Show Moscow Festival Ballet falling flat Sarah Kaufman The Washington Post The Moscow Festival Ballet which performed a frayed and Cinderella outside of Washington recently is the weakest ballet company to darken a local doorway since the last time it blew through the area This grim fact little troubles the company however The troupe doesn't care that what happens onstage bears little resemblance to what is described in the program program- entire characters scenes and plot twists one reads about with anticipation never materialize It does does' not care to identify which dancers are dancing which part nor norto norto norto to expand its description of the dancers' dancers backgrounds beyond asserting that they are principal dancers from across Russia Nor does the troupe care that its recorded music is tinny and wan that its sets are careworn and ugly that some ome of itS itS' dancers can barely get through their banal steps No the Moscow Festival Ballet simply shrugs off its obvious faults with a yawn and moves on onto onto onto to the next one-night one stand and the next and the next where tickets will continue to sell because any ballet company with Moscow or Russia in its name name- this troupe also tours under the name Russian National Ballet with the same dancers and director Sergei must be good right But just as our country is peppered through with mediocre regional troupes so is Russia and that was wasas wasas wasas as true in the Soviet era as asit asit asit it is today Its It's tempting to believe that the home of Mikhail Baryshnikov and Rudolf is infallible but that is no more the case than that Paris is gastronomically gastronomically- perfect To be sure you can get a bad meal there and that famous attitude with it In that respect the theMos Mos Moscow ow Festival Ballet does h hive have ve a saving grace It makes no pretense that what it presents is great Not one of its dancers appeared to labor under the illusion that hearts would be touched in this production The dancers took a workmanlike approach eyes rolling obligingly to the audience pirouettes given plenty of wind-up wind poses struck squarely on the beat In Inmost Inmost Inmost most cases the basic steps were nailed but phrasing and artistry were not part of the picture The exceptions were Cinderella Olga according to toa toa toa a company official who inquired of a passing dancer as we puzzled over the program backstage and the Prince both capable if emotionally limited dancers |