CriticalDance Forum

One of the highlights of the week long Diaghilev Festival will be a spectacular Gala Dinner and Ball to celebrate the opening of the Jewellery exhibition «Inspired by the Silver Age» in the Marble Hall of the Russian Ethnography Museum. The Patrons, jewellers, partners and supporters of the festival will all attend the Gala. We invite you to join them and be one of the first to see the historic jewels that once adorned some of the Stars of Russian Imperial stages such as Rachel, Petipa, Chaliapine and others. To complement the jewellery of this era, the exhibition will also include gorgeous modern pieces by Italian artist Diego Percossi Papi famous for his jewels in Oscar-winning historic films together with unique creations of Russian goldsmiths. The exhibition will also display theatre costumes made to designs by Bakst and Benois for the Ballets Russes together with luxurious modern day accessories by Moscow designer Anna Lipyavko.

The ball will start with cocktails on the balcony of the grand Marble Hall where the guests view the exhibition and enjoy a unique performance of «Jewels in Ballet» with the stars of The Mariinsky. After the performance guests will be invited to a seated dinner and cat-walk show of theatre costumes followed by dancing to a symphony orchestra and a jazz-band.

We expect to welcome a maximum of 200 guests and anticipate that demand for the Gala will be high. There are two levels of contribution: Gold Euro 1,000.00 or Silver Euro 650.00. All proceeds will go to the funding of the Festival.

The dress-code is black tie. Ladies are encouraged to add a flavour of the Silver Age (beginning of the 20th century) to their dress to continue the theme and style of the evening.

The elite of St. Petersburg

Isn't that a contradiction in terms?