Moscow Ballet's 20th Anniversary Great Russian Nutcracker Tour Concludes

Akiva Talmi Presents Inc (ATP) concludes largest and most successful tour of the Great Russian Nutcracker in 20 year history of presenting in the US and Canada. Moscow Ballet's (MB) two simultaneously traveling companies, with about 40 dancers each, delivered 100 top quality performances in November and December. 2000+ seat venues sold out from the East (Atlantic City, Bethesda, Baltimore, Fairfax) to Mid-west (Chicago and Minneapolis), West (Los Angeles) and South (San Antonio, Ft Myers). The tour reached double digit growth in ticket sales over the prior year. Visitor traffic to www.nutcracker.com increased 16% over 2011's visits and was fueled by emerging markets including San Antonio, El Paso, and Midland/Odessa as well as by an increased presence in the larger DMAs of: L.A., San Francisco, Washington D.C., and Dallas.

In addition, the 2012 tour received artistic recognition: "Honored Artists of Ukraine" Olga Kifyak and Viktor Shcherbakov were invited to present at a National Press Club Newsmaker event December 14 in Washington D.C. On the West tour Karyna Shatkovskaya and Vladimir Tkachenko, multi award-winning principals, were praised by press and public. St Paul Pioneer Press' Rob Hubbard says, "She's a lithe, smoothly flowing ballerina who dominated every scene she graced." Moscow Ballet's new choreography for the signature Dove of Peace role was created in homage to Bolshoi Ballet dancer and original Great Russian Nutcracker choreographer Stanislav Vlasov. The two dancers, who created one bird with a 20 foot wingspan, were an instant critical success. From the Jackson Free Press, home of the only North American International Ballet Competition, "[Sergey] Chumakov and [Elena] Petrachenko give the piece the sensuality it deserves...transporting the viewer to a mystical place ...each move is executed with an elegance that makes it clear that they specialize in ballet."

ATP also created strategic partnerships for the anniversary year. MB and Capezio delivered 23 free, public events in cities across the country in anticipation of the tour. MB also fundraised through hospital visits by ballerinas, photo shoots, and other special events for Marie Osmond's Children's Miracle Network Hospitals (CMNH). Producer Akiva Talmi comments, "Unlike many other artistic performing arts companies, our tour is 100% self sufficient. We use a new model: creating partnerships with mutual synergies, keeping up-to-date with market demands and always maintaining artistic integrity."