Bolshoi Gives Pacific Amphitheatre a Leg Up in Expanding Its Offerings : Dance: The ballet’s booking is a coup for the Costa Mesa venue. Troupes have normally performed at the Orange County Performing Arts Center.

When the famed Bolshoi Ballet appears for two nights at the Pacific Amphitheatre in August, it will fulfill amphitheater officials’ long-standing desire to supplement a staple diet of rock and pop concerts with an occasional ballet production.

Before the Pacific opened in July, 1983, officials of the Nederlander Organization, which built and runs the 18,765-capacity outdoor theater, talked of periodically presenting ballet, musicals and opera. At the time, they pointed proudly to a specially constructed stage that could accommodate a removable dance floor.

Yet, in its seven-year history, the Pacific has presented only one musical (“Camelot” with Richard Harris in 1984) and no opera or ballet.

“We think this will be a big one,” said Stan Seiden, vice president of Ned West Inc., the Nederlander branch that oversees the Pacific and other West Coast facilities. “If this works, we’ll certainly do some more.”

Given the Bolshoi’s international reputation, Seiden added: “There’s no reason it shouldn’t work.” Although repertory hasn’t been announced for Southland tour stops, the company will be choosing from among four full-length ballets--”Giselle,” “Swan Lake,” “Romeo and Juliet” and “Ivan the Terrible,” all stagings attributed to Bolshoi Artistic Director Yuri Grigorovich--and two mixed-repertory programs, which will be identified later.

The Bolshoi booking represents a coup for the Pacific in that most major international ballet companies touring the Southland have performed at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. The Bolshoi is playing the Pacific because the Nederlander Organization is co-sponsoring the U.S. tour.

“We’re bringing the company here--why would we put it in somebody else’s theater?” Seiden asked.

Center President Thomas R. Kendrick said Wednesday that he had been “well aware” that the company would be coming to the Shrine Auditorium for its Los Angeles engagement (Aug. 7 through 19) and that the Nederlanders had a hand in the tour. “If there was any surprise for us it was that they decided to bring them down to the Pacific” instead of simply extending the run at the Shrine because “it costs a lot of money to move from place to place.”

On the nights the Bolshoi is scheduled to appear at the Pacific (Aug. 25 and 26), the Center will be presenting a new production of the musical comedy “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” which runs Aug. 17 through 26.

But “that had nothing to do with it,” Kendrick said. “We only booked ‘Forum’ in a few weeks ago. Obviously the time was there.”

He said the Center is in contact with representatives of the Bolshoi, as well as those of the Kirov and other Soviet dance companies, about future engagements. “That will depend on the size of the facility that the Russian companies choose to play in . . . ,” Kendrick said.

The Pacific is the largest facility in which the Bolshoi will appear, Seiden said, noting that most other U.S. dates will be at indoor theaters with 3,000 to 4,000 seats. The Shrine’s capacity is 6,300. Seiden said amphitheater officials hope to fill the Pacific to, or at least near, capacity. “The expenses of presenting this company,” he said, “are very high.”

Still, he added, the Nederlanders view the booking as “more of a public-service thing.”