Светлана Захарова и друзья: Афины, 12-14 сентября 2008
БОЛЬШОЙ - ЭТО БАЛЕТНАЯ МОГИЛА!!!!!!!
БОЛЬШОЙ - ЭТО БАЛЕТНАЯ МОГИЛА!!!!!!!
(Comments)
The "return" of Russian ballet
A transcendental quality underlines Svetlana Zakharova's performances at the Megaron
IOANNA TZARTZANI
FOLLOWING the era of worldwide balletomanes' devotion to the "international" names of the Russian ballet, such as Rudolf Nureyev, Natalia Makarova and Mikhail Baryshnikov, the contemporary myth of the ballet stage has been French and always in reference to Sylvie Guillem.
But 29-year-old Svetlana Zakharova seems to be the new ballet superstar.
Zakharova, who has re-embodied flawlessly the impeccable technique, gracefulness and fragile strength of the much-acclaimed Russian school, showcased her talents during three performances on September 12, 13 and 14 as part of the Svetlana Zakharova & Friends Gala at the Megaron Athens Concert Hall.
Apart from dancing in five of the 13 presented pieces, she was also in charge of choosing the dancers, as well as the gala program. The selected repertory, balanced between well-presented divertissements from classical (such as Giselle, Don Quixote and Le Corsaire) and contemporary works (Revelation, Black and Voice), was successful.
The dancers - Anastasia Goryacheva, Nelli Kobachidze, Andrej Merkur'ev, Alesya Novikova, Marianna Ryzhkina, Leonid Sarafanov Asrtem Shpilevsky, Daniil Simkin and Andrej Uvarov - were all excellent, but the audience distinguished Simkin for his spectacular jumps in Ben van Cauvenbergh's solo Les Bourgeois and Vassily Vainonen's The Fire of Paris (a pas de deux that he performed with Goryacheva).
Besides a pas de deux from Don Quixote, which she danced with Uvarov, Zakharova favoured contemporary works like K Pastor's Tristan and Izolde and Black, with the latter being enthusiastically received by the audience during the final September 14 performance. Her solo in Revelation was probably the biggest hit of the night, and she closed the evening with the solo Voice.
Transcending the ordinary
Zakharova's first performance in Athens was last January during the Russian Ballet Superstars Gala, where she presented Mikhail Fokine's Dying Swan and Revelation.
Watching Zakharova as the "Swan" was in itself a revelation. The sublime beauty, frailty and delicacy of her performance conveyed the tragic and mystical atmosphere that surrounds the myth of the swan within the ballet tradition.
She seems to have managed to re-stage the transcendental quality of the old ballet myths for the contemporary audience. One hears stories about the inexplicable sensation stirred by a single walk on stage by Nureyev, or about the feeling of suspension in mid-air while performing a jump. These stories refer to something that exceeds technique, ability and stage conventions. They attempt to capture and articulate the most valued, discussed and yet elusive effect of art: the all-consuming and liberating trance experience of been engaged fully - physically and spiritually - with the dance. Watching Zakharova dance is, indeed, a transcendental experience.
Seeing her perform on the closing night of the gala, I once again found myself drawn into her performance. Instead of watching from the outside - critically analysing the dance, comparing steps, gestures and bodies - I was living within the dance, following its internal rhythm, mood and narration. I believe this is the greatest, not to mention rarest, achievement for a dance performance.
As has been much argued, a dance event is a ritual, with its own conventions, distinct and pre-defined roles, behaviours and expectations. When this transcendence is achieved, as in the case of Nureyev earlier and Zakharova today, this sense of ritual is restored.
The choreographed final bow was repeated twice at the insistence of the sold-out audience's unceasing applause. It is no coincidence that this was one of the rare times when no one left their seat before the stage curtains finally dropped.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Background and awards
BORN in Ukraine in 1979, Zakharova was initially trained in folk dancing, but she soon joined the Kiev Choreographic School, where she studied for six years. In 1995, after winning the second prize at the International Young Dancers' Competition in St Petersburg, she was admitted to the (graduating) course of the Vaganova Academy.
At the age of 17, in 1996, Zakharova graduated and joined the Mariinsky Ballet. She was soon promoted to principal dancer and toured with the company as one of its most cherished young ballerinas.
Since 1999 she has also made guest appearances in some of the biggest ballet companies in the world, such as the New York City Ballet, the American Ballet Theatre, the Paris Opera Ballet, La Scala in Milan, the English National Ballet and the New National Theatre Ballet in Tokyo.
In 2003, she joined the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow as a principal dancer, where she works with Ludmilla Semenyaka. As Zakharova stated during a press conference on September 11, this decision was based on her favouring Moscow over St Petersburg as a living-working environment, but also on her belief that after its recent financial difficulties the Bolshoi is once again one of the best ballet companies in the world.
Zakharova has been the recipient of a number of international awards and distinctions for her contribution to ballet, such as the St Petersburg prize "People of Our City" in 2001 and the Russian State Prize in 2007. At the recent elections in Russia, she was also elected a member of the Russian Parliament. More recently, she was given the title of Etoile, in La Scala of Milan, this year.
Zakharova's repertory includes from leading roles in Marius Petipa's The Sleeping Beauty, La Bayadere, Swan Lake and Le Corsaire; Fokine's Chopiniana, Scheherazade and The Dying Swan; Alicia Alonso's Carmen; Kenneth McMillan's Manon; George Balanchine's Apollo and Serenade; John Neumeier's Now and Then; A Midsummer Night's Dream; and William Forsythe's In the Middle Somewhat Elevated.
ATHENS NEWS , 19/09/2008, page: A29
Article code: C13306A291
http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.lst_by_rtopic
БОЛЬШОЙ - ЭТО БАЛЕТНАЯ МОГИЛА!!!!!!!
(Comments)
The "return" of Russian ballet
A transcendental quality underlines Svetlana Zakharova's performances at the Megaron
IOANNA TZARTZANI
FOLLOWING the era of worldwide balletomanes' devotion to the "international" names of the Russian ballet, such as Rudolf Nureyev, Natalia Makarova and Mikhail Baryshnikov, the contemporary myth of the ballet stage has been French and always in reference to Sylvie Guillem.
But 29-year-old Svetlana Zakharova seems to be the new ballet superstar.
Zakharova, who has re-embodied flawlessly the impeccable technique, gracefulness and fragile strength of the much-acclaimed Russian school, showcased her talents during three performances on September 12, 13 and 14 as part of the Svetlana Zakharova & Friends Gala at the Megaron Athens Concert Hall.
Apart from dancing in five of the 13 presented pieces, she was also in charge of choosing the dancers, as well as the gala program. The selected repertory, balanced between well-presented divertissements from classical (such as Giselle, Don Quixote and Le Corsaire) and contemporary works (Revelation, Black and Voice), was successful.
The dancers - Anastasia Goryacheva, Nelli Kobachidze, Andrej Merkur'ev, Alesya Novikova, Marianna Ryzhkina, Leonid Sarafanov Asrtem Shpilevsky, Daniil Simkin and Andrej Uvarov - were all excellent, but the audience distinguished Simkin for his spectacular jumps in Ben van Cauvenbergh's solo Les Bourgeois and Vassily Vainonen's The Fire of Paris (a pas de deux that he performed with Goryacheva).
Besides a pas de deux from Don Quixote, which she danced with Uvarov, Zakharova favoured contemporary works like K Pastor's Tristan and Izolde and Black, with the latter being enthusiastically received by the audience during the final September 14 performance. Her solo in Revelation was probably the biggest hit of the night, and she closed the evening with the solo Voice.
Transcending the ordinary
Zakharova's first performance in Athens was last January during the Russian Ballet Superstars Gala, where she presented Mikhail Fokine's Dying Swan and Revelation.
Watching Zakharova as the "Swan" was in itself a revelation. The sublime beauty, frailty and delicacy of her performance conveyed the tragic and mystical atmosphere that surrounds the myth of the swan within the ballet tradition.
She seems to have managed to re-stage the transcendental quality of the old ballet myths for the contemporary audience. One hears stories about the inexplicable sensation stirred by a single walk on stage by Nureyev, or about the feeling of suspension in mid-air while performing a jump. These stories refer to something that exceeds technique, ability and stage conventions. They attempt to capture and articulate the most valued, discussed and yet elusive effect of art: the all-consuming and liberating trance experience of been engaged fully - physically and spiritually - with the dance. Watching Zakharova dance is, indeed, a transcendental experience.
Seeing her perform on the closing night of the gala, I once again found myself drawn into her performance. Instead of watching from the outside - critically analysing the dance, comparing steps, gestures and bodies - I was living within the dance, following its internal rhythm, mood and narration. I believe this is the greatest, not to mention rarest, achievement for a dance performance.
As has been much argued, a dance event is a ritual, with its own conventions, distinct and pre-defined roles, behaviours and expectations. When this transcendence is achieved, as in the case of Nureyev earlier and Zakharova today, this sense of ritual is restored.
The choreographed final bow was repeated twice at the insistence of the sold-out audience's unceasing applause. It is no coincidence that this was one of the rare times when no one left their seat before the stage curtains finally dropped.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Background and awards
BORN in Ukraine in 1979, Zakharova was initially trained in folk dancing, but she soon joined the Kiev Choreographic School, where she studied for six years. In 1995, after winning the second prize at the International Young Dancers' Competition in St Petersburg, she was admitted to the (graduating) course of the Vaganova Academy.
At the age of 17, in 1996, Zakharova graduated and joined the Mariinsky Ballet. She was soon promoted to principal dancer and toured with the company as one of its most cherished young ballerinas.
Since 1999 she has also made guest appearances in some of the biggest ballet companies in the world, such as the New York City Ballet, the American Ballet Theatre, the Paris Opera Ballet, La Scala in Milan, the English National Ballet and the New National Theatre Ballet in Tokyo.
In 2003, she joined the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow as a principal dancer, where she works with Ludmilla Semenyaka. As Zakharova stated during a press conference on September 11, this decision was based on her favouring Moscow over St Petersburg as a living-working environment, but also on her belief that after its recent financial difficulties the Bolshoi is once again one of the best ballet companies in the world.
Zakharova has been the recipient of a number of international awards and distinctions for her contribution to ballet, such as the St Petersburg prize "People of Our City" in 2001 and the Russian State Prize in 2007. At the recent elections in Russia, she was also elected a member of the Russian Parliament. More recently, she was given the title of Etoile, in La Scala of Milan, this year.
Zakharova's repertory includes from leading roles in Marius Petipa's The Sleeping Beauty, La Bayadere, Swan Lake and Le Corsaire; Fokine's Chopiniana, Scheherazade and The Dying Swan; Alicia Alonso's Carmen; Kenneth McMillan's Manon; George Balanchine's Apollo and Serenade; John Neumeier's Now and Then; A Midsummer Night's Dream; and William Forsythe's In the Middle Somewhat Elevated.
ATHENS NEWS , 19/09/2008, page: A29
Article code: C13306A291
http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.lst_by_rtopic