Dimitri Shostakovich's second ballet, Bolt, brings serious and popular music and dance all together including Komsomol routines, Red Army marches, circus acrobatics, and vaudeville antics. Its first and last performance at the Leningrad State Academy Theatre of Opera and Ballet was in 1931. Critics argued that, while the ballet's storyline was topical – addressing the threat of industrial sabotage and the promise of Soviet industrialization – the music and dance were extremely superficial.

The world premiere of the ballet at the Bolshoi was in 2006, in honour of the 100th anniversary of Shostakovich’s birth. The choreography, sets, costumes and, above all, Shostakovich’s masterful score, have revitalized Bolt, making it a theatrical event capable of making even the most cynical viewer stand up and cheer.

“... Once again, Ratmansky shows an ability to deal with large-scale scenes involving the corps de ballet. He also proves to be a master of droll comedy”. The Moscow Times Context

The Story

A factory puts a large new machine into operation. Shortly afterward, a hard-drinking loafer is fired from the factory workforce. He takes revenge by persuading a naive young boy to sabotage the machine by throwing a bolt into its works. Ultimately, the loafer is unmasked as the real culprit and arrested, the machine is repaired and the boy sinks into a dream.