Charlottesville, VA – In April of 1925, F. Scott Fitzgerald published a novel that has stood the test of time, The Great Gatsby. I remember reading the book in my college prep English class back in 1981 as it happened to be a favorite of our teacher! Who would have ever thought I would get the chance, almost 100 years to the day from the first publication, to see this timeless story told… not in words, but through dance. On May 1, 2025 at the Paramount Theater in Charlottesville, VA, the World Ballet Company put on a marvelous ballet interpretation of The Great Gatsby.
For those who do not know the Gatsby story, it takes place in the era known as the Roaring 20s. It was a hedonistic time when jazz, partying, and finding ways around prohibition was the way of the land. Growing up in the 60s and 70s, my vision of this time was greatly influenced by black and white movies and TV shows, along with some classic literature, although I admit I did not read as much as I should have. World Ballet brought the time to life on the stage in beautiful living color!!
The story is through the eyes of narrator Nick Carraway (Konstantin Geronik) who was witness to the love, lust, deception, and the party life of 1920s New York. It is about Jay Gatsby (Arsenty Lazarev), who had fallen in love with Daisy (Fay) Buchanan (Ekaterina Lukianova) before going to fight in World War 1. When he returned, he discovered that his love had married another, Tom Buchanan (Maksim Vlas).
The story is such that it would make daytime dramas blush. Jay still had a thing for Daisy, Tom was having an affair with a gas station attendant’s (George Wilson played by Baikhadam Tungatarov) wife (Myrtle Wilson played by Angelina Zgurskaya), and Daisy had feelings for both Tom and Jay. Nick was in the middle of it all.
Great Gatsby Photo Gallery 1
The drama unfolded in a tapestry of movement. Whether it was Nick’s relocation from the Midwest to the Big Apple, the encounters between Nick, Tom, Daisy and Jay, the affairs on the side, or just the dance club / speakeasies complete with jazzy flappers entertaining the crowd, the choreography was spot on.
It was fun to watch the dances of the time adapted to a modern ballet. There was definitely some Charleston (the iconic dance of the time) and a plethora of others that I am not going to risk misnaming. It brought back memories of the times as I had imagined watching depictions of the Ziegfeld Follies of the (19)20s on classic TV. This was really the story behind the Follies as told by Fitzgerald and choreographed by Ilya Zhivoy.
For the most part, the performance followed the course of the book, classic literature meets ballet! Every aspect was performed beautifully, but I think the most compelling aspects of the performance were the reuniting of Jay and Daisy, the conflict of the two men as they tried to pull at Daisy, and her desire to be with both.
The moral of the story was at the end, which she light on the how quickly the devotion turns. After Jay was murdered by George, Nick was arranging the funeral. His calls to those Jay had called friends went unanswered, beautifully depicted through dance and to the unanswered rings of the phones of the times. As important as Jay was in their lives, when he was gone, life went on as though he was never there. As the final curtain closed, Nick was writing it all down, giving Daisy and the Great Jay Gatsby one last dance.
Great Gatsby Photo Gallery 2
Cast
Jay Gatsby – ARSENTY LAZAREV
Daisy Buchanan – EKATERINA LUKIANOVA
Nick Carraway – KONSTANTIN GERONIK
Jordan Baker – ANDREA LASSAKOVA
Tom Buchanan – MAKSIM VLAS
Myrtle Wilson – ANGELINA ZGURSKAYA
George B. Wilson – BAIKHADAM TUNGATAROV
Creative Team
Choreographer – Ilya Zhivoy
Composer – Anna Drubich
Costume Designer – Sonya Vartanyan
Production Designer – Sergey Novikov
See the complete cast and creative team HERE
