Soviets Ask Baryshnikov to Return; Bolshoi in L.A. : Troupe to Appear Here in August

Mikhail Baryshnikov, who defected from the Soviet Union in 1974, has been invited to dance again in his homeland, his manager and a Bolshoi Ballet official said today.

Yuri Grigorovich, the Bolshoi’s artistic director, disclosed the invitation to Baryshnikov at a news conference announcing the Bolshoi’s four-city U.S. tour next summer that will include performances in Los Angeles.

“I’ve met with Baryshnikov and Misha (Baryshnikov) will be dancing at the Bolshoi Theater,” Grigorovich said through an interpreter. “I’ll be very happy on that occasion.”

Baryshnikov, however, has not decided whether he will accept the invitation, said his manager, Edgar Vincent.

‘Let Me Think’

Grigorovich extended the invitation Sunday night, and “Misha said, ‘Let me think about that,’ ” according to Vincent.

Asked under what conditions Baryshnikov might return, Vincent replied: “I don’t think that was even discussed. Grigorovich wanted Baryshnikov to know the Russian government would not frown about him coming, that detente is on, and they are trying to get some of the great Russian artists to reappear in Russia.”

Baryshnikov, who was trained at the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad, has not performed in the Soviet Union since his defection.

Since 1980, Baryshnikov, 38, has been artistic director of the American Ballet Theater. Before that, he was a dancer in the company.

L.A. in August

Grigorovich also announced the Bolshoi Ballet will be at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles from Aug. 11 to 30, at the end of a tour that will include performances at the Metropolitan Opera in New York June 30-July 18, at the Opera House in Washington’s Kennedy Center July 21-Aug. 1 and at the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco Aug. 4-9.

The Bolshoi last toured the United States in 1979, shortly before the cultural exchange agreement between the two countries lapsed. A new agreement was signed in November, 1985.

Grigorovich, 60, choreographs all the ballets on the U.S. tour. They are “The Golden Age,” to music by Shostakovich; a revised version of Marius Petipa’s “Raymonda,” to music of Glazunov; a new production of “Giselle” to music by Adam, and a mixed bill.

Grigorovich said that probably will include an act of “Romeo and Juliet,” an act of “Spartacus,” maybe an act of “Legend of Love” and a famous pas de deux from “Swan Lake,” “The Nutcracker” or “Sleeping Beauty.”