The Swan King: Nikolai Tsiskaridze brought his students to the Kremlin
Graduation concerts of the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet, one of the oldest and most reputable classical dance schools in the world, were held on the stage of the GKD. This year, the rector of the Academy, Nikolai Tsiskaridze, graduated the first female class. This has not happened for 100 years: usually women are taught by women, and men are taught by men. Six thousand people gathered for the last performance. Izvestia appreciated the efforts of Tsiskaridze and his students.
The Swan Song
The audience going to the graduation performance of the Vaganova Academy is noticeable even in the subway. Elegant, with a ballet bearing, with a beautiful gait. Mothers led little girls, teachers led whole classes. Everyone wanted to see who was brought up by the rector of the academy Nikolai Tsiskaridze. The extra ticket was asked not only by those who wanted to go to the ballet, but also by speculators. A marketable product.
Nikolai Tsiskaridze came up with the idea of bringing Vaganovka's graduation performances to the Kremlin Palace ten years ago. All the boys and girls who were introduced by the rector at the first such concert are now soloists of the Mariinsky Theatre and MAMT. As Nikolai Tsiskaridze notes, the students of the academy are lucky: Moscow has fallen in love with them. In June, when few people go to theaters, all tickets are sold out instantly.
"No school in any city can repeat anything like this," says Nikolai Maksimovich. — Seven performances plus a general run are danced by children from 10 to 17 years old, no one can afford it, because it's a huge job. And if we take a masterpiece into the repertoire, we don't make notes, we don't make the task easier for the performers. If we don't have such a performer, then we invite a graduate from the theater from previous years. So my student will appear in this performance.
The graduation ceremony began with the appearance of the rector.
— The Kremlin Palace is very dear to me, because I started my first steps on the stage here, — says Nikolai Tsiskaridze. — Now I'm letting my students out into the big life. This is the 283rd graduation of our academy. Because the school was founded in 1738! And the first issue took place in 1742. One of the most important tasks of education is education and respect, respect for ancestors, for history. That's why our performance is dedicated to many dates of our academy.
For graduation, the choreographers have prepared a choreographic program in three sections, each dedicated to an important event in the history of the ballet school. 200 people are involved in the performance. Expensive costumes have been sewn for everyone, worthy of a high stage.
The first movement is the "White Act" from Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake. The last time it was performed at the academy was 30 years ago. Tchaikovsky considered the second painting of the ballet to be the best in the score. And in 1894, choreographer Lev Ivanov staged the dances of the swans and their queen Odette in such a way that to this day the performance is considered the height of skill and beauty. He did this work for a concert dedicated to the anniversary of Pyotr Ilyich's death. The following year, for the premiere at the Mariinsky Theater, Marius Petipa, together with Modest Tchaikovsky, redid the libretto, which included this "swan painting" by Lev Ivanov.
Tsiskaridze dedicated the performance of the "White Act" to the 100th anniversary of the first graduation of Agrippina Vaganova in 1925 at the Leningrad Choreographic College, now the Academy of Russian Ballet, which bears her name. Among the graduates of the legendary choreographer is the "goddess of dance", People's Artist of the USSR Marina Semenova. Nikolai Tsiskaridze says about her that after his mother, who gave birth to him, and the nanny who raised him, Marina Timofeevna is the most important person in his life. She is Vaganova's first and most beloved student and Nikolai Tsiskaridze's teacher.
"We dedicate Swan Lake to Vaganova's first production, because this ballet was Marina Timofeevna's calling card," the People's Artist shared. — And the "White Act" that you and I know was invented by Vaganova together with Semenova. The position of the hands, the combinations, the meeting of Siegfried with Odette — this is not the 19th century, but the invention of Agrippina Yakovlevna, her choreography. It's just that few people know about it.
Ekaterina Morozova, Tsiskaridze's student, plays the role of Odette, and Arseniy Sosnovich plays Siegfried.
Lit in Russian and Georgian
The rector dedicated the second part of the graduation performance to the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory. The audience was presented with a Suite from the ballet Gayane by Aram Khachaturian. In 1942, at the height of the Great Patriotic War, during the siege of Leningrad, the composer created a bright, optimistic performance. It was an order from the party and the government. It was necessary to show the unity of a multinational people.
Anyone who has not heard of "Gayane" probably knows the fantastic "Saber Dance", a number from the last act of the play. It was first shown by the troupe of the Kirov Theater (now the Mariinsky) in Molotov (now Perm) on the stage of the Opera and Ballet Theater, where the artists were evacuated. The choreography was choreographed by Nina Anisimova. At that time, Natalia Dudinskaya played the role of Gayane, and Konstantin Sergeev played Armen. And Tsiskaridze had Sofia Romanovich and Nikoloz Paradashvili in the title roles. Ilya Zaitsev plays Kazakov, Yasmina Aziz plays Nune, and Sofia Amanatova plays Aisha.
The rector did a great job putting together Anisimova's choreography and adding ethnic flavor to the folk dances. And to find the score for "Russian Dance", I did some research and found the sheet music in Yerevan.
"Saber Dance" caused wild delight in the audience — Roman Khurtin's flights over the stage were especially warmly received.
Where can I find an outlet?
This year Tsiskaridze celebrates the 30th anniversary of his teaching career. This year's graduates have prepared a Suite from the romantic ballet "Paquita" to the music of Deldevez, Minkus, Drigo for the final act. Petipa's masterpiece was edited by Nikolai Maksimovich. The part of Paquita was performed by Veselina Ileaa from Bulgaria. Lotion D'Hervilly — Ruslan Stenyushkin, graduate of 2017. The roles of Count and Countess D'Hervilly were performed by Vladislav Belousov and Elena Sukhanova.
Bright choreographic solutions complement the picturesque scenery of the Mariinsky Theatre. The pupils danced to the accompaniment of a symphony orchestra. The conductor is Valery Ovsyanikov.
The rector is personally responsible for the technical level of the pupils. As Nikolai Tsiskaridze confessed, the women's class took all his strength. Now he needs a vacation and recovery.
— I don't want any more class, I need to rest, — says Nikolay Tsiskaridze. — The boys have two buttons: "on" and "off". And the girls have a control model like a spaceship. And it smokes all the time and doesn't make contact with anything. You never have the right plug and socket. And you're standing there thinking, well, here we go again, starting from scratch. And you don't understand at what point and what she will be offended by. You love this person very much, but you need to put pressure on them to get results.
The audience appreciated the result with a long standing ovation. After the Kremlin, Tsiskaridze's students will go on tour to Chelyabinsk: the governor of the region invited the academy to let ballet fans in the Urals see the graduation performance. Twice.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
