Why go
Moscow’s Bolshoi is part of a ballet tradition that also produced internationally influential dancers and choreographic schools. Beyond ballet, the sound of the balalaika or the linked circle of a khorovod points towards folk traditions. Soviet film offers another perspective through editing that actively shapes the viewer’s understanding.
The full story
Folk music uses instruments including the balalaika, gusli and bayan accordion. These traditions also influenced classical composers. Khorovod combines linked hands, singing and circular movement, showing how music and dance can form a shared activity rather than a performance watched from a distance. Ballet developed an international reputation through dancers such as Anna Pavlova and Vaslav Nijinsky. Soviet schools maintained nineteenth-century traditions while producing artists including Maya Plisetskaya, Rudolf Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov. The Bolshoi in Moscow and the Mariinsky in Saint Petersburg became closely associated with this heritage. Cinema opened another field of experimentation. Lev Kuleshov and Sergei Eisenstein explored how editing creates meaning through relationships between shots. Dziga Vertov’s film-eye approach sought new ways for the camera to examine real life. The later official emphasis on socialist realism changed artistic expectations, while films such as The Cranes Are Flying and Ballad of a Soldier developed their own approaches to Soviet experience.