Belarus: Vol.4

At last, the final contribution to our excursion to Belarus.  It's taken a while to finish as we have lots of things going on here in Tallinn.  I have much to report on that as well.  But first, the ballet.

The National Academic Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theatre (present-day) first opened in 1939 and has been the home of the Bolshoi State Ballet of Belarus.

A cute model in front of the Ballet

Inside the foyer

Inside the theatre

An English translation of the performance

The performance we saw was Anastasia.  This was not about the Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia who supposedly survived the assassination of her family by the Bolsheviks in July of 1918.  This was a ballet, set to the music of Belarusan composer Vyacheslav Kuznetsov.  As with most ballets, there is tragedy and triumph and grand spectacle. We were in the nose-bleed section and without binoculars, it was difficult to see at times.  I did stand for the finale and curtain calls so you can get a sense of the stage and our distance from it.

It was fun to see and hear the music and dance  of local talent.  This was a Monday night.  The next day we would be notified that our stay would be ending and we would return to Estonia the next day.  Farewell Belarus.  It was fun and entertaining, but we really were happy to return to our home away-from-home, Estonia.

Capturing a memory with the Belarusian flag

Belarus: Vol. 3

At the Circus

A "vacation" to Belarus is not complete without taking in the circus.  You know the kind . . . with real Russian bear or maybe a Belarusian bear!

With no assignment and with time to burn, we went out for an evening entertainment at the Belarusian State Circus.  They have their own venue and everything.  It draws a big crowd whenever the show is playing.  It's not as big as Barnum and Bailey or Ringling Brothers that used to play in America, but these folks can really put on a show.  Think "Las Vegas".

Below are some pictures and videos of some of the show.  They should be self-explanatory.

It's not a tent, but it is round.

Statues outside

Here are some videos of some of the acts.  I didn't get them all as I was too focused on the entertainment.

This guy almost fell

Yes, it's a bear driving a car