Berezka Dance Ensemble

Beryozka (N.S. Nadezhdina State Academic Beryozka Dance Ensemble) was founded in 1948 by a talented choreographer Nadezhda Nadezhdina. The company’s name (meaning a birch tree in Russian) is derived from their first stage production, a Russian girls’ round dance to the folk song There was a birch tree in the field. This production outlined the general direction of the ensemble’s evolution. Dances staged by the People's Artist of the USSR Nadezhda Nadezhdina, the company’s artistic director, including Tsepochka (Chain), Lebedushka (Little Swan), Tsvety Polevye (Field Flowers), Sudarushka (Fair Lady), Pryalitsa (Spinning Wheel), Balagury (Jesters), and Yamshchiky (Coachmen), became a milestone in choreography, creating a new stage identity of Russian folk dances.

Nadezhdina was succeeded in 1980 by Mira Koltsova, the company’s leading soloist (Artistic Director and Chief Choreographer of the ensembleuntil 2022). Preserving the ensemble’s best traditions, she added new imagery and modern sound. Her most impressive choreographic pieces include Kolokoltsy (The Bells), Kruzhevnitsy (Lacemakers), Rechenka (The River), Osenny Khorovod (Autumn Round Dance), Komarik (Mosquito), and Petrushka. Costumes were an essential element of Beryozka’s productions. The company’s first costume designer was Lyubov Silich, who passed the tradition on to Grigory Belov and Tatiana Shamina.

Beryozka ensemble includes a Russian folk instruments orchestra with most of the repertoire created by composers Yevgeny Kuznetsov, Viktor Temnov, Vladimir Kornev, Yevgeny Derbenko, and Philipp Koltsov. Since 1995, the orchestra has been headed by Leonid Smirnov who joined the ensemble in 1967 as a solo accordionist and participated in many performances as a dancer as well. In 2002 he was awarded the title of People's Artist of Russia.

Beryozka’s performances are always acclaimed by the audience. “Instead of reading 200 volumes about Russia, you could just watch one show of Beryozka to understand what the Russian manner, the Russian character, and the Russian nature are,” French media wrote following the Paris tour of the ensemble.

In 1959, the World Peace Council awarded Beryozka with a Gold Medal for their contribution to enhancing friendship among peoples.

Speaking of the company’s principal features, People's Artist of the USSR Mira Koltsova said: “We differ from other folk groups, for our founder, Nadezhda Nadezhdina, created a signature genre involving text, choreography, thinking, and the Russian idea. We don't dance just for the sake of the dance. Our artists must think, they must be intellectuals, seeking maximum expression with minimum gesture.”