New Years Eve at the Bolshoi in Moscow, a tradition dating back two centuries

Every year, the music of “The Nutcracker” resounds in Moscow (Russia), and awakens the Bolshoi. Tchaikovsky’s ballet, performed three weeks a year, has become the symbol of the holidays. In Russia, the Bolshoi is an institution, and it is not easy to get a place there. So even the public is in performance and wears their best clothes. Alexandre Kalinin is a regular. “My mom and dad brought me here, that was 60 years ago”, he confides. The 1,700-seat hall was built in the middle of the 19th century. “We leave the world, and we come back 150 years back”, wonders Alexandre.

Behind the curtain, the 80 dancers are warming up. They must ensure 26 performances of Nutcracker in less than three weeks. They take turns to keep up. Jacopo Tissi, principal soloist at the Bolshoi, will be the prince for the evening of December 31. It is the first role of the most important spectacle of the year. “We have a lot of responsibilities, because it is a role that magnificent dancers of the Bolshoi performed, it is a special spectacle”, confides the latter.