OVERVIEW

An international ballet star in the 1970s and 1980s on a par with Baryshnikov and Nureyev, Peter Schaufuss later became a modernising choreographic force as a company director, winning both the Olivier and Evening Standard awards. He was named artistic director of the London Festival Ballet (now called the English National Ballet) in 1984; was the artistic director of the Deutsch Oper Ballet in Berlin from 1990 to 1994, when he became the artistic director of his native Royal Danish Ballet. In 1997 he formed his own company, Peter Schaufuss Ballet. Today, he is probably best known in the UK for his controversial dance work, ‘Diana, The Princess’, a tribute to his friend, pupil and ENB patron, which premiered in Manchester in 2005. His last West End production was ‘Satisfaction’ in 2007, choreographed to the music of the Rolling Stones.

ACT 1: Edith Piaf (1915 - 1963)

French cabaret singer whose signature tunes included ‘Non, je ne regrette rien’, ‘La Vie en Rose’ and ‘Milord’, Piaf was literally born in the gutter. With amazing effort and enormous talent, she became one of France’s greatest ever stars. A victim of an awful childhood, Piaf was only 147cm in height. She ate and drank her way through life and indulged in alcohol and men in abundance. She lived life to the full - and paid the price. Broken, addicted to morphine, rheumatic and almost bald she had to force herself on stage to sing ‘Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien’ (I have no regrets)...

ACT 2: Marlene Dietrich (1901 – 1992))

German cabaret singer and actress whose classic films include ‘The Blue Angel’, ‘Morocco’ and ‘Shanghai Express’. Dietrich turned to German cabaret and film early in her career. In 1930, she made her breakthrough with a lead part in the first German talking movie, ‘The Blue Angel’. Immediately after the premiere she left her husband and child and followed the film director Josef von Sternberg to Hollywood and a seven-year contract with Paramount Pictures. During this period, Dietrich and von Sternberg created her glamorous image. After World War II, she performed as a celebrated entertainer the world over. She retired in 1976 to a reclusive existence and died in 1992.

ACT 3: Judy Garland (1922 - 1969)

American cabaret singer and actress whose signature tunes include the immortal ‘Over the Rainbow’ and who film legacy features ‘The Wizard of Oz’, ‘Meet Me in St. Louis’ and ‘Easter Parade’. Garland was introduced to show business at the early age of two when she performed in hundreds of live radio shows with her two older sisters. She was awarded an Oscar and nominated for several others. She won a special Tony Award for the first of three Broadway shows. She also recorded a host of singles and albums. ‘Judy of Carnegie Hall’ was awarded five Grammy Awards in 1962, including Album of the Year. The role as Dorothy in ‘The Wizard of Oz’ made her an overnight megastar, loved and admired by millions worldwide. But hiding behind her beautiful, self-assured appearance and her amazing voice was a shy and delicate young girl. No one had prepared her for the consequences of stardom, and soon drugs and alcohol became her solace in life. The rest of her career was a rollercoaster of scandals and comebacks.

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Irina Kolesnikova Biography

Irina Kolesnikova was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia. In 1998, she graduated from the Vaganova Ballet Academy where she studied in the class of Elvira Kokorina. The same year in December, Irina was accepted into KonstantinTachkin’s St.Petersburg Ballet Theatre (SPBT) as a soloist, where her first teacher was Russia’s Honoured Artist Svetlana Effremova. Due to her extraordinary dancing and acting skills, Irina was promoted to principal dancer in 2000 and by 2001 became the company’s Prima Ballerina. Her roles include Odette/Odile, Clara, Aurora, Kitri and Giselle. In November 2004, she added Nikiya to her repertoire when SPBT premiered its newest production of La Bayadere, As a member of the St Petersburg Ballet Theatre, Irina has toured extensively in Holland Germany, Belgium, United Kingdom and Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea. In the Spring of 2007, announced by her name were performances of Giselle and Odette-Odile in South Africa. In September 2007, Irina was invited to perform as a guest with other international stars in the Stars of the 21st Century Gala in Paris, where she danced Scheherazade for the first time. On October 17th 2007 she was announced by name with SPBT for a sell-out debut performance of Swan Lake at Theatre Champs Elysees in Paris.

Caroline Petter

Caroline Petter trained at the Royal Ballet School in London. She danced with the Malmö Ballet from 1988 to 1995 where she danced several leads. In 1995 she joined Patrick King’s Skånes Dansteater. Since joining the Peter Schaufuss Ballet as a founding member in 1997 she has danced in all the company’s productions and created the roles of Mother in the TCHAIKOVSKY TRILOGY, Spirit in HAMLET, Lady Capulet in ROMEO & JULIET, and The King’s Mother in THE KING. Angel of Death in MIDNIGHT EXPRESS, Terpsichore in KERMESS IN BRUGES-THE THREE GIFTS, mother in H.C. ANDERSEN. Petter also danced the role of Edith Piaf in LANGUAGE OF LOVE, Queen Elizabeth II in DIANA – THE PRINCESS and in CHARLES THE PRINCE, Margot Lander in HARALD and soloist roles in SATISFACTION. For her performance in SHE LOVES YOU, Caroline Petter was nominated for dancer of the year in the Reumert Awards 2002.

Zara Deakin

Zara Deakin trained at The Royal Ballet School, London. Sir Frederick Ashton created the ballet NURSERY SUITE for Zara in honour of Queen Elizabeth’s Birthday. She was hired by Peter Schaufuss both in English National Ballet, and as a Principal Dancer at the Deutsche Oper Berlin where she danced a variety of major leading roles. Since joining The Peter Schaufuss Ballet as a founding member she has created the roles of Black Swan, Carabosse in the prize winning TCHAIKOVSKY TRILOGY, Gertrude in HAMLET, Juliet in ROMEO & JULIET, the Alter Ego in THE KING and a soloist role in THE MAN WHO WISHED FOR A SEA VIEW, Angel of Death in MIDNIGHT EXPRESS, Afrodite in KERMESS IN BRUGES-THE THREE GIFTS, the Nightingale in H.C. ANDERSEN and soloist roles in SHE LOVES YOU and SATISFACTION. In LANGUAGE OF LOVE Deakin created the role of Marlene Dietrich. In the ballet DIANA - THE PRINCESS and in CHARLES THE PRINCE Zara Deakin created the role of Princess Diana. Deakin has been in all of the Peter Schaufuss's performances.

Creative Team

Director:	Peter Schaufuss
Producer:	PSB
Designer:	Peter Schaufuss
Lighting:	Peter Schaufuss
Choreographer:	Peter Schaufuss
Press:	Kevin Wilson
Marketing:	Paul Hicks

TICKET PRICES

Stalls:	£41, £36
Dress Circle:	£41, £36
Upper Circle:	£31, £26
Balcony:	£21, £16
Boxes:	£36, £31

Concessions
£20 (includes £1 restoration levy)

Group Rates
£15 off the top 2 prices for Monday to Friday & Saturday Matinee.

Performances

From 19th June 2008 to 5th July 2008
Monday to Saturday at 7.30pm
Wednesday & Saturday Matinee at 3pm

Running Time: 2 Hours 10min

Intervals: There are 2 20 minute intervals after acts 1 and 2

Press Release

WORLD FAMOUS PRIMA BALLERINA
IRINA KOLESNIKOVA
MAKES HER WEST END DEBUT
AS A GUEST STAR IN

World famous, multi award-winning Prima Ballerina of the St Petersburg Ballet Theatre, Irina Kolesnikova is to make her West End dancing debut in the British premiere of the dance spectacular, DIVAS.

With a company of 25, choreographed and directed by Olivier Award and Evening Standard Award-winning Peter Schaufuss, DIVAS will also star Caroline Petter and Zara Deakin.

DIVAS pays homage to three of the world's greatest icons - Edith Piaf, Marlene Dietrich and Judy Garland - in one stunning production. Featuring original recordings from ‘La Vie En Rose’ to ‘Falling in Love Again’ and ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’, it celebrates each stars’ art and individuality. Brilliant lighting and staging relive the glitz and glamour of Hollywood in an exhilarating show for the whole family. DIVAS will have its West End premiere at the Apollo Theatre in a strictly limited season from June 19 - July 5. Press night is Wednesday June 25 at 7.30pm.

Irina Kolesnikova was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia. In 1998, she graduated from the Vaganova Ballet Academy where she studied in the class of Elvira Kokorina. The same year in December, Irina was accepted into Konstantin Tachkin’s St.Petersburg Ballet Theatre (SPBT) as a soloist, where her first teacher was Russia’s Honoured Artist Svetlana Effremova. Due to her extraordinary dancing and acting skills, Irina was promoted to principal dancer in 2000 and by 2001 became the company’s Prima Ballerina. As a member of the St Petersburg Ballet Theatre, Irina has toured extensively in Holland Germany, Belgium, United Kingdom and Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea.

British ballerina Zara Deakin trained at The Royal Ballet School. Sir Frederick Ashton created the ballet NURSERY SUITE for Zara in honour of Queen Elizabeth’s Birthday. She danced with the English National Ballet and Deutsche Oper Berlin before joining The Peter Schaufuss Company as a founding member, appearing in leading roles in all the companies’ 18 productions. In DIVAS, Zara created the role of Marlene Dietrich and in the acclaimed production DIANA - THE PRINCESS she portrayed the role of Diana. Zara has performed all over the world including at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York and Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. DIVAS will be her second appearance starring in a production at the West End.

British ballerina Caroline Petter was born in Manchester and graduated from the Royal Ballet School. She has danced many of the major roles in the world repertoire of dance. Since joining the Peter Schaufuss Company as a founding member she has created leading roles in all the company’s productions. Caroline created the role of Edith Piaf in the world premiere of DIVAS. In 2002 she was nominated for the theatre award the “Reumert” for her outstanding performance in the Beatles production, SHE LOVES YOU. This will be Caroline’s second appearance in a starring role in a production in the West End.

Peter Schaufuss was an international ballet star in the 1970s and 1980s on a par with Baryshnikov and Nureyev. More recently he has become a modernising choreographic force as a company director, winning both the Olivier and Evening Standard awards. He was named artistic director of the London Festival Ballet (now called the English National Ballet) in 1984; was the artistic director of the Deutsch Oper Ballet in Berlin from 1990 to 1994, when he became the artistic director of his native Royal Danish Ballet. In 1997 he formed his own company. Today, he is probably best known in the UK for his controversial dance work, ‘Diana, The Princess’, a tribute to his friend, pupil and ENB patron, which premiered in Manchester in 2005. His last West End production was ‘Satisfaction’ in 2007, choreographed to the music of the Rolling Stones.

"A star at the peak of her powers" Metro

"Genuine brilliance... a true superstar" Glasgow Herald

"A world-class talent, Irina Kolesnikova improves year on year with her passion, obvious perfectionism and inimitable technique"
The Sunday Express

Press contact at Clout: Kevin Wilson (07884 368697) kevin@cloutcom.co.uk

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