A step toward greatness

What do many world-class ballet dancers have in common?

They sprang from the same fertile source: the Kiev Ballet of the 138-year-old Ukrainian National Opera.

Among the dance company’s alumni are such A-listers as Alina Cojocaru of London’s Royal Ballet, Bolshoi prima ballerina Svetlana Zakharova and American Ballet Theatre husband-and-wife luminaries Irina Dvorovenko and Maxim Belotserkovsky.

In this country, awareness of the Kiev Ballet, even as a star mill, is muted compared with audiences’ knowledge of the Kirov, the Bolshoi and other Slavic powerhouses.

But that may be about to change. Making its first U.S. appearance, the company will open tonight in a lavish “Nutcracker” at the Orange County Performing Arts Center.

“It took so long for us to come to the United States [with] an official presentation,” artistic director Victor Yaremenko says with regret. He is glad that he will finally be able to introduce Americans to “Ukrainian dancers who dance in the great Russian tradition.”

In a late evening three-way call, with tour producer Sergei Danilian interpreting from New York, Yaremenko spoke last week from San Luis, Mexico, where the company was performing “as a warmup” for its one and only U.S. stop.

Southland audiences can expect a sparkling new production of the Kiev’s original 1985 version of the classic, he said, with “high-quality professional dancing, beautiful costumes and sets, and a very traditional story of the Nutcracker.”

The Tchaikovsky score, based on the E.T.A. Hoffmann tale, will be performed by Orange County’s Pacific Symphony under the baton of Ukrainian National Opera conductor Alexei Baklan.

In keeping with his desire to demonstrate the strength of Ukrainian ballet, Yaremenko stressed that the engagement will feature some of the Kiev Ballet’s best dancers.

They include winners of this year’s Moscow National Ballet Competition: Grand Prix victor Denis Matvienko and his wife, gold medalist Anastassia Matvienko -- who will perform tonight as the Nutcracker Prince and Clara -- and silver medalist Natalia Domracheva.

Danilian, a veteran producer of American tours for other major ballet companies out of the former Soviet Union -- including the Bolshoi, the Kirov and the Eifman Ballet, the last little known here until the 1990s -- is optimistic that giving the Kiev Ballet a higher profile in the U.S. will have a benefit at home.

“Too many artists leave Ukraine for careers outside the country,” he said, “yet still Ukraine is producing great dancers. If the company is presented in the West more, maybe more dancers will prefer to stay with their own company.”

Yaremenko, a former dancer who achieved an international reputation, is one star who decided to stay.

In 2000, he retired as a principal with the Kiev to become artistic director. He oversees an annual repertory that features 32 full-length ballets, among them such classics as “Giselle,” “Swan Lake” and “Sleeping Beauty,” as well as traditional Ukrainian dances. Yaremenko is also interested in increasing the repertory with “something new, more modern, more contemporary.”

“The mentality has changed during the last several years since Ukraine became a separate and independent country” from the Soviet Union, he observed. “Now we feel independent, and in my job I feel more free in my relationship with company members and in decisions that I’m making.”

“The Nutcracker” may not be the best example of the Kiev Ballet’s range, producer Danilian acknowledged, but he feels the artistry the company brings to the family classic will amply show its quality.

And Yaremenko, of course, hopes “The Nutcracker” will pave the way for other Kiev Ballet productions in America.

“With the United States’ great traditions in dance and ballet, for us it’s a great honor to perform there,” he said. “I hope we will really catch the hearts of the Americans.”

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Kiev Ballet

Where: Orange County Performing Arts Center, Segerstrom Hall, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa

When: 8 p.m. today through Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

Price: $25 to $85

Contact: (714) 556-2787 or www.ocpac.org