N. S. Nadezhdina State Academic Beryozka Dance Ensemble: marking the 75th anniversary of its foundation

The collection marks the history of the establishment and activities of the N. S. Nadezhdina State Academic Beryozka Dance Ensemble. Concert posters for the ensemble's performances in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as posters for foreign tours in Europe and Africa, photographs and videos from its creation to 1985, are presented.

The State Academic Dance Ensemble was founded in 1948 in Moscow by choreographer Nadezhda Sergeevna Nadezhdina (1904–1979) as a women's dance group; in 1959, male dancers were invited to join it. The name of the ensemble is associated with the first production - a round dance of girls with birch branches in their hands, moving across the stage in a “floating” step. The collection contains posters of the ensemble’s concerts, which took place in the largest and most prestigious halls of the Soviet Union: the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall, the K. S. Stanislavsky and V. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko State Moscow Musical Theater and the Kremlin Palace of Congresses, etc. The photographs of the most popular dance numbers created by N. S. Nadezhdina: “Birch”, “Swan”, “Spring Round Dance”, “Spinning Wheel”, “Cossack Dance”, “Northern Lights” and many others are also available. From the posters one can trace the change in the status of the ensemble leader: since 1955 - Honored Artist of the RSFSR, since 1959 - People's Artist of the RSFSR, since 1966 - People's Artist of the USSR. In 1950, N. S. Nadezhdina was awarded the Stalin Prize of the third degree for concert and performing activities.

The N. S. Nadezhdina State Academic Beryozka Dance Ensemble is a group recognized as a national treasure of Russia. Since 2000, it has been under the jurisdiction of the Administrative Directorate of the President of the Russian Federation.