This year the World Ballet Stars Forum has changed its format. The opening will take place in Kyiv, not in Donetsk (the festival’s homeland), afterwards the residents of the Donbas’s capital, Kharkiv, and Kramatorsk will applaud to the mastery of the choreography stars. The Day learnt first hand about the surprises that the organizers have prepared for the audience – from the artistic director of the Donetsk-based Solovianenko Theater of Opera and Ballet, the festival’s general director Vadym PYSARIEV:
“This year the festival will mark its full age. You should agree that for a cultural project 18 years is a mature age. Our brand ‘World Ballet Stars’ is known all over the world, and the Ukrainian audience is anticipating the festival. Ballet is a high art, time has no power over it, and the beauty of classical dance will always enjoy keen interest of the audience. I am glad that the best dancers of the world will come to Ukraine. Our festival’s mission is to strengthen the image of our country as a state with high cultural traditions. This year we have changed a bit the festival’s format: it will be launched in Kyiv, not in Donetsk, the festival’s alma mater. Then the residents of Donetsk will see the mastery of the best dances of the present time, and on October 2 we will present Swan Lake from our theater’s repertoire, where the leading parts will be performed by the soloists of the National Opera of Ukraine, in Kharkiv. Incidentally, on October 6 Kramatorsk’s audience will see an evening of modern choreography.
“We will launch the festival week on September 30 on the stage of the National Opera of Ukraine, where a gala concert will take place. Volodymyr Malakhov, Lucia Lacarra, Marlon Dino (Germany), Ilse Liepa (Russia), Susana Simakova and Alexandre Katsapov (the Czech Republic), Ronaldo Sarabia (the US), etc. have confirmed that they would take part in the project and prepared original numbers specially for our feast, as well as the artistes of the Kyiv Modern Ballet. And on October 1 all the participants of the grand concert will come to Donetsk.”
The stars of the forum include the first soloist of the Berlin State Ballet, a famous Ukrainian, who was born in Kryvyi Rih, Volodymyr Malakhov who rarely performs in his homeland.
“Volodymyr Malakhov is presently one of the best dancers of the world; he is heading the Berlin State Theater. His life consists of tours. Malakhov has been the leading dancer of the Vienna Theater, National Ballet of Canada, and Metropolitan Opera in New York. Incidentally, the Worldwide Council of Dance has acknowledged him the Best Dancer of the Century [Volodymyr started to achieve ballet successes as a four-year boy in the Prolisok Ensemble at the Palace of Culture of Metallurgists in Kryvyi Rih. The teachers advised the parents to send the talented boy to study to a choreography school, and at the age of 10 Volodia entered the Moscow School of Choreography. – Author]. Currently he is one of the leading dancers of the world. He has performed the parts of all princes in the world’s ballet repertoire, he gives amazing performances in modern productions, he has conquered America, Asia, and Europe with his mastery. Critics compare him with masters of ballet, Nuriev and Baryshnikov, for his artistry, sophistication, and eagerness to experiment. But Malakhov admits that his idol is the legendary operatic diva Maria Callas. He said: ‘I want to dance like Maria Callas sang, with my soul and heart.’ Incidentally, in Donetsk Volodymyr will perform for the first time.”
The famous Georgian ballet dancer Nina Ananiashvili performed at the first festival of the World Stars of Ballet. Her “Dying Swan” performance was simply astonishing. Will Nina perform this ballet masterpiece at the 18th festival?
“I am grateful to Nina Ananiashvili for coming to our first festival to Donetsk and supporting us, though she was already a world renowned dancer at the time. Whoever saw Ananiashvili on stage will never forget the delight from magic of the dance she possesses. For example, while performing the famous masterpiece ‘The Dying Swan’ to Saint-Saens’s music in Fokin’s production (in Diagilev’s time Anna Pavlova performed this genius choreographic miniature for the first time), Ananiashvili delighted with the unique emotion, the extreme trembling of her arms, from shoulder to hand, which shot up and fell and unprecedented sorrow of her large eyes.
“Nina has performed in an amazing way practically all the world’s classical repertoire: Swan Lake, Giselle, Chopiniana, Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Raymonda, Le Spectre de la Rose, Romeo and Juliette, it is hard to count all of them. She has studied different editions of famous ballets staged in different countries. Nina is a creative personality, eager to experiment, performing in avant-garde ballets. Georgia, Russia, and the US have considered her their prima. I am happy that Ananiashvili will gladden the Ukrainian audience with her participation in this year’s festival, as she finishes the career of a dancer. She will perform with our actors at Swan Lake, performing two leading parts, Odette and Odile, and the audience will make sure that she is in an amazingly creative shape, though she has decided to hang her pointes on a nail.”
It has already become a tradition at your forum when masters of dance take part in the performances of the current repertoire of the Donetsk Theater of Opera and Ballet. What ballet ensembles have you invited?
“I am sure that the audience won’t be left untouched by the actors of Yekaterinburg Theater of Opera and Ballet (this is one of the oldest and well-known Russian ballets, which marks its centennial this year). They will show a unique concert including the hits of the world’s ballet classic. On October 5 we will invite the audience to Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. This is a performance from our theater’s repertoire, and on October 7 classic will be replaced by the modern ballet. The renowned choreographer Radu Poklitaru and his Kyiv Modern Ballet will show a one-act performance based on William Gibson’s play Two for the Seesaw, and his latest premiere In Pivo Veritas. Although this is a young ensemble, it has already won success among the audiences of various countries, and their performance at the festival can be called a pleasant surprise for the audience. You know, when we were arranging the program, we tried to make it versatile. Currently modern choreography is gaining as much popularity as classical ballet. The admirers of modern will not miss the theater soiree on October 8, which will be dedicated to modern productions. The D.O.Z.SK.I. Theater of Modern Choreography from Belarus will show a one-act ballet, and in the second part of the concert the audience will see an divertissement performed by young, but famous dancers: Andrii Pysariev, Krystyna Andreieva, Nurlan Konokbayev, Serhii Kon, Aidos Zakan etc.”
The last festival day (October 9) will be especially rich. At noon the audience will see the performance Don Quixote to Minkus’s music, where the leading parts will be performed by the winners of international competitions, soloists of the National Opera of Ukraine Kateryna Khaniukova and Andrii Pysariev. And in the evening, as the tradition goes, a closing gala concert will take place, featuring the famous artistes of ballet: Nikolay Tsiskaridze, Nina Ananiashvili, Isabelle Ciaravola, Mathieu Ganio, Alina Cojocaru, Jurgita Dronina, etc.
The Day’s FACT FILE
The International Festival “World Ballet Stars” was founded by the People’s Artist of Ukraine Vadym Pysariev in 1994. The festival was organized by his charity foundation “Creative Olympus.” The festival’s stage has featured brilliant performances of 400 outstanding masters of ballet from 35 countries. A total of
70 ballet productions have been presented within the framework of the forum. The audiences have seen the peculiarities of the world’s different choreography schools. The festival traditionally takes place annually in early October in Donetsk and Donetsk oblast. Several times the festival has broadened its geography. The world ballet stars have been presented in Kyiv, Lviv, and Odesa. This year the 18th International Festival “World Ballet Stars” will be held in Kyiv, Donetsk, and Kramatorsk.
