Press Release:                              

Embargoed until first week in February 2005                                                                                                                              Established in 1982 for orphans and children in need.

                                                                                                                                                                                                           Registered in England as a Company Limited by Guarantee.

                                                                                                                                                                                                           No. 016320603 Charity No.284776

                                                                                                                                                        Tel:  + 44  0 1923 283 716   Fax: + 44 0 1923 286 954

Vartan Melkonian conducts Czech Philharmonic Orchestra

The Ballet - The European Première

Kosice State Ballet of Slovakia will perform the European Première of The Little Prince at the Royal Albert Hall on Tuesday 22 March 2005 in support of the Melkonian Foundation's ongoing work with orphans and in particularly in aid of the Kosice Orphanage in East Slovakia.

The Little Prince was an international bestseller in 1945 directly after the War. The author, ANTOIN DE SAINT-EXUPÉRY, was a pilot in the Free French Forces after the collapse of France. He was forced to make a landing in the Sahara where he met The Little Prince. The magical child used an asteroid (B-612) to travel round the Solar System. He told the author about his adventures - the three volcanoes, the haughty flower, his audience with a king, his fight with a fox and other evil characters.

The stories are strange and enchanting and will, for the first time, be expressed as dance by Kosice State Ballet of Slovakia. Dance turns out to be the perfect medium to bring this entrancing fantasy to life with a brilliant display of lighting. Pre-shot materials projected on three screens will create an elusion of depth and unusual dimension behind the dancers.

Choreographed by the country's most imaginative artist in the field, Ondro Soth, with music composed especially for the ballet by the multi-award-winning Czech composer, Michal Pavlícek, and conducted by Vartan Melkonian, the show is a sparkling display of dance narration. It will be Slovakia 's cultural contribution to celebrate its 1st anniversary of joining the European Union.

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For information please contact Debra Inman at the above numbers or email to : info@melkonian-foundation.org.uk

www.melkonian-foundation.org.uk