Ballet under the heading "UD." The All-Russian competition of young performers "Russian ballet" ended in the Bolshoi Theater Jury in different years
XIII international competition ballet dancers and choreographers. Photo - Igor Zakharkin
This ballet review has been held in Moscow every four years since 1969.
It is played in three rounds of two age groups: younger (up to 18 years old inclusive) and older (19 - 27 years old). Solos and duets compete in each group.
The Moscow competition is quite conservative, first of all, it is focused on ballet traditions, although it does not ignore modernity.
Competitors in the first round are offered a compulsory program (variations or pas de deux from classical ballets), plus a fragment from the classics of their own choice.
In the second round, participants, in addition to the classics, perform a modern number or a fragment from ballets staged no earlier than 2005. In the third round - again the classics.
Only numbers specially staged for the Moscow show, and in any of the styles of choreography, participate in the choreographers' competition.
This year's awards are very generous: a $100,000 Grand Prix (for comparison, the last Grand Prix was valued at $15,000 and nobody got it), and three awards in each category, from five to thirty thousand. However, any award may not be awarded. Or it can be divided among the performers.
According to the results qualifying round(video recordings) 126 participants in the nomination "Ballet dancers" and 30 participants in the nomination "Choreographers" were allowed to participate in the competition. From 27 countries. It would seem that the picture is cloudless. In fact, there are problems that arise not for the first time.
Denis Zakharov. Photo - Igor Zakharkin The geography of this international competition largely consists of Asian countries and CIS countries. Representatives of European ballet powers - France or Denmark, for example - do not come to Moscow. This year a large delegation arrived from Brazil. There are representatives of Ukraine and the USA.
But the Bolshoi Theater, on the stage of which the competition is taking place, actually ignored it. A ballet troupe Mariinsky Theater was not presented at its best.
There are also many organizational shortcomings. Moreover, they are permanent, wandering from competition to competition. For example, constant errors in the announced names of choreographers.
No, the accents are correct. But what was composed in the classics by one master was easily attributed to another. If we were talking about male variations in classical ballets staged or radically edited in Soviet times.
As a rule, the nineteenth-century classic Marius Petipa, who has long been nicknamed the “collective pseudonym” in professional circles, took the rap for all the authors. A remark in the conditions of the competition (about any of the styles of choreography) often turned sideways: since the jury only cares about the year of creation, and not the signs contemporary dance, which means that the contestants can drive the same classics on pointe shoes in a modern number.
But the most depressing - and this is also a tradition - was at the competition of choreographers. The competition did not pass the organizational scandal. Applicant Dmitry Antipov was suddenly removed from the shows, he went on stage to protest, but the protest was drowned out by a radio announcement.
The executive secretary of the jury, Sergei Usanov, announced to the audience that Antipov and two of his colleagues were fired for violating the rules: their productions had already been shown before. What the organizers were kindly informed by the competitors of the punished.
Formally, the directors were given awards. And six people received them. But in reality, from a series of plastically faceless and similar numbers, only the gold medalist, a Chilean with a sonorous name Andres Eduardo Jimenez Zuniga, was truly remembered.
He knows how to hear music, and non-trivially convey it with movement. This was also shown by the “Dagger” number, in which the soloist in black fascinatingly balanced between seriousness and parody, under the repeated Spanish words of a sweet love song.
And the Archipelago is a triumph feminine to the music of Schubert, where three modern graces in T-shirts and shorts formed their own inner world. Others, including Russian participants, once again confirmed that the long-term crisis of choreographers in the world continues. Even the second gold laureate-choreographer, Wen Xiaochao (China), in the duet number “Through adversity” did not go beyond the illustration of the title.
Ivan Sorokin. Photo - Igor Zakharkin Three tours for performers brought both good and bad. In the third round, the capable Alexander Omelchenko suddenly left the race: he fell on the stage and was injured.
The young miracle of the competition - Ivan Sorokin from Syktyvkar - made it to the final, but could not perform, because he did not prepare variations for the third round. Why? Because the boy didn't believe he could get that far!
Since the canonical text of the classical variations was not approved at this competition, many danced whatever they wanted, up to the sets of pas, clearly set by the teacher for the individual abilities of the student. The choice of variations also puzzled more than once: those who did not know how to spin well went out with a spin dance, those who did not jump were noted in the jump variation. That's why?
With an understanding of music, even plain ballet, not everything is thankful to God either: the slowdown has become a natural competitive disaster. The saddest thing is that many do not dance at all, but simply perform individual movements, without much meaning, trying to boast of technique at the expense of the image. Often the nominees lacked individuality. And at some point, the competition began to merge into a stream of more or less professionally dexterous applicants. Only by the third round did the picture, as always, begin to clear up.
Lee Subin. Photo - Igor Zakharkin Despite her young age, Subin Lee is a completely accomplished, very outstanding ballet actress. For the author of these lines, she has become the undisputed leader.
A very young American Elizabeth Beyer, cutely resembling a long-legged colt, perfectly, to the smallest detail, learned the ballet tricks of the classics. Mark Chino and Denis Zakharov, future prime ministers. A strong Japanese couple working in Kazan with an understanding of choreography styles - Midori Terada and Koya Okawa. And a number of good dancers from China and Brazil.
The list can be long, but it is better to refer to the names of the laureates. By senior group they were: in duets women - skillfully twirling triple rounds Amanda Gomez Moraes (Brazil) with second place (the first prize was not given to anyone), and Midori Terada (Japan) and Ao Dingwen (China), with her excellent stability, became third.
Kaya Okawa and Midori Terada. Photo - Igor Zakharkin In the men's competition, Koya Okawa (Japan) took the gold medal, the diligent Ernest Latypov from the Mariinsky Theater received the second prize, and Wang Zhangfeng (China) the third. In women, Evelina Godunova from Latvia was appointed the best, in the final of the competition famously, with high jump, who danced Kitri from Don Quixote, the second prize was not awarded.
For men, gold went to Baktiyar Adamzhan (Kazakhstan), who skillfully combines artistry with technique, silver went to Ma Miaoyuan (China), bronze went to Marat Sydykov (Kyrgyzstan), a fan of ballet tricks.
In the junior group in duets: girls Park Sunmi ( South Korea) and Elizaveta Kokoreva shared the first prize, and the skillful Ekaterina Klyavlina (Russia), who is good at Princess Florina from Sleeping Beauty, took the third.
Denis Zakharov won against boys in duets, there is no second award, the third place belongs to the Brazilian Victor Caixet Goncauves. In the solo girls, Elisabeth Beyer is considered the best by the jury, and Subin Li received the second award, as did the Chinese Li Siyi.
Among the young men in the “solo” section, Mark Chino became the first, the second was not so distinguished Igor Pugachev, for whom this place is an advance for the future, and the third was Karlis Cirulis (Latvia), to be honest, who didn’t particularly impress with anything.
It takes a long time to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of the laureates, as well as the legitimacy of the decisions of the jury. According to the author of these lines, junior group was an order of magnitude more interesting than the older one, and there were too many awards. It was not such an outstanding competition. And the hierarchy of the awarded in some cases is quite subject to challenge. But it speaks for itself that not all awards have found owners. And the Grand Prix is not awarded to anyone.
ABOUT important event in the world of culture: the names of the laureates of the International Competition of Ballet Dancers and Choreographers are about to become known. This is one of the most prestigious shows, which has lit up a lot of stars over the years of its existence, so the attention to it is huge. The announcement of the winners takes place on the stage of the Bolshoi Theatre.
No prizes, no places, no rivals seconds before entering the stage do not matter. Only dance! And for any questions before the speech, one answer.
Moscow these days is the center of attraction for young ballet dancers and choreographers from all over the world. The international competition for the title of the best takes place every four years, like the Olympics.
And the preparation is appropriate - thousands of repetitions under the strict guidance of a teacher. And here the language of international communication is Russian.
“You immediately feel where there is a “Russian trace”, where Russians taught, even if it is Brazil, or Argentina, or the USA. I joked about this for a very long time. At a press conference in the USA, I was asked why I think our ballet is the best. I just said: ballet has been taught in Russia longer than the United States exists as a state. I was joking, but it's true," says the jury member, National artist Russian Nikolai Tsiskaridze.
New names opens new scene Big. It was here that all these days there were rehearsals, classes and stages of the competition. But each participant strives for historical scene. This is where the final of the ballet competition will take place. What are these "higher, lighter, more precise" worth, you can see behind the scenes. Someone is not on their feet, and someone is crying after a seemingly perfect performance.
“I rehearsed this number for 12 hours every day for six months, so I prepared for the competition. Dancing with injuries. And not everything worked out. But the fact that I still perform on the stage of the Bolshoi, in the final, is a dream come true, to which I went through pain, and I am happy regardless of the result, ”admitted contestant Ao Dingfen from China.
The result, in addition to the first three places, the Grand Prix, almost the holy grail of the competition - for half a century of history it was awarded only four times. And this year the prize also gives an unprecedented ballet world award - 100 thousand dollars best choreographer and so much for a ballet dancer. But this will happen only if the jury, led by the head of the review, Yuri Grigorovich, votes unanimously.
“Everything should be perfect here, from pointe shoes to ribbons, to ribbons. The way she smiles is the same with the dancers, the way they carry themselves on stage. Yes, they fell, yes, they slipped, yes, they didn’t finish something, but when an artist is on stage, these small errors disappear, ”says the jury member, People's Artist Russian Svetlana Zakharova.
Behind three rounds of competition. The names of the winners will be announced very soon. However, regardless of the opinion of the judges, many dancers admit that they have already received their award.
“This applause that hugs you is magical! For this we must live, for this we must dance, work, cry, gnaw at the concrete of the ballet, just to go out and enjoy these unique moments,” said Latvian contestant Evelina Godunova.
