Monaco’s history and cultural heritage are incontestably linked with the turbulent and innovative era of Serge Diaghilev’s “Russian Seasons”, a phenomenon of Russian culture in the early 20th century. The Russian Gala project, inaugurated in September 2012 at the Grimaldi Forum with the Gala of Stars of the Russian Ballet and attended by well-known figures from the Rock, continues the tradition of representing Russian culture on the Côte d’Azur and confirms the great interest shown in Russian art and the timeliness of such events in Europe today.

For the fifth anniversary of the Gala on September 9 and 10, the Grimaldi Forum will once again host the stars of the amazing Eifman Ballet from Saint Petersburg.

 Following the great success of “Anna Karenina” in September 2014, there will now be a performance of Boris Eifman’s latest ballet, “Up & Down”. In this work, the “psychoanalyst choreographer” delves into the unexplored depths of the interior worlds of his characters and enters the most hidden parts of the subconscious, the organisers say.

The main character of the work is a successful psychiatrist – a loving and charismatic husband who has everything he needs to be happy. But in a world entirely dominated by the power of money and dark, destructive instincts, true happiness seems impossible.

Eifman’s interpretation of Scott Fitzgerald’s novel “Tender is the Night” has already been acclaimed in Paris, New York, Chicago, Moscow and several other capital cities throughout the world.

“This year, the Russian Gala will be host to a legendary choreographer – the incomparable Boris Eifman – who celebrated his 70th birthday last year. This will be a rare opportunity to welcome the famous Ballet Eifman troupe to Monaco. The troupe has repeatedly been acclaimed by critics and the international press – this is a show that’s not to be missed under any pretext,” said Gulshat Uzenbaeva, manager of Gala Russe.