“Budapest, we’re coming to conquer you!”

The Mikhailovsky Theatre Ballet Company will go on tour to Hungary in April. The traditional Budapest Spring Festival is renowned for its rich and varied dance programme, which this year will end with a performance by our company. They will present three of Nacho Duato’s one-act ballets — Without Words, Duende, and Na Floresta — at the Müpa Budapest Cultural Centre.

Budapest is battling for the title of capital of Europe’s biggest festivals. In spring, the city on the Danube stages traditional and classical art in its concert halls, the Sziget Festival in summer attracts pop music fans from all over the world, and the arrival of winter is anticipated by the Autumn Festival — one of Europe’s largest avant-garde art forums.
This year’s Spring Festival will feature more than 200 events in ten venues over two weeks, including concerts of classical, jazz, and electronic music, circus performances, operas and operettas, art exhibitions, and literary readings. And, of course, the art of choreography will also be included. The organizers consider that Nacho Duato’s compositions will be the quintessence of classical ballet and avant-garde rhythmical thought.

“Budapest is an incredibly beautiful city”, says Marat Shemiunov, a Principal in the Mikhailovsky Theatre Ballet Company. “Some of our dancers have never been there, so they will have the opportunity to sample the exhilarating atmosphere of the Hungarian capital. I am glad that our company, which has won wide international acclaim for its classical productions, is going to perform Nacho Duato’s ballets there. It is a great opportunity for us to showcase another of our strengths, and as for the audience... well, one can only envy them! I can say this firsthand: I am not performing in all three ballets, so I’m occasionally able to watch this spectacular show from the auditorium. Budapest, we’re coming to conquer you!”