Carolina First Dance Series

Nina Ananiashvili and the State Ballet of Georgia

Prima ballerina Nina Ananiashvili captivated Spoleto Festival USA audiences with her elegance and luminous technique when she appeared with Moscow Ballet Theatre in 2004. Featuring a number of stellar dancers including Bolshoi star Sergei Filin and the company’s leading ballerina Lali Kandelaki (alternating the Odette/Odile role with Ananiashvili), this exceptional ensemble – called “Tbilisi’s crown jewel” – made its official US debut with a sparkling production of the beloved ballet Swan Lake. Tchaikovsky’s haunting score performed by the Charleston Symphony Orchestra.

“Nina Ananiashvili has never failed to light up the stage. The star presence she brings…invariably fills every scene with drama.”- The New York Times

Sponsored by SteelFab. Additional support provided by the City of Isle of Palms and by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Southern Arts Federation and the South Carolina Arts Commission. Additional support for the 2007 Carolina First Dance Series provided by The Harkness Foundation for Dance and Altria Group, Inc.