

On Tuesday, at the Bolshoi Theatre, a gala honoured Cuban prima ballerina assoluta Alicia Alonso Martínez. Recently, Sra Alonso celebrated her 90th birthday; she’s a symbol of her Free Island, an icon of the Cuban national ballet and culture. In the above image, we see Alicia Alonso, the founder of the Cuban ballet, talking backstage with Bolshoi soloist Svetlana Zakharova (left) before a gala concert given by artists from the Ballet Nacional de Cuba at the New Stage of the Bolshoi Theatre.

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The Ballet Nacional de Cuba presents Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake

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One of Alonso’s teachers was a former soloist of the Bolshoi Theatre, Sofia Fedorova; she told us that she learned her brilliant technique from M Fedorova… “I learned it from my teachers… Aleksandra Fedorova, Mikhail Fokine, Anatoly Obukhov, I learned the best methods from all of them, which led to my very intense performances. Aleksandra Fedorova always told me, ‘You don’t have pointe shoes? So, practise and dance, whether you have pointe shoes or not’”.

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Diane et Actéon Pas de Deux (choreographed by Petipa), danced by BNC soloists Yolanda Correa and José Lozada

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The appearance of the honoured guest of the occasion caused quite a stir at the Bolshoi, according to those present at the concert, the audience in the hall stood up in respect, as if on cue, welcoming the legendary artist with vigorous and prolonged applause. In the image above, we see Alicia Alonso (left) behind the scenes with the members of the troupe.

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Leading soloists of the Ballet Nacional de Cuba and the Bolshoi Ballet performed at a gala concert in honour of Sra Alonso named “Viva Alicia!” In the image above, we see Bolshoi Theatre soloist Andrei Uvarov dancing at the gala concert with artists of the Ballet Nacional de Cuba.

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Svetlana Zakharova and Andrei Uvarov

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Soloists Svetlana Zakharova and Andrei Uvarov of the Bolshoi Theatre danced in an excerpt from Rodion Shchedrin’s Carmen-Suite.

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Svetlana Zakharova and Andrei Uvarov perform Carmen Suite at the gala honouring Sra Alonso

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Soloist Svetlana Zakharova of the Bolshoi Theatre, seen here dancing at the gala concert honouring ballerina Alicia Alonso with artists of the Ballet Nacional de Cuba.

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Sra Alonso founded the Ballet Nacional de Cuba in 1948, and in 1959, after the triumph of the Cuban Revolution, she returned permanently to her homeland.

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BNC performs Coppelia (complete ballet)

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Today, experts recognise the Cuban School of Ballet as one of the most rigorous in the world.

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The BNC performs A Creole Fiesta at the gala honouring Sra Alonso

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A portion of the Ballet Nacional de Cuba came to perform at the gala concert in Moscow.

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The artists of the Ballet Nacional de Cuba danced excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, Delibes’ Coppélia, and Minkus’ Don Quixote (choreographed by the legendary Silver Age master Maestro Marius Petipa) with virtuosity and stunning spirit.

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Minkus’ Don Quixote danced by the BNC

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As part of the gala, the dancers also performed new choreographic productions, for instance, a number for three dancers called Гром и молния (Thunder and Lightning).

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Alejandro Virelles wowed the Moscow audience with a stunning performance of the famous scène de ballet The Dying Swan adapted for a male dancer.

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Alejandro Virelles’ bravura performance of the famous scène de ballet The Dying Swan at the gala for Sra Alonso (don’t be concerned by the “wind” in the first two minutes… it’s intentional… then, the Saint-Saëns kicks in

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In future, Alicia Alonso plans to visit Moscow again with the Ballet Nacional de Cuba, they’ll perform at the Bolshoi Theatre; in return, the Bolshoi Ballet plans to return the courtesy by staging presentations in Cuba.

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3 August 2011

RIA-Novosti

http://ria.ru/photolents/20110803/411358496.html