Russian dance group gets a Vegas-style twist at the Phillips Center

March 20, 2007

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — What happens when the glitz and glamour of a Las Vegas floor show is combined with the warmth and charm of Russian folk art?

You get Les Folies Russes, a theatrical production featuring 50 classically trained Russian dancers in a virtuosic presentation unlike anything you may have ever seen. Twenty show-stopping numbers are complemented by nearly 1,000 costumes complete with feathers, furs and colorful jewels.

Produced by artistic director and principal choreographer Vladimir Zakharov, Les Folies Russes does not try to reproduce Russian folk art. Instead, its goal is to revive the Russian epic. Heroes are celebrated and beautiful girls are loved in these dances that are part fairy tale, part cultural treasure. “Les Folies Russes” brings visions of Paris and the Cancan, and snowy fields traversed by troikas and cold, Russian winters to life.

Known throughout Russia as Gzhel, the name of the group’s sponsor, the company is the only ballet troupe in the world that performs both folk dance and a more contemporary program such as Les Folies Russes.

Les Folies Russes winds up its North American tour at a 4 p.m. April 1 performance at the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.

Tickets are available by calling the Phillips Center Box Office at 352-392-2787 or 800-905-2787 or by calling Ticketmaster at 904-353-3309. Orders may be faxed to 352-846-1562. Tickets are also available in person at the Phillips Center Box Office, University Box Office at the University of Florida Reitz Student Union and all Ticketmaster outlets; and on the Web at www.ticketmaster.com.

The Phillips Center Box Office is open from noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and two hours before performances.