You're reading: Witches’ sabbath in a grand ballet

What could be a better Halloween outing than a sabbath of dancing witches and demons.

Characters from Nikolay Gogol’s stories will come alive onstage in the folk ballet “Night on Bald Mountain” by world-known Igor Moiseev’s troupe.

Moiseev’s folk ballet is a mesmerizing spectacle with bright costumes, captivating theatrics and movements exuding unrestrained and even erotic energy. This one-act ballet is rid of the rigid forms of classical ballet.

The music accompanying the dance performance is a well-known work with the same name by the Russian composer Modest Mussorgskiy.

Gogol’s motifs are especially close to Moiseev since he was born in Ukraine and has infused his art with Ukrainian folkore. Moiseev’s trademark is a combination of classical and folk dance, as well as acrobatic tricks.

His first troupe caused an uproar in the 1930s thanks to innovative and modern choreography.

The ballet has since travelled throughout Russia and the world for more than 73 years, having been to 60 countries already. Despite Moiseev’s passing in 2007, the troupe’s fame successfully carries on.

Tue, Nov. 1, 7 p.m., concert hall Ukaina, 103 Velyka Vasylkivska St., tickets: Hr 100-1,200.