|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The age-old heritage of nritya-abhinaya helps Indians appreciate THE millennia-old heritage of nritya-abhinaya in classical dance and mainstream cinema help Indians understand the language of ballet, say members of the 45-year-old Grand Moscow Classical Ballet. "Indian cinema is very popular in Moscow and we love the imaginative dance choreographies in Indian movies. It is natural that the audience here will appreciate ballet," says Irina Kazaryan, head of the international department of the Grand Moscow Classical Ballet.
The Grand Moscow Classical ballet performed at the Sreyashi International Dance Festival hosted by the Raja-Radha Reddy Institute of Kuchipudi Dance in New Delhi last month. The troupe staged capsules from the famous classical ballet acts like the Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. An undivided Soviet legacy, the Grand Moscow Classical Ballet was set up by the culture ministry of the erstwhile USSR in 1966. It is one of Russia’s two state academic ballet ensembles, officially recognised by the government, the other being the Bolshoi Ballet Company founded in 1776. The ensemble, which is touring India with seven members, is led by former Bolshoi members Natalia Kasatkina and Vladimir Vasilyov, two of Russia’s leading ballet maestros. Former Bolshoi theatre members, they have been managing the company for the past 30 years. "The classical ballet repertory company was set up 45 years ago in 1966 by the former USSR Ministry of Culture. At the time of its inception, master choreographer of the Russian Ensemble, a popular repertory company, Igor Moiseyev, took over its choreography and built a repertoire of excerpts drawn from famous ballet acts and theatres," says Irina Kazaryan, recalling the history of the company. In 1977, the reins of the ensemble were taken over by Vladimir Vasilyov, artistic director and Natalia Kasatkina, the principal choreographer. The new choreographers, former Bolshoi dancers, converted the theatre into a touring ballet repertory company. "Currently, we have 27 titles and more than 75 dancers in the company," adds Irina Kazaryan. The Moscow Classical Ballet is known for its traditional choreographies of Swan Lake, Black Swan, Giselle and Spartacus. It has toured 30 countries and was recently granted the title of "Academic Theatre" by the Russian Government. The company tries to retain the Russian spirit in its performances by holding on to its classical roots, adds Kazaryan. One of the initiatives that the company is working on to further collaboration, outreach and artistic exchange is a proposed "ballet growth centre" in Moscow. "It will bring the dance companies in Moscow and other countries together to discuss new ideas, research and perform. The capital city and its neighbour, St Petersburg, have several ballet theatres, but no centre to cultivate the dance to a new level. Finance is a constraint. After the fall of the former USSR, recovery has been slow," says Irina Kazaryan. "The Russian spirit of the performances has not changed, though ballet, as a genre, has over the years become more technically complex because the dancers are young and talented and are, therefore, capable of more delicate body movements and wider range of emotions," adds Kazaryan. The company is trying to spread awareness about classical ballet theatre among children. "We conduct workshops at regular intervals for schoolchildren as young as three, four and five years to teach them classical ballet," says Irina Kazaryan. "Ballet is still as
popular globally as it was when Russian ballet sensation Rudolf
Nureyev danced Giselle with English ballerina Margot Fonteyn in
1952," adds maestro Sergei Belorybkin, dancer, actor and head of
the company’s ballet division. — IANS
|
|||
|
|
|||
