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Dear readers!

Mosvitality blog grew up to whole website and moved to Moscow Rockit

 

Russian culture: Ballet

Ballet is not for everyone. You can love it or get bored of it. It’s haute couture in the art of dance.

Russian ballet is a huge part of the world culture. It’s originated in 1738, in St. Petersburg by Jean-Baptiste Lande. He founded the first Russian ballet school, named “Her Majesty’s dance school”. Lande choose twelve girls and boys from palace servants and start to teach them. After daily exhausting workouts little dancers performed on the stage. Empress and high society were amazed by the show.
Many years are gone and now this school (currently named Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet) is one of the best oldest ballet academy in the world.
Arabesque, ballon, fouetté jeté, grand plié, pas de chat… words sound like french music, so complicated, but so appealing…

Maya Plisetskaya is known as the legend Russian ballerina with the most long-term career in ballet. Her dad was repressed during the Stalinist purges in 1938, mom was arrested and sent to a labor camp in Kazakhstan, so Maya stayed with her aunt, ballerina Sulamith Messerer.

Maya start dancing in Bolshoi theatre and in 1960 became a prime ballerina. The most known roles: Odette-Odille in Swan Lake, Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, Raymonda, Mistress of Copper Mountain in the Stone Flower, Mehmene Banu in Legend of Love and Carmen in Carmen Suite. She could do ballon like no one else, has great plastic and charisma. Just check her Carmen suita video.

It’s really magic, isn’t it? She dance very emotional and people watched the show could not take eyes of her.

She is 85 years old now, happily married to Rodion Shchedrin, Russian composer. Maya doesn’t have children, because she wanted to dance all her life and she thought children can bother career.

Where to see Russian ballet:
Go and see the best Russian classical ballet which performing on stage of the Russian Academic Youth Theatre (RAMT)  in Moscow until August 28! The Summer Ballet Seasons in Moscow are an integral part of the summertime cultural life. Repertoire is here.
Tikets cost from 400 rub to 2000 rub. To book tickets send request to one of these e-mails: event@consarta.ru or zakaz@ballet-letom.ru. Also you can book by phone: +7 495 692 00 69.

Regular performances shows in Bolshoi theatre, season starts in September, 2011. See schedule of performances in the website.

What to do else:
Everyone who admire grace and plastic of ballet dancers can try to go to choreography classes for children and adults. Classic choreography or body-ballet is quite popular trend in dance schools. Body Ballet – is adapted exercise complex based on techniques of classical choreography. Workout includes aerobic dance and stretching exercises. Body ballet can help to strengthen your body, improve muscles, balance and easiness of movement. You will feel an amazing difference in how your body feels.
In Moscow there are many dance schools and studios with professional dance instructors. Price per one lesson starts from 200 rub. Eight lessons – 2500 -4000 rub.
Dance schools with classical choreography lessons in Moscow:
Vesta dance Tretyakovskaya metro station, Bolshoi Ordynsky pereulok, 4. phone: +7 (495) 543-86-94, 2600 rub/ 8 lessons. Vary time of classes, vary quantity of students per one lesson. May come 3 person, next time – 10. Small, but cozy studio located in Zamoskvorechie old Moscow district. Close to Nikolay bar and buffet.

Ballet reverance Arbatskaya metro station, Novy Arbat st., 2 / 2 (pass the arch and turn right, 2nd floor) phone: +7 499 390 2102  3800 rub/ 8 lessons. During August girls from the Reverance Studio will show their pas, adagio and battement in Sokolniki Park, Trubetskoy place and Ekaterinensky garden. You can not just look, you are welcome to join and learn some exercises for free. The next master class will be held 21.08.2011 at 14:00 in The Trubetskoy place, Frunzenskaya metro station at summer concert stage of Young Talents.

Ballet dlia vsekh  opened in 2001 by Sergey Radchenko, who played with Maya Plisetskaya in Carmen Suite. He was the first art director of the school. Good school for children – only 3-6 person per class.  4650 rub/ 8 lessons (3-6 persons) Tsvetnoy bulvar metro station, Trubnaya st, 29, c. 2. and other address: Taganskaya metro station, Goncharnaya emrankment, 3. phone: +7 (495) 972-50-05.

World Class Profsoyuznaya metro station. Profsouznaya street, 31, build. 5. phone: +7 (495) 510-64-53. To join classes you need to have membership cards in World Class fitness club.

Casa di Famiglia family restaurant

I’m sitting in the cafe somewhere in the depths of Roma streets. Sipping expresso, strong as devils’ sweat. I walked around the hotel till i found this cafe, where i’m sitting and diligently writing this letter to you now.
Like i’m sending this message in a bottle from uninhabited island. I have no desire to go somewhere.  Even go shopping. I feel so good to sit in this cafe, sniff like a dog to the smells of the city, listen to the voices and sounds, watch the faces of passers… Nothing more is needed.

Sometimes we find something precious, where we did not expect. I can describe Casa di Famiglia in these words: Italian, mafioso, family, black interior, stylish, funky, foxberry tea, pizzas, reasonable prices and home atmosphere.

My friend showed me this restaurant one year ago, but i just thought to write about it now.

I’ve got “Pollo” pizza (480g / 360rub). (Caesar dressing, Mozzarella, broccoli, tomatoes, smoked chicken, oregano) and Homemade Lemonade (300g / 70r).with lychee. Also i ordered Cosa Nostra (50g / 230r). (Whiskey, Galliano balsamic, coffee liqueur, grapefruit), because i was wonder of coffee liqueur ad grapefruit mix taste. Everything was made with love, it feels. Pizzas are thin and crusty. Cheese cake and panna cota are delicious.

Just one more Cosa Nostra and i swear i’m going to meet and say thanks to kitchen staff.
Look, i found this note in the guest book (probably from Italian guy): Mi piace moltissimo il vostro ristorante!!! Un servizio e’ perfetto! La cucina e’ gustissima!!!!! E’ un piccolo angolo di Italia in Russia!!!!! 2011-04-15
Very emotional, is not it?:)
Strongly recommended to visit with children. Iriska is the animator there, she play in moving games with little fidgets, such as: Snowball, Fishing, Tug of War, Various relay races, football, etc.
Intellectual games, Facial expressions and gestures. She works on Tues – Fri. from 16.00 to 20.00, Sat, Sun. from 12.00 to 21.00, Monday – off.
Address: Metallurgov, 7/18 (yellow line, Perovo metro station)
It’s located approximately in 15 minutes from Moscow center by metro.

Openings hours: 11am-11pm.

Bar and buffet Nikolay

Nikolay is the small cozy bar buffet with 18 types of pies in the menu and shelves with rum from all over the world. I met the owner Kirill and asked him a few questions.

Why pie is the main course in Nikolay?
I worked as a bartender for many years and dreamed of opening my own bar. My mom baked delicious pies and wanted to open a buffet. So we combined our ideas and opened this bar-buffet. By the way, bar-buffet is a very rare type of restaurants in Moscow.

I’ve noticed a lot of different rums on the shelf…
Rum is my favorite drink. I like pure dark rum… The point is that people in Moscow think that rum always should be mixed with coke. And we’re trying to suggest people to understand the different variations of the rum.

What can you recommend to a Frenchman?
It’s very individual. Traditional Russian cabbage pie is very popular and loved by many guests. We cook using old recipes, but also create our own recipes of pies. For example, we cook a pie with tomato, eggplant, sweet pepper and cheese.

I see a lot of portraits of famous Nikolay’s actors, artists, writers here. Which Nikolay did you name your bar-buffet after?
It was Nikolay Andreevich Peregoudov the outstanding cello player and my grandfather. I’ve created the design of bar-buffet by myself: It is all natural and simple: wooden tables and chairs, tubs with real grass are located on window sills, green walls with illustrations. We tried to create a quiet and relaxing atmosphere. Many young people, local elders and businessmen like to visit our place.

Do you organize any events?
Actually, no. But there are a lot of guests with children on weekends, so usually it becomes a little bit noisy. We deliver pies to the office or home. It’s desirable that customers make orders the day before. It takes 4 hours to make a pie because it is done by hand. In this case, you get exactly the pie you want and always on time. Of course you can make an order right away, but you’d have to choose from current set of pies keeping in mind the traffic.

Reason to visit: A perfect place to feel the quiet, relaxed atmosphere and to try traditional Russian pie. Prices in the menu are pretty low, 60 -100 rubles per pie. Meat pie – 100 rubles per piece, Spinach & cheese 125 gr – 80 rub, Cream cheese pie 125 gr — 60 rub, 90 rubles Americano coffee, Milkshake with Cookies 300 ml — 120 rub.

Bartenders speak English, Accept credit cards. Smoking area is well ventilated and separated from the non-smokers.
How to visit:
From Novokuznetskaya metro station go to Pyatnitskaya, 53. It takes 15 min.
Find the sign “Николай” with the illustration of a pie. Go upstairs. Open the door and you will see the bar counter with many pies. Chose one, two, three…

Lucky Moscow

Bronze sculpture “A frontier guard with a dog”

Situated: Metro Ploshchad Revolyutsii (the name means Revolution Square)

It is considered that the rubbing nose of that dog brings good luck. Especially this legend is very popular among students – it’s believed that the rubbing dog’s nose helps to pass the exam and the rubbing dog’s paw helps to pass the offset. If you’ll come to Moscow in a session time you should to queue – a lot of students come here to get their luck before exams!

So you can make a wish during:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kilometre Zero

The bronze plaque marking Kilometre Zero is located in the passage connecting Red Square and Manege Square, it is directly in front of Resurrection Gate (or Iberian Gate).  Km 0 is the location from which all distances are measured. There is a legend that your wish will necessarily come true if you make it standing in the center of the plaque and throw a coin over your shoulder.  By the way this location is very approximate, in fact  Km 0 is located near the building of  the Central Telegraph (Tverskaya street, 7).

 

The monument of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson

Situated: Smolenskaya embankment

This is the single monument in the world depicting Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson together. Sculpture by Andrey Orlov appeared near the building of the British embassy on April 27, 2007. That was a day of the celebration of the 120-anniversary since the release of the first book of Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous detective “A study in Scarlet”. The prototypes for the sculptor were images of characters created by the first illustrator of the Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories Sidney Paget.

If you sit between Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson and put your hand on the Watson’s notebook, your problems will solve. But if you touch Holmes’ tube you will have big trouble!

Russian actor Vasily Livanov who played Sherlock Holmes and became a Honorary Member of the Order of British Empire for this role took part in the creation of the monument. Some people notice the similarity between Livanov and bronze Sherlock.

P.S. We are still looking for the Lucky places in Moscow, so… to be continued!

Russian music of 40’s is alive!

In 30-40’s were popular Shostakovich, Rachmaninov, Scriabin, Chaliapin, Shulzhenko and Utesov. In 50-60’s were popular Anna German, Maya Kristallinskaya, Lubov Orlova, Yuri Gulyaev, Larissa Mondrus, Edita Pyekha.

We all love their adorable songs, it’s our national heritage.  I’m so happy that we can listen to this music in live performances in Moscow.

Let me introduce you the vocal and instrumental girls band “Tatiana”. There are seven girls who play the 30’s retro hits. They are all individuals. Each of them has their own accent and plays a special role.

It seems like the girls came from the past when you watch their performance on the stage. They are inviting you to plunge into that old time.

Gorgeous vocal  belongs to Miriam Sekhon. She is an actress and acting in a few Moscow theaters.

The popular songs:

• “Moon” (cover of Rogers, Coval)
• “Night Conversation” (cover of Fradkin, Lazarev)
• “Autolubitel” (cover of Leonid Utesov)
• “Sashka”, “Hands” and others.

Visit their wonderful website so you find proof of my words – they are just goddesses.

What to buy for a gift in Russia?

…Or what Russians bring as a present to their foreign friends.

Last week i was meeting our colleagues, taking a short tour around the most famous attractions in Moscow (Red Sq., Arbat st.). Thevi from Canada asked me where to buy famous Armenian brandy Dvin, which Winston Churchill was very fond and drank whole bottle a day. Once Prime Minister found that Dvin lost the original taste. He expressed his dissatisfaction to Stalin. As it turned out the master Margar Setrakian, who was making coupage of Dvin has banished to Siberia. After the special call he was returned, given his job back. Churchill began to receive his favorite brandy again. Sedrakyan awarded with rank of Hero of Socialist Labor.

List of food that you can not find, probably, anywhere except Russia.

1. Sguschyonka $1

Condensed milk. It similar to Nestle Carnation Evaporated Milk.
What good with? Use it as spread with pies, add to coffee instead milk and sugar. Also we boil it in a can. 2 hour boiling and it become a brown colored cream, good for some cakes.

2.Ptich’e moloko $5

Literally translated as Bird’s milk cake. It not contains bird’s milk, name comes from legend of birds of paradise. In Soviet Union cake is produced by very small quantities, for its rare and taste was named symbolic “Bird’s milk”. Cake based on soufflés, thick layer of chocolate and a very thin shortcake. Firstly cake was cooked by Vladimir Guralnik head of restaurant “Prague” in1978.

3.Kluckva v sakhare $2

Cranberry in a shell of powdered sugar. One of the most kid’s favorite dessert from Soviet times. Berry is a bitter, but sugar makes it sweet. Sugar makes everything sweet, isn’t it?

4.Kefir $0.5

Cultured Buttermilk. Kefir is a fermented milk drink that originated with shepherds of the North Caucasus region. The Russian music group Chaif have a song Orange Mood with the refrain “A bottle of kefir, half a loaf”. The title of song reflect the realities of Soviet life: half-liter bottle of kefir and half of white loaves were fairly hearty breakfast, though available to not rich people.

5. Syr Druzhba $0.3

Syr Druzhba is the most famous Soviet melted cheese. Name of cheese means Friendship. It began to produce in 1963 in Karat factory in Moscow. In honor of this cheese,  was set a monument in Moscow on Rustaveli street, 14 build. 11 near the factory Karat. The monument depicts the famous characters of Ivan Krylov’s fable The Crow and the Fox. Irreconcilable (according to the fable), enemies are sitting on a stump hugging and keep Druzhba.

6. Krasnaya ikra $10

Krasnaya ikra is a well-known Russian delicacies salmon caviar.

What good with? Slice of white bread with butter and a thin layer of red caviar. 

 

7. Kvass $1

 

The tradition Russian beverage. Sometimes called a bread drink in English is a fermented beverage made from black or regular rye bread. Kvass refresh you better than any Coke in the hot summer, and it not contains a lot of sugar. Kvass is also used for preparing a cold summertime soup called okroshka.

8. Grechka $3 per kilo

Buckwheat. Grechka was named by Greek monks, who cultivated buckwheat in the times of Kiev Rus. Since this time Slavs began called it grechka.

What good with? It’s great to eat porridge of grechka with butter, mushrooms or milk! Also it’s great to serve with fish or some meat. By the way, Buckwheat is a diet product.

 

 

 

 

 

9. Glazed curd bar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glazed curd bar is a product of the cotton cheese with sugar, vanilla, raisins, nuts, cookie etc., covered with chocolate icing.

Please note that not all of these products can be carry through customs in airport. There can be restrictions on import of diary and meat products.

Dvin brandy is still produced, it’s available in web stores and supermarkets.

Coffee Seminar Starbucks

This Saturday 5th February 2011 you can be a part of significant event, connecting with coffee. Starbucks and Mosvitality invite you to Coffee Seminar “Tell me what do you drink your coffee with and I’ll tell you who you are!”.

The seminar will be held by Coffee Ambassador on Russian and English. Do you ever think about coffee with lemon or smoked sausage? Try yourself!

Start at 13.00,  Starbucks MDM building, Komsomolsky prospect, 28, metro Frunzenskaya.

Will you attend?

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Photo Coffee Skating in Hermitage garden in January 2011

See the short video about our meeting, made by Sergey Ievlev.

PhotoCoffeeSkating in Hermitage!

Winter could be boring, but it’s never gonna happen with us!

Make this day incredibly unforgettable! Wear classy outfit, take your skates (or it’s possible to rent there) and go to Hermitage garden with us.

The garden is very picturesque and you’ll be catched by our cameras in classy Real-Russian-Winter-day. We are going to skating for an hour, then go to Costa Coffee, warming up, have some coffee and play “I’m famous” game. All pictures will be sent to the participants, the best pictures will be posted on the website as illustrations to articles.

P. S. Vicky as an undercover agent bring thermos with hot tea, and Margo as Mary Poppins comes with yum-yum marmalades.

29 January 2011 at 12.00  Hermitage Garden metro station Pushkinskaya.

Register on this event