Russia's Tank Ballet Showcases Vehicles At Controversial Expo

Tank Ballet Like You've Never Seen It Before!

Russia has produced a long list of famous dancers, but this ballet has no need for tutus or pointe shoes. At Russia's largest weapons expo, 5 battle tanks performed an impressive set of spins, turns and pirouettes.

A video from the Russian Engineering Technologies International Forum shows the armored vehicles circling each other in elegant moves and spinning in sync amid dust and smoke.

According to the New York Times, the T-80 and T-90A battle tanks started their choreography set to techno music, then moved on to tango and an excerpt from Bizet's opera Carmen. The dance was produced by Andrey Melanyin, a choreographer for the Bolshoy Theater, Russia Today reports.

Time Magazine calls the controversial expo "a military smorgasbord for the dictators of the world," writing that some of the most notorious regimes are on the forum's guest list. According to Time, at least 3 Syrian military officials attended the forum, as well as Syria's military attachee in Moscow.

The international community has condemned Russia for keeping up arms sales to the Syrian regime of president Bashar Assad. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton criticized Moscow for returning repaired helicopter gunships to Damascus.

This is the second time Russian arms producers have organized a "tank ballet." During the last forum in 2010, the tanks performed to Ravel's Bolero.

Watch the tank ballet in the video above.

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