The Ruskis are coming to town

The Ruskis are coming to town!

The Russian Cultural Festival, which will be held at the Cultural Center of the Philippines from June 14 to June 18, is the brainchildof Valentina Nebogatov in her capacity as the energetic First VicePresident of the Philippines-Russian Friendship Society.

The Society was established to promote cooperation in all fields between the Philippines and Russia, and particularly to promote closer cultural relations and friendship between the peoples of the Philippines and Russia.The Federal Agency for Culture of the Russian Federation on behalf ofthe Russian Government is the main partner of the festival on theRussian side.

Stars from the famed Bolshoi Theater Ballet, together withdistinguished Russian conductor Felix Korobov and Moscow pianist DenisMatsuev who won the International Tchaikovsky Competition, will befeatured in the festival. Matsuev has become a fast-rising star on the international concert stage after his triumphant victory at the 11thInternational Tchaikovsky Competition, appearing in hundreds ofrecitals at prestigious concert halls throughout the world.

Wow, this certainly brings back memories of my stay in St. Petersburg. It took mega-planning and coordination, but I managed to arrange for a 9-day stay in Piter with free accommodations because I established very good contacts in the city months before arriving.

I managed to see the famed Russian Ballet. It was my goal to watch ballet while I was in Russia even though I am not a fan of ballet.

How do I describe the cultural environment in Russia? Different. Colorful. Exciting. Alive.

So very different from the Philippines where culture = high brow, or a socialite activity. We can't even attest this mentality from being a poor country whose immediate concern is definitely not the arts. Russia is not rich, and most of the rest of the country is still neglected, but the arts and literature is very much alive. Red is the color of Mother Russia because the blood throbs vigourously within her land.

Anyway, back to ballet. I watched Swan lake, and I paid 60pesos or 30rubles for the nose bleed section. Fortunately, even if I was high up the opera theater, the view was still superb, and worth so much more than the cheap price I paid.

The performance and the costume were equally breathtaking. I never expected to be so moved by ballet, but during curtain call, I had to give the entire production a standing ovation. It was magnificent, and one of the best experience I had in Piter. The foreigners I met during my stay in Russia would tell me they had a love-hate relationship with Russia, and I would agree. Even with all the difficulties I experienced in Russia, there were moments of intense wonder, and the wealth of their arts, culture, and literature are reasons why one can't help but be in awe of such a schizophrenic giant of a country and her people.