Russian cultural impresario, Edouard Miasnikov, has announced the 2019 tour of the Royal Moscow Ballet to South Africa presenting three pieces: Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet Overture: Fantasy; the third movement of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No.6 (Pathétique); and excerpts from Carl Orff’s scenic cantanta, Carmina Burana.

Royal Moscow Ballet has toured successfully around the globe presenting more than a thousand performances. The company, which consists of graduates of the best Russian choreography, ballet and dance schools, premiered as the Royal Moscow Ballet on the 12 August 2002, founded by Anatoly Emelianov and Anna Aleksidze.

All ballets for this tour are choreographed by Anatoly Emelianov.

This tour continues last year’s theme celebrating great Russian composer, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. This time two pieces are on the bill: Romeo and Juliet which is one of the best loved one-act ballets, featuring a score by Tchaikovsky, based on Shakespeare's tragic tale of star-crossed young lovers.

The Symphony No. 6, also known as the Pathétique Symphony, is Tchaikovsky's final completed symphony. There is much debate as to what inspired this beautiful piece. The composer entitled the work "The Passionate Symphony", that was then incorrectly translated into French as “pathétique”, meaning "solemn" or "emotive".

German composer Carl Heinrich Maria Orff, is best known for his distinctive cantata Carmina Burana (1935) based on 24 poems, mostly boisterous and bawdy, from the medieval collection of texts of the same name. The opening, O Fortuna, was famously used in an iconic advert for Old Spice aftershave and as the X Factor theme.