The Christmas gala concert on the country’s main stage

On December 14, 2026, the State Kremlin Palace will host the traditional Christmas Gala Evening featuring world-renowned stars of choreography. This year, two polar opposite worlds of movement will meet on one stage: the rigorous heritage of the traditional academic school, with its strict canons and discipline, and the absolute freedom of a new choreographic language open to bold experimentation.

The evening will showcase the artistry of celebrated dancers and principal ballerinas from the Bolshoi and Mariinsky Theatres, as well as the K. S. Stanislavsky and Vl. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Academic Musical Theatre. This stellar academic ensemble will be challenged by outstanding representatives of contemporary dance, including artists of Ballet Moscow, dancers from Diana Vishneva’s Context Studio, and brilliant street dancers.

The project’s director and choreographer, renowned choreographer and Golden Mask Award winner Pavel Glukhov, reimagines the confrontation between schools and generations. The artistic battle ceases to be an uncompromising rivalry and becomes a profound and captivating dialogue between classical tradition and contemporary dance.

“I want to showcase the broad palette and diversity of dance,” says Pavel Glukhov. “At the same time, it is important for the evening to come together as a cohesive dramatic performance, with its own logic and meaning.”

The upcoming Christmas Gala Evening at the Kremlin will become one of the year’s major cultural and social highlights, vividly demonstrating how a bold artistic idea can bring together completely different artists and performers, united by their love of art.