Dancing for Mayo

WORLD FAMOUS  The Perm State Ballet of Russia will visit Galway in December for the tenth year in succession.

Russian ballet group comes west

County View
John Healy

FOR a Castlebar-born ballet teacher, the ultimate compliment to her tenacity and persuasive powers comes in December when, for the tenth year in succession, the Perm State Ballet of Russia visits Galway.
Regina Rogers, formerly Regina Langan, has been the key negotiator in organising the annual visits of the world famous ballet to Galway. Ten years ago, she embarked on the long journey to the frozen north of Russia to try to persuade the Perm management to come to this country. Since then, Ireland has played host to the company which performs normally at the Point in Dublin and at the Town Hall Theatre in Galway.
This year, the Dublin leg of the tour has been dropped, but in an unique tribute to Regina, the Perm State Ballet will deliver a six-night programme in Galway from December 4 to December 9. After that, the prestigious company travels to Belgium to perform for the Royal family before flying to New York to appear at Carnegie Hall.
For Regina Rogers, who runs her own ballet school in Galway, the annual visit of the Perm State Ballet is the highlight of her cultural year. If she has any regret, it is that her initial plan to include Castlebar in the tour did not work out – at least not for this year. Her Mayo links remain strong; daughter of Dr John and Marie Langan, she learned her ballet at the feet of her mother, who initiated ballet teaching at several locations in Mayo, with the assistance of her sister, Bláth McCrae of Westport.
The visit of the Perm Ballet is eagerly looked forward to in Galway, where each performance is completely booked out well in advance. This year, Regina says, Perm will give two ballets of contrasting style at each performance, so audiences get great value for money!
The opening ballet, ‘Les Sylphides’ is a classic ‘white’ ballet, visually enchanting and with hauntingly beautiful music by Chopin. The second ballet, ‘Cavalry Halt’, is a complete change, telling a tale of merry mayhem when a regiment of cavalry arrives into a country village. Colourful characters, wonderful dances and a bumbling colonel all contribute to first class entertainment.
Located 2,000 miles east of Moscow, the Perm State Ballet has one other well documented link with Ireland. Monica Loughman from Santry in Dublin became the only foreign dancer in the Perm State company when she coped with the harsh winters, the arduous training and the sheer loneliness of being so far away from home to become one of ballet’s most acclaimed performers.
The history of the company itself is interesting too. In 1941, the legendary Kirov Ballet and opera companies, together with their orchestras and dance training schools, fled from Hitler’s forces besieging Leningrad to make their wartime home in the remote sanctuary of Perm. When the time came that they were able to return to Leningrad, some of the company chose to remain behind in Perm, where they founded the state Tchaikovsky Ballet and opera companies.
It is this school and these dancers which will delight capacity audiences in Galway nightly from December 4 to December 9, with a matinee on Saturday, December 8.
Regina Rogers advises that, on past experience, early booking is strongly advisable, with box office details to be had from the Town Hall Theatre in Galway on 091 569777.