By Order No. 209 of the Ministry of Culture of the Chelyabinsk Region, dated April 11, 2024, the Ural State Dance Ensemble was awarded the title of "Academic" for outstanding achievements in the development of culture and arts in the Chelyabinsk Region.
The artistic director of the ensemble is Svetlana Lukina, Honoured Artist of the Russian Federation, and the choreographer is Alexey Razin, the Honoured Worker of culture and arts of the Chelyabinsk region.
Svetlana Lukina graduated from the Choreography Faculty of the Chelyabinsk State Academy of Culture and Arts. She began dancing with the Ural in 1995 while still a student. Having worked as a ballet artist with the ensemble for nine years, she was invited to serve first as a ballet mistress and later as the chief choreographer of the ensemble. Svetlana considers the preservation and representation of the Ural unique performance style main her creative task. By reinterpreting traditional folk images, Svetlana Lukina is able to find new original, modern, and spectacular choreographic forms of expression for them. In 2019, Svetlana Lukina, together with the chief choreographer of the ensemble, Alexey Razin, staged an intricate program of dances of the peoples of the world for the cultural program of the SCO and BRICS summits: national dances of Africa, India, and Brazil. The unfamiliar performance style, complex choreography, expressive movements, and elaborate hand positions were challenging for the dancers. The federal commission that reviewed the program noted, “Ural is close to perfection; the ensemble performs with virtuosity.” As a choreographer-director, Svetlana Lukina participates in creating dance performances for landmark regional events.
Svetlana Lukina is also the head and founder of the ‘Ural’ Children’s Dance Studio, created under the ‘Ural’ ensemble in 2008 to train future performers. The studio, which take part in many significant Russian and international projects, is considered the best children’s choreographic group in Russia. The students participate in significant projects at the Russian and international levels and perform on the best stages in the country. Svetlana Lukina has been awarded the State Prize of the Chelyabinsk Region in the field of culture and arts, a Letter of Gratitude from the Governor of the Chelyabinsk Region (2005), an Honorary Certificate from the Governor of the Chelyabinsk Region (2007), an Honorary Certificate from the Ministry of Culture of Russia (2010), and a Letter of Gratitude from the Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation for her contribution to the development of dance art and many years of fruitful work (2020).
Alexey Razin, the Honoured Worker of culture and arts of the Chelyabinsk region is the ensemble’s choreographer.
In 1998, he graduated from the Chelyabinsk State Institute of Culture and Arts, in 1993 he started his career as a solo performer. Since 2003 he has been the company’s ballet master and tutor.
Alexey Razin has made a significant contribution to the preservation and development of the traditions of folk choreography of the Southern Ural, for which he was awarded the II degree Medal of the Order ‘For Merit to the Fatherland in 2008, the Honorable Mention of Chelyabinsk Region Governor in 2007, and the Chelyabinsk Region State Prize for Culture in 2008.
In 2008 the children’s dancing studio under the ‘Ural’ Russian State Dance Ensemble was founded, with Alexey Razin the founder and head teacher.
The ensemble consists of 66 ballet artists and an 8-member orchestra. The ensemble's repertoire includes several choreographic programs. These are dance routines from the ensemble golden pool: ‘Dances of the World’, Arkaim, a choreographic parable, and children's fairy tale musicals. The ensemble was founded on August 1, 1980.
In 1983 the Ural was included into the SouzConcert and RosConcert tour plans and since then it has been the representative of the USSR and Russia at the international folklore festivals in many countries of the world: Canada and the USSR (1987), Bulgaria and Sweden (1989), Australia and Finland (1990).
From 1994 to 1999 the ensemble annually toured in France and Belgium.
As the French media in Lorgues put it, ‘More than 500 thousand spectators have discovered for themselves this huge Russian region serving as the natural border between Europe in the west and Siberia in the east’. Antenne-2, a Parisian TV channel, broadcast the ensemble’s concert to 50 world countries. In France, the Ural received a certificate of the International Dance and Music Festival, allowing the company to join any world-class folklore festival without preliminary selection.
In 2001, the ensemble toured in India (January), Belgium and France (summer).
In 2002 it took part in the ‘Assembly of the Peoples of Russia’ in Moscow where it was awarded the diploma ‘For the great contribution to preserving national identity and strengthening the unity of the peoples in Russia’.
In 2003, the company joined the International Festival in Lefkada, Greece, and the Russian Festival of National Cultures of Russia in St. Petersburg.
In 2005, ‘Ural’ went to France to give 60 concerts in 7 cities.
In 2006 it toured in Belgium, France, Switzerland, taking part in various international folklore festivals and performing at different venues and concert halls. All in all, the ensemble gave 90 concerts and performances that year.
In 2007, the Ural joined the International Folklore Festival in Italy, the 20th Orenburgsky Pukhoviy Platok (Orenburg Downy Shawl) Russian Festival of National Art, and the 3rd Sinegorye Festival of National Cultures held in Chelyabinsk.
In 2008 the group went to Sicily and the Czech Republic to take part in the International Folklore Festival.
2010 was another fruitful year for ‘Ural’. The ensemble participated in an international festival in Waynesville, USA, and gave the total of 100 concerts in three countries like the USA, Canada and Spain.
In 2011, the company went to the Czech Republic to join Prague Fair 2011 and the 26th International Folklore Festival in Karlovy Vary.
2012 was the year when Ural visited China, participated in the annual China Shanghai International Professional Arts Festival and gave 15 performances at various venues and concert halls.
In 2013, Ural paid another visit to the United States to join the 11th Russian Legacy Festival in New York. The ensemble performed its best pieces at seven concert venues in New York, with a culmination concert at the UN quarters, which made ‘Ural’ the first dance group honoured to perform on the stage of the United Nations.
In August 2014 the ensemble performed at the World Judo Championship.
In September Ural went on a large-scale tour to the Republic of Crimea, where they gave solo concerts in Simferopol, Kranoperekopsk, Evpatoria, Kerch, Yalta and Sevastopol.
The same year the ensemble joined the Cross-Border Cooperation Forum in Kostanay, Kazakhstan.
In 2015, Ural gave a triumphant performance at the 17th Shanghai Art Festival in China.
The same year it participated in the opening and closing ceremonies of the World Taekwondo Championship in Chelyabinsk (12-18 May, 2015, Chelyabinsk, Traktor Ice Arena).
In 2016 the ensemble toured in Bulgaria and Romania where the audience applauded the dances, embodying the spirit and culture of the peoples of the Southern Urals. The concert tour began in the city of Chelopech (Bulgaria) at the III Zlaten prah International Festival ("Golden Sand") and finished in the ancient Transylvanian city of Bistrița at the XXI NUNTA ZAMFIREI International Festival ("The Wedding of Zamfira").
In May 2017, the ensemble participated in the Carnival Summer – 2017 festival, dedicated to the opening of the resort season in Sochi. They gave six concerts in Sochi, Lazarevskoye, Adler, and performed a major solo concert at the Winter Theatre in Sochi.
July 2017 was marked by the participation of the Ural State Dance Ensemble in the cultural program of the EXPO-2017 Astana International Specialized Exhibition (Kazakhstan, Astana).
In September 2017, the ensemble became the absolute winner of an international dance festival-competition held in the South Korean city of Cheonan. The professionalism of the group received the highest evaluation from the festival jury — Ural brought home the Grand Prix, adding a new victory to the ensemble’s collection of awards.
In November 2017, the ensemble participated in the cultural program of the Forum for International Cooperation between Russia and Kazakhstan, performing for the leaders of the two countries — Nursultan Nazarbayev, the President of Kazakhstan, and Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia.
In April 2018, Ural took part in the April Spring Art Festival of Friendship (DPRK, Pyongyang), dedicated to the Day of the Sun — the largest national holiday of the North Korean people. The ensemble gave seven concerts, with the residents of Pyongyang, representatives of the Russian Embassy in the DPRK, and members of the Workers' Party of Korea attending the performances. As a result of the festival, the ensemble earned the title of April Spring laureate.
In June 2018, the ensemble orchestra headed by Valery Ostankin, the music director, won the Grand Prix at the Joy on the Black Sea Coast International Festival of Arts (Bulgaria).
In May 2019, the ensemble orchestra performed at the cultural and business mission of the delegation of the Ural Federal District at the IV International Silk Road EXPO in the city of Xi'an (Shanxi Province, China).
In August 2019, the ensemble performed at the XXXI Por las tierras de Cantabria International Festival (Spain), presenting concert programs in the festival cities of Santander, Camargo, Colindres, Astillero, Cabezón, Villayescusa, Torrelavega, Quijano de Piélagos, Prácticas de Toranzo, Solvay, Laredo, and Somo.
In September 2019, the Ural took part in the XV International Folklore Festival in Brazil, in the cities of Nova Prata and Rio de Janeiro.
On December 14, 2020, the Naum Orlov Drama Theater (Chelyabinsk) hosted a grand festive concert dedicated to the 40th anniversary of the Ural State Dance Ensemble. The anniversary concert ‘Ural’ premiered Dances of the Peoples of the World, an impressive and technically challenging program.
In 2023, Ural toured in Caucasus as a part of RosConcert's We Are Russia program.
In August 2024, the Ural State Academic Dance Ensemble won the World Championship in Folk Dance (Brazil, FIDAF) having received the Best Choreography award as well.
