Ballet & Nationality: Nina Ananiashvili in conversation with Dr Ismene Brown

As artistic director of the State Ballet of Georgia, Nina Ananiashvili faces the challenges of directing one of the most politicised of performing arts at a politically sensitive time, balancing ballet’s aesthetic verities with its value as an expression of national cultural identity. During this talk, Nina discusses her formation as a Russian ballerina and her nationality as a proud Georgian. About Nina Ananiashvili Nina Ananiashvili has been described as the first glasnost ballerina, and one of history’s greatest ballerinas. As the young star of Moscow’s Bolshoi Ballet she carved an independent, global career, starring at American Ballet Theatre and Britain’s Royal Ballet, and performing an exceptional range of over 100 roles. In 2004 she returned to her native Georgia to revitalise the State Ballet as its artistic director, and, after successful US tours, this summer the troupe makes its London debut. About Dr Ismene Brown Ismene Brown is a Russianist historian and former ballet critic, who trained as a pianist at the Royal College of Music, where she was inspired by visiting Soviet musicians. She developed a wider interest in USSR culture politics through her 17 years as critic for the Daily Telegraph and The Spectator. After taking an MA at UCL’s School of Slavonic and East European Studies, she earned her DPhil at the University of Oxford in 2021 for her work on politician Ekaterina Furtseva, whose biography she is preparing. Recorded at Opera and Ballet Theater of Tbilisi on Friday March 29th Thumbnail image: Nancy Ellison Photography