Bringing Contemporary Dance to Russia, Citadel of Classicism

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Wayne McGregor, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Marco Goecke, Richard Siegal, Justin Peck: Not exactly household names in Russia, storied home to classical ballet with little audience fondness for more contemporary offerings. But these choreographers, as well as Alexei Ratmansky and Hans van Manen, are among the high-profile artists whose work will be part of the Context festival, founded and run by the ballerina Diana Vishneva.

The fifth and most ambitious edition of Context, which will take place in Moscow Nov. 12-15, and in St. Petersburg Nov. 16-19, will feature performances by Ms. Vishneva, alongside other dance world luminaries like Alessandra Ferri, Herman Cornejo and Jeanette Delgado. Ms. Vishneva, 40, a celebrated former principal dancer at the Mariinsky in St. Petersburg, also held the position of principal dancer at American Ballet Theater from 2005 until her retirement from that company in June. In Context, she will appear in works by Goyo Montero and Vladimir Varnava.

Companies appearing during the festival include a mix of ballet and contemporary dance troupes: the Wayne McGregor Company, the Los Angeles-based Bodytraffic, the Gautier Dance Company from Stuttgart and the Perm Opera and Ballet Theater with a triple bill of Stravinsky by Russian choreographers. The Dutch National Ballet will also perform, on the final night of the festival, presenting Mr. Ratmansky’s “Concerto #1” and Mr. van Manen’s “Sarcasme.”

Ms. Vishneva’s interest in new choreography has been apparent throughout her career — she commissioned work from Dwight Rhoden, Moses Pendleton, Mr. Ratmansky and Mauro Bigonzetti for her own touring programs, as well as collaborating with Mr. Ratmansky and others on new ballets.

In an interview just before her final performance with Ballet Theater, Ms. Vishneva said that she planned to cultivate new choreography through her festival and by opening a studio in St. Petersburg.

Initially her choice of choreographers was controversial in Russia, she said: “I am from the classical world and I am doing something contemporary, and I created a festival and why is she doing this? For what reason?” But now the classical and contemporary dance worlds are “absolutely interconnected” rather than parallel, she said. “Nobody remembers why it was controversial.”

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