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-005 Kazak Dance 1988

On the packaging, this is labelled as "Kazak Dance" 1988. However I understand that this is actually a Russian dance. Alexandrov Ensemble 1988 UK tour. Playlist of 10 items: http://www.youtube.com/user/riverhouse2007#g/c/7C5247F76125C45B Conductor: Oleg Reshetkiin. Principal conductor: Vladimir Gordeev. Choirmaster: Grigori Novikov. Choreographer: Lev Kulikov. This was filmed in London 1988. The video shows a choir of up to 36; orchestra and dance troupe are the usual size, though. This was originally planned as an Alexandrov Ensemble tour including a 28-piece orchestra, 27 dancers, a choir of 56*, and 12 excellent soloists, and a soundtrack of these was recorded at the Albert Hall, London, 24-26 March 1988. However this may well have been a year of low morale for the Ensemble, between 1987 when their director B.A. Alexandrov retired, and 1989 when the Berlin Wall fell. Perhaps the Ensemble was suffering a funding crisis. When the tour reached Leicester, the tiny but supportive audience talked of rumours of 20-25 defections by Ensemble members, and of V. Kuleshov and his own choristers stepping in to partially fill the gap. It was said that all of the Alexandrov Ensemble choir and soloists remaining after the defections had been recalled to the USSR. * Some interesting names listed in the original choir (not seen here) were: Oleg Nikolaevich Vinogradov; Sergei Vladimirovich Nikitin; Nikolai Sergeevich Polozkov, but it is not known whether they were related the famous soloists. The only soloist to appear at Leicester on the evening when I attended was Alexandr Berezniak, a comedian. He was warmly received by the audience. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Much of the above information was taken from the packaging of the 1988 recordings, as sold in the UK. However these were printed before the defections, and I understand that the performances were given by the Academic Song and Dance Ensemble of the Moscow Military District (MBO). DISCLAIMER: If anyone notices a copyright infringement in connection with one of my uploaded videos, then I will take it down immediately.