Alexander ekman choreographer biography. "Cactus" choreography is interesting

The programs are named after the choreographers. Following the first - “Lifar. Kilian. Forsythe" - they showed the dance quartet: "Balanchine. Taylor. Garnier. Ekman. In total - ​seven names and seven ballets. The ideas of the persistent Frenchman, ex-etoile of the Paris Opera, are easy to read. Hilaire is in no hurry to lead the team entrusted to him along the historically established path of multi-act plot canvases, he prefers a serpentine of one-acts of different styles to them (two more programs of a similar format are planned). The troupe, which in the recent past survived the departure of almost three dozen young artists, recovered in record time and looks worthy in premiere opuses. The progress is especially noticeable, given that Hilaire does not yet open the gates of the theater to "invited" artists and diligently nurtures his own team.

The first in the premiere was George Balanchine's Serenade, which the Stanislavites had never danced before. With this romantic elegy to the music of Tchaikovsky, the American period of the great choreographer, who opened a ballet school in the New World in early 1934, begins. For his first students, who had not yet mastered the grammar of dance well, but dreamed of the classics, Balanchine staged the Serenade, Russian in spirit. Crystal, ethereal, weightless. The artists of the Muztheater lead the performance in the same way as the first performers. It is as if they are carefully touching a fragile treasure - ​they also lack internal mobility, which the choreographer insisted on, but the desire to comprehend something new is evident. Submission and reverence for a poetic creation, however, is preferable to vivacity and courage, with which the troupes, confident in their skill, dance the Serenade. Women's corps de ballet - the main thing actor opus - comes to life in the dreams of a sleepless night, when it is already receding before the morning dawn. Erika Mikirticheva, Oksana Kardash, Natalya Somova, as well as the "princes" Ivan Mikhalev and Sergey Manuilov, who dreamed of their nameless heroines, look great in the plotless mood composition.

Three other premiere productions are unfamiliar to Muscovites. "Halo" is a sunny, life-affirming gesture by Paul Taylor, a modernist choreographer who talks about the nature of movement. The dynamic spectacular dance is constantly transforming, reminiscent of an independent disposition, breaks the usual poses and jumps, the arms either braid like branches, or jump up like gymnasts jumping off sports equipment. The choreography, which was perceived as innovative half a century ago, is saved by drive and humor, lightning-fast switching from serious maxims to ironic escapades. Barefoot Natalya Somova, Anastasia Pershenkova and Elena Solomyanko, dressed in white dresses, demonstrate a taste for elegant contrasts in the composition. Georgi Smilevsky, the pride of the theater and its outstanding premiere, is responsible for the slow part, able to bring dramatic tension, style and festive beauty to the solo. Dmitry Sobolevsky is a virtuoso, fearless and emotional. Surprisingly, Handel's ceremonial music is easily "accepted" by Taylor's fantasies, unfolding a real dance marathon. Both performances, recreating different styles American choreography, accompanied by symphony orchestra theater under the direction of the talented maestro Anton Grishanin.

After Tchaikovsky and Handel - a phonogram and a duet of accordionists Christian Pache and Gerard Baraton "accompanying" a 12-minute miniature of the French choreographer Jacques Garnier "Onis". The performance to the music of Maurice Pasha was rehearsed by the ex-director ballet troupe Paris Opera and Laurent Hilaire's associate Brigitte Lefevre. In the Theater of Silence, founded by her together with Jacques Garnier, in a series of experiments with modern choreography, the first show of Onis took place forty years ago. The choreographer dedicated it to his brother and performed it himself. Later he reworked the composition for three soloists, whose dance in the current presentation resembles tart homemade wine, slightly hitting the head. The guys, connected if not by kinship, then by strong friendship, provocatively and without any whining talk about how they grew up, fell in love, got married, nursed children, worked, had fun. An uncomplicated action to the unpretentious enumeration of nuggets-“harmonists”, which usually sound at village holidays, takes place in Onys, a small province of France. Yevgeny Zhukov, Georgi Smilevsky Jr., Innokenty Yuldashev are youthfully spontaneous and perform with passion, in fact, variety number flavored with folklore flavor.

Swede Alexander Ekman is known as a joker and a master of curiosities. At the Benois de la Danse festival, for his Lake of the Swans, he wanted to install the main Russian theater a pool with six thousand liters of water and run dancing artists there. Was refused and improvised a funny solo with a glass of water, calling it "What I think about in Bolshoi Theater". A scattering of eccentric finds was also remembered by his "Cactus".

In "Tulle" Ekman dissects not the dance, but the theatrical life itself. Shows its sweaty inside, ritual basis, ironically over the ambitions and clichés of the performers. An overseer in black at Anastasia Pershenkova's wobbling gait on pointe shoes, from which her troupe heroically does not descend, mows down under a coquettish model diva. The artists are concentrating on the stupidities of naive pantomime, again and again repeating boring steps of exercise. The tired corps de ballet falls into despair - exhausted artists lose their synchronism, bend in half, stomp their feet, slap the stage heavily and with full feet. How can you believe that they recently slipped on your fingertips.

And Ekman never ceases to amaze with eclecticism, bringing to the stage either a couple from the court ballet of the “Sun King” of Louis XIV, or inquisitive tourists with cameras. Against the backdrop of the mass madness that engulfed the stage, "jumps" up and down orchestra pit, the screen images of unknown eyes and faces change, the running line of translation rushes about. Score compiled by Mikael Karlsson from hit songs dance rhythms, cod and noise, the clatter of pointe shoes and claps, the scores in the rehearsal room and the lowing of the corps de ballet, practicing the swan step, makes you dizzy. Excessiveness harms the harmony of a humorous plot, taste suffers. It is good that artists are not lost in this mass choreographic fun. Everyone bathes in the elements of a playful game, joyfully and lovingly making fun of the crazy world behind the scenes. The best scene of Tulle is the grotesque circus pas de deux. Oksana Kardash and Dmitry Sobolevsky in clown outfits are having fun with their tricks, surrounded by colleagues counting the number of fouettes and pirouettes. Just like in the movie "Big" by Valery Todorovsky.

The Music Theatre, always open to experimentation, easily masters the unfamiliar expanses of world choreography. The goal - ​to show how the dance developed and how professional and audience preferences changed - has been achieved. The performances are also arranged in strict chronology: 1935 - "Serenade", 1962 - "Halo", 1979 - "Onis", 2012 - "Tulle". In total - almost eight decades. The picture turns out to be curious: from the classic masterpiece of Balanchine, through the sophisticated modernism of Paul Taylor and the folkloric stylization of Jacques Garnier, to the brawl of Alexander Ekman.

Photo on the announcement: Svetlana Avvakum

Program XXVII International Festival of the classical ballet named after R. Nureyev in Kazan there were three modern one-act ballets Swedish choreographer Alexander Ekman, including the ballet Cacti.

ballets German theater, combined into the Triptych program, caused an ambiguous assessment of ballet lovers. We have the opportunity to acquaint our readers with the exact point of view of a professional - ballerina Tatarsky academic theater opera and ballet named after M. Jalil.

Although the main ballet event of the season is positioned as a festival of classical ballet, in different years Artists and troupes dancing modern choreography came to Kazan. So this year the balletomanes were pleased with something “unusual”.

At all contemporary choreography, or modern dance, in last decade acquires relevance in Russia. In the West, contemporary dance - another name for modern dance, has been developing for a long time and lives a rich life. theater life, it has taken certain forms. Some directions and styles of different choreographers have become classics of the genre. And yet modern dance never ceases to amaze.

For the Kazan audience, the arrival of the Dortmund Ballet was a pleasant surprise. A troupe from Germany performed four ballets in two festival days. Of these, in my opinion, the ballet "Cacti" can definitely be called the most striking performance.

The play begins with a slightly absurd voice-over philosophizing. A pathetically delivered voice reflects on contemporary dance and about the role of art critics in today's society, and the opinion of one of them can affect the perception of many viewers.

Ekman himself, in one of his interviews, calls the satirical ballet "Cacti" the last comment on the opinion of such critics. He also hopes that the viewer will understand his witty hint. In his opinion, modern Art should not be taken very seriously.

Then the exciting action begins! 16 dancers, seated in a checkerboard pattern on white platforms, begin to do in silence something like yoga breathing exercises, freezing from time to time in bizarre poses.

The musical landscape of the performance is as intriguing as the plasticity of the dancers. Alive string Quartet, playing a collage of the music of the great composers: Beethoven, Haydn and Schubert, gives a special mood and sharpness to the "cactus" choreography. The dancers, in turn, using their whole body and the surrounding space, clap their hands on the floor, shouting to the beat, create an infectious rhythm, becoming an integral part of the human orchestra.

White pedestals measuring 1 meter by 1 meter, on which, in fact, the artists dance, symbolize the duality of freedom and limitation. On the one hand, everyone is limited by their own space, on the other hand, everyone is free to manifest themselves on their small island. The work of light and shadow is especially impressive. Here you need to say "bravo" to the lighting designer, who at the right moment snatched out the right dancer in his monologue.

Hooligan choreographer Ekman seems to love to surprise the audience, and rightly so. When something extraordinary happens on stage, such as a stuffed cat falling from the sky during a simple dialogue-dance of an ordinary couple, the viewer immediately reacts vividly. Thus plunging into unusual performance, people take a break from everyday problems, and perhaps this inspires them to look at everyday things (the same cacti, for example) from a different angle.

Although the modern masterpiece leaves the impression of lightness, irony and ease, one can only try to imagine what kind of physical preparation this choreography requires from the artists. The dancers of the Dortmund Ballet coped with this task brilliantly! The choreography in places resembled the tribal dances of Africans, the energy of the frantic dance was so strong. There was such a feeling that the dancers completely let themselves go into the element of dance, but still skillfully control every muscle of the body.

At the end of the performance, all the characters build an amazing composition from the same platform-boxes, which seemed to defy the laws of gravity and somehow stand on edge. Everyone has a cactus in their hands - a symbol and an allegory for modern people, each living in his own pot, just as prickly and unpretentious, but still strong, ready to break through even through the stone ground of asphalt, there would be only a ray of light.

This unusually light, fresh, dynamic ballet, which, like a whirlwind, takes the viewer into the world of the amazing choreographer and artist of his time, Alexander Ekman.

This ballet is brightest representative new art - recommended for mandatory viewing for both viewers and professionals.

The author of the review graduated from the Kazan Choreographic School (class of I.Sh. Khakimova) in 2011 and was accepted into the troupe of the TAGTOiB. M. Jalil. She is busy in more than 10 theater performances. Most recently, we saw her in the ballet " Golden Horde": V Oriental dance she appeared as Peacock. She danced the part of the Wolf Mother in Spartacus, the Bride in Swan Lake. She went on tour with the theater troupe to European countries.

Aisylu is a 3rd year student of the Higher School of Arts named after S. Saidashev IFMK.

One-act ballets of the National Dance Theater of Madrid
14.07.11.

I'll start with the unpleasant, but easily described.

"Flockwork" 07/14/11.
I honestly applauded after Ekman's opus.
Of course, not to creation, but to artists who are forced to suffer with this ugliness. They, poor fellows, worked, tried, practically tortured themselves with this muck. How disgusted they must have been!

The audience, which had gathered, of course, for the sake of Duato, also applauded rather unanimously. Which, in my opinion, was gratitude for the selfless work of the dancers who fell in love with the two previous ballets.
In fact, the public, it seemed to me, was quite skeptical. When the artist - "laugher" came out and tried to provoke the audience into laughter, he giggled slightly, and then somewhere near my box a remark sounded: "You won't wait ..." (practically "No pasaran!"), Then- Everyone who heard it laughed :)

The similarity between Ekman's work and Preljokaj's "Creation" was clearly evident: flags were washed there, barrels were washed here, walls moved there, tables here, complete grayness of costumes and entourage here and there. And in conclusion, as soon as I thought: "It's good that there is no nudity here," - and literally three minutes later, slides with images of naked artists of both sexes up to the waist began to be projected onto the backdrop. At the same time, live artists continued to dance (if you can call it that) for no reason. Here it was necessary either on video bare breasts stare, or look out for dancers. In general, Ekman does not care at all about the work of artists, not to mention their potential.
This "young, promising" unfortunate choreographer has nothing to say at all, so he kills half an hour as best he can. And fantasy is not enough.

And next to Duato's ballets, Ekman's blunder looks even more worthless.
As beautiful as Duato is, Ekman is just as pitiful and repulsive. The program, perhaps, is specially composed according to the principle "feel the difference": where is the genius - and where is the person who yearns to be a choreographer without any reason.
(Maybe Duato's ex-assistant, who now manages the troupe and leaves it immediately after Martinez came to power, arranged such "demonstration performances" for a reason?)

I enjoyed it only in a couple of half-minute episodes, when active, albeit simple, dances began - it was hard to take my eyes off the plastic Spaniards! The rest of the 24 minutes they crawled, jogged, talked, moved furniture, bathed, rolled with laughter.
Incl. I could not but applaud them: artists are forced people. It's not their fault that they lost Duato and got Ekman.

Today I repeated the trip. For the soul.
On Ekman, of course, did not stay.
Incl. had to the poor wonderful National Theater dance of Spain do without my applause at the end of the program.

Alexander Ekman. Photo - Yuri Martyanov / Kommersant

Choreographer Alexander Ekman contemporary ballet and social networks.

In the repertoire musical theater named after Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko, Tulle appeared - the first ballet in Russia by Alexander Ekman, a 34-year-old Swede, the most prolific, sought-after and talented choreographer of his generation, who has already taught 45 ballets around the world, the last of them - at the Paris Opera.

– You have a rare gift for staging plotless comic ballets: in Tulle, for example, it’s not the characters and their relationships that are funny, but the very combinations of classical movements and the peculiarities of their performance. In your, classical ballet outdated?

I love classical ballet, it's great. And yet it's just a dance, it should be fun, there should be a game. I don't distort the classic movements, I just show them from a slightly different angle - it turns out to be such an easy absurdity. And misunderstandings can arise, especially on the part of artists: working like in a drama is not very usual for them. I always tell them, “Don't comedy. It's not you who should be funny, but situations.

- So, the theater is for you after all more important than ballet?

“A theater is a space where two thousand people can feel connected to each other, experience the same feelings, and then discuss them: “Did you see this? Cool, huh? Such human unity is the most beautiful thing in the theater.

- You introduce speech into your ballets - replicas, monologues, dialogues. Do you think the audience will not understand your idea without words?

“I just think it's more fun that way. I like to present surprises, surprises, surprise the audience. Consider speech as my trademark.

You have a rare gift for staging plotless comic ballets: in Tulle, for example, it is not the characters and their relationships that are funny, but the very combinations of classical movements and the peculiarities of their performance. Do you think classical ballet is outdated?

I love classical ballet, it's great. And yet it's just a dance, it should be fun, there should be a game. I do not distort the classic movements, I just show them from a slightly different angle - it turns out to be such an easy absurdity. And misunderstandings can arise, especially on the part of artists: working like in a drama is not very usual for them. I always tell them, “Don't comedy. It's not you who should be funny, but situations.

So, theater is still more important for you than ballet?

The theater is a space where two thousand people can connect with each other, experience the same feelings, and then discuss them: “Did you see this? Cool, huh? Such human unity is the most beautiful thing in the theater.

You introduce speech into your ballets - lines, monologues, dialogues. Do you think the audience will not understand your idea without words?

I just think it's more fun that way. I like to present surprises, surprises, surprise the audience. Consider speech as my trademark.

In my review, I called your "Tulle" an ironic class-concert of the 21st century. In it, firstly, the hierarchy of the ballet troupe is presented, and secondly, all sections of the classical simulator, except for the barre.

I don’t know, somehow I wasn’t going to be ironic about ballet art. I just staged a production of The Game at the Paris Opera, and while I was there, my respect for ballet grew into admiration. When you are inside this troupe, you see how the artists carry themselves, how the etiquette enters the hall - with a royal posture, with a sort of regal self-awareness - absolutely amazing associations arise. The class system, the royal court, Louis the Sun - that's what it is. At the Paris Opera, you can immediately determine who is an etiquette, who is a soloist, who is a coryphaeus - by the way they carry themselves, how they move, how they interact with other people. All this reflects their position in society, their status. And I realized that this is primary - this is how nature itself works. For example, you enter the chicken coop and immediately see the main rooster - he is absolutely beautiful. Perhaps only in France and Russia can one see this shadow of absolutism in theaters. In these countries, ballet is appreciated, it is national pride, and therefore, it seems to me, there is a deep connection between French and Russian cultures.

And how did you work with the Parisian roosters? Did you come to the hall with ready-made combinations or did you improvise? Or forced to improvise artists?

In any way. I always have a clear idea of ​​what I want to create, however particularities are born along the way. But if you have 40 people in the hall, you can’t make them wait until you compose a specific combination. Otherwise, they will look at you like that - they say, is this all that you are capable of? - that the remnants of fantasy will disappear immediately. At the Paris Opera, I had a group of five or six dancers, we worked out the material with them - and I transferred the finished drawing to the corps de ballet. In fact, when you stage a ballet, you never know what will happen in the end - you are haunted by the horror of not knowing. The process is exciting, but very exhausting. After Paris, I decided to take a time out.

For how long?

For half a year. Or for a year. All my life I have staged very intensively: in 12 years - 45 ballets. It was a constant race, in the end it seemed to me that I was doing one endless production. I was driven by success - we are all career-oriented. I took barrier after barrier Paris Opera was my goal, the pinnacle of the path. And here she is taken. The first act of my life ballet is done. Now it's intermission.

You have given yourself a break from ballet before: your installations were presented at the Stockholm Museum of Modern Art.

Well, critic criticism is different. Some are even pleasant.

The ones who love you. For example, Moscow: we always praise your performances, adore "Cacti" and remember how nicely you danced at the Bolshoi at the Benois de la danse concert under your own monologue "What I think about at the Bolshoi Theater." Then you were nominated for Swan Lake, but they didn’t give you a prize and didn’t show the performance: they didn’t want to pour 6,000 liters of water onto the stage of the Bolshoi. What prompted you to stage the main Russian ballet in Oslo and how does it compare with the prototype?

No way. At first there was an idea to pour a lot of water on the stage. Then we thought: which of the ballets is connected with water? Of course, Swan Lake. And now I don’t know if it was smart to call my performance that way, since it has no connection with the Swan Lake ballet.

You did Swan Lake with the famous Swedish designer Hendrik Wibskov. By the way, he also wanted to dance as a child - and even won a prize for performing hip-hop.

Yes? Did not know. Hendrik is great, I miss him so much. He and I completely coincide creatively - both seem to be twisted in one direction, set to create something so crazy. He also likes to have fun, knows how to play, his fashion shows are like performances. In Paris, we made a fashion show with him in the form of " swan lake”: they poured a pool of water, laid a podium on it, the models walked like water, and dancers in costumes from our performance moved between them.

And do you post all your games on Instagram? You are very active on social media.

Social networks are a very convenient thing for creative person. I can present my finished work, I can show what I'm working on now - it's like a portfolio. Needed for Instagram special language, and I think that my productions, which have a lot of visual effects, are good for Instagram. But I don't like it when people upload photos like "look, I'm sitting here with so-and-so." Reality needs to be lived, not shown. Networks formed new form communication, and it gave rise to a new addiction - people have forgotten how to talk to each other, but they look at the phone every minute: how many likes do I have there?

You have a lot: more than thirty thousand followers on Instagram - twice as many as, for example, Paul Lightfoot and Sol Leon, the main choreographers of the famous NDT.

I want even more. But on the work page. I'm going to delete the private one because I'm doing the same thing on it as everyone else: hey, look how nice I'm having a good time.

Let's get back to reality: have you been offered a production here in Moscow? Or at least the transfer of some already finished thing?

I would like to do something here. But I have intermission. Although, to be honest, it pulls into the rehearsal room.