January 2014 sees the return of the innovative show – Men In Motion, the brainchild of former Royal Ballet Principal, Ivan Putrov. The show will return for two nights only at the London Coliseum with a new cast.

Following in the footsteps of the celebrated male dancers of the last century, Vaslav Nijinsky, Rudolf Nureyev and Vladimir Vasiliev, Men In Motion boasts a star studded cast featuring Ivan Putrov, Edward Watson and Vadim Muntagirov who will be joined by a cast of leading international names. Men in Motion showcases and highlights the range, virtuosity and splendour of the male dancer.

The show with beautifully choreographed ballets pays homage and includes references to the famous and iconic works created for the male dancer. Highlights include Vaslav Nijinsky’s L'après-midi d'un faune set to Debussy’s haunting score and Fokine’s Le Spectre de la Rose; Roland Petit’s Proust and Russell Maliphant’s duet Two x Two.

The show which runs from the 30th to 31st January will also feature new exciting additions, including a creation by ground breaking Arthur Pita, creator of ‘Metamorphosis’.

Ivan Putrov - Principal Dancer and Producer. He was born in Kyiv, Ukraine to a ballet family. Ivan trained at The Kyiv State Choreographic Institute and at The Royal Ballet School. Upon graduation Sir Anthony Dowell invited him to join the Company, where he became a Principal after three seasons. His repertory includes Principal roles in all the classics and ballets by MacMillan, Ashton, Balanchine, Fokine, Tetley, Cranko, Bournonville, Robbins, Zamuel, McGregor, Forsythe, Kylián, Maliphant, De Frutos, Petit and Duato. International appearances include leading roles with National Ballet Companies of Hungary, Ukraine, Lithuania, England, Mexico, Georgia, Vienna Staatsoper and with The Royal Ballet in many of the world’s most renowned theatres. Awards include Premier Prix at the Prix de Lausanne, Gold medal at the Serge Lifar International Ballet Competition, Gold Medal at the Nijinsky Festival, Critics’ Circle National Dance Award, Medal for Work and Achievement from the President of Ukraine and has been made an Honorary Artist of Ukraine. He has worked with Mario Testino, Johnnie Shand-Kidd, Philip Haas, Nick Knight, Gary Hume, Sam Taylor-Wood and Pet Shop Boys on photographic, film and other creative projects.

Ivan has performed at special events and charities in front of world leaders and royalties at various occasions and places including Buckingham Palace. 101st birthday of Queen Mother.

Pet Shop Boys have written The Most Incredible Thing for Ivan. This ballet was first performed at Sadler’s Wells in 2011 and has been filmed by the BBC.

In 2012 Ivan conceived and produced 'Men in Motion' at Saddler’s Wells Theatre, London. The show looks in to a century of development of the male dancer in ballet theatre. The show had two successful runs in London, has been shown in Moscow and Italy in 2013.

Elena Glurdjidze - Lead Principal English National Ballet. Elena Glurdjidze was born in Tbilisi, Georgia and began training from age seven at the Tbilisi Choreographic School furthering her training at the prestigious Vaganova Academy in St-Petersburg. Prior to joining English National Ballet in 2002 Elena danced with the St-Petersburg Academic Ballet Theatre in many of its leading roles. Elena’s favourite roles include Giselle, Kitri in Don Quixote, Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty and Manon dancing both the title role and Lescaut’s Mistress. Created roles at English National Ballet include the lead Gypsy Girl in Michael Corder’s The Snow Queen and Virgina in Will Tuckett’s The Canterville Ghost. During the 2010/11 season Elena created a role in Van Le Ngoc’s Vue de l’autre. In 2009 Elena was nominated for Best Female Dancer at the Critics’ Circle Awards. Won both the 2007 and 2008 Ballet.co.uk Audience Poll for Best Female Dancer and won Best Partner Award at 7th Perm Open Competition in 2002. In 1998 she won the 8th Paris International Competition of Soloists. Elena is married and lives in London and has a beautiful son, she is also a fluent speaker in Georgian, Russian and English.

Yonah Acosta - Junior Soloist English National Ballet. Joined 2011 as First Artist, promoted Junior Soloist Summer 2011. Roles include Wayne Eagling’s Men Y Men and Ashton’s pas de quatre in Derek Deane’s Swan Lake. Recently appeared as the Young Man in Roland Petit’s Le Jeune Homme et la Mort and made his debut as the Nephew/Prince in Eagling’s production of The Nutcracker at the London Coliseum, Christmas 2011. Autumn 2012 danced Bluebird and Prince Désiré in MacMillan’s The Sleeping Beauty. July 2013 appeared opposite Tamara Rojo in Nureyev’s Raymonda Act III and Autumn 2013 danced the leading roles of Conrad, Ali and Birbanto in Le Corsaire staged by Anna-Marie Holmes.

Vadim Muntagirov - Lead Principal English National Ballet. Joined in 2009 as First Artist, promoted to First Soloist 2010, Principal 2011, Lead Principal 2012 performing the leading roles of Albrecht in Giselle and the Prince in Cinderella all during his first season with the Company. Vadim appeared in Derek Deane’s Swan Lake in-the-round at the Royal Albert Hall in the leading role of Siegfried. Vadim has also danced the leading roles of the poet in Les Sylphides and the prince in The Nutcracker and Romeo

Winner of the 2010 Critics’ Circle National Dance Award for Outstanding Male Performance (Classical). Vadim’s parents were both Principal dancers at the Chelyabinsk Ballet Company. Vadim appeared as a Guest Artist with ABT in January 2012 as Solor in La bayadère in Washington DC. In May 2013 he won the prestigious Benois de la Danse Award for his role as Prince Désiré in MacMillan’s Sleeping Beauty with English National Ballet.

Edward Watson - Principal The Royal Ballet. Born in Bromley and trained at The Royal Ballet School, he joined the Company in1994 and was promoted to Principal, 2005. His repertory includes Romeo, Albrecht, Palemon, Crown Prince Rudolf, Des Grieux, Oberon, Daphnis, Ivan Tsvarevich, Brighella, Arthur Troyte-Griffith, Brother (My Brother, My Sisters), Boy with Matted Hair (Shadowplay), Teacher (The Lesson), Woyzeck (Different Drummer), Anubis (Sphinx), Gloria, The Judas Tree, Anastasia, Images of Love, Symphonic Variations, Symphony in C, Four Temperaments, Agon, Stravinsky, Violin Concerto, Afternoon of a Faun, Polyphonia, L’Invitation au voyage, Dances at a Gathering, and ‘Emeralds’ (Jewels). He created roles in Two-Part Intervention, Cheating, Lying, Stealing, Sawdust and Tinsel, Hidden Variables, A Stranger’s Taste, Symbiont(s), This House Will Burn, Tryst, Qualia, Castle Nowhere, Chroma, DGV: Danse á grande vitesse, The Seven Deadly Sins, Electric Counterpoint, Infra and Acis and Galatea (Royal Opera). In 2011, Edward created the role of Gregor Samsa in Arthur Pita’s re-telling of Kafka’s novella The Metamorphosis, for which he won an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance.

English National Opera
London Coliseum
St. Martin's Lane
London WC2N 4ES United Kingdom
Ph. +44 (0)20 78459300
www.eno.org

Opening hours
Monday - Saturday
From 10am to 8pm (on performance nights)
From 10am to 6pm (on non-performance nights)