It is not often that you go to the ballet for a good laugh. Some moments are so funny β a hairy-chested sylph, a milkmaid at work on a two man cow and even a dog riding a bicycle β that you can hardly see for tears misting up your binoculars β Yet it is not a slapstick work by any means.
The two-act ballet is a nostalgic return to days gone by β even if those early days of communism often proved grim and challenging. Seven months later it graced the stage of the Bolshoi Theatre. To many its choreography broadcast a new dance language β bold and modern, and daring even to include humour. In , Alexei Ratmansky reproduced the old work, using the original score and scenario but creating completely new choreography.
Then the stage was bathed in golden sunlight as fields of grain were being harvested. Three cutout tractors floated across the backcloth, followed by three bi-planes to give historic background. The heroine, Zina, danced with strength and lightness by Anastasia Meskova sits engrossed in a book, then dances out her reveries.
Agricultural student Pyotr, Denis Savin who impressed with good jumps and turns , with whom she is deeply in love, joins her. The kolhoz folk gather to celebrate the coming harvest and are excited about the forthcoming visit of a famous ballerina.
A puffing train announces her arrival along with her dance partner, and when the two girls meet, they realize that they already know each other β that they danced together at ballet school.
