Rite of Spring

A ballet evening in two parts

This ballet evening presents two short productions – Almost Air, created by Vanemuine Ballet Director Jevgeni Grib on Béla Bartók’s music, and Igor Stravinski’s Rite of Spring, as interpreted by Edward Clug, a highly in-demand contemporary choreographer.

Almost Air
Director Jevgeni Grib
Music Director and Conductor Risto Joost
Conductor Aleksandr Bražnik
Music Béla Bartók
Dramaturge Siret Campbell
Set and Costume Designer Tanel Veenre
Video Designer Alyona Movko-Mägi
Lighting Designer Priidu Adlas (Estonian Drama Theatre)
Music Designer Sander Mölder

The short ballet Almost Air explores a universal phenomenon – aging – through the perspective of a dancer at the end of their career. This is a stage of life where the physical body and presence seem to fade, whereas one’s inner world becomes even clearer. A maturity emerges that no longer seeks validation. Transparency is not disappearance but rather a transition onto another level. The production, created on the colourful and emotion-filled music of Béla Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra, gives performers from different generations a chance to dance and speak. This is Jevgeni Grib’s first production as Artistic Director of the Vanemuine Ballet, and a creative reunion with dramaturge Siret Campbell who collaborated with Grib on his first full-length ballet Ash White.

Rite of Spring
Director Edward Clug (Slovenian National Theatre Maribor)
Music Director and Conductor Risto Joost
Conductor Aleksandr Bražnik
Music Igor Stravinsky
Set Designer Marko Japelj (Slovenia)
Costume Designer Leo Kulaš (Slovenia)
Lighting Designer Tomaž Premzl (Slovenian National Theatre Maribor)

Igor Stravinsky’s short ballet Rite of Spring is a work with a cult-like reputation, depicting an old Russian folk legend where a young virgin must dance herself to death as part of a ritualistic sacrifice to appease a pagan spring deity. Since its scandalous world premiere, directed by Wacław Niżyński in 1913, the composition has inspired acclaimed choreographers like Maurice Béjart, Pina Bausch, and Edward Clug, whose interpretation of Rite of Spring premiered at the Slovenian National Theatre Maribor in 2012. Since then, the production has featured in numerous festivals across the world. Now, audiences at the Vanemuine Theatre have a rare opportunity to witness the work of a contemporary star choreographer.

Performers Vanemuine Ballet Company and Vanemuine Symphony Orchestra
Premiere: March 14, 2026 – Grand Building of the Vanemuine Theatre