On 27, 28 and 29 of July Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Musical Theatre will present the premiere of three one-act ballets of Russian and foreign choreographers: Reflections by Yuri Possokhov, The Hill by Gentian Doda and The Beauties could not fall asleep by Anastasia Vyadro.
The combination is based on the contrast between the different choreographic languages and the transition from classical pointe technique through the parterre to unusual for the academic theater modern dance in heels.
Reflections is the neoclassical ballet by one of the most famous choreographers of the 21st century Yuri Possochov. It was staged in 2005 for the San Francisco troupe to the romantic music of Felix Mendelssohn. The choreographer presented this ballet one year before he finished his career as a principal and transitioned to choreographer position. The set design and costumes were created by Sandra Woodall. The artist’s black, white and red visual design is accompanied and enhanced by high mirrors in various compositions. The musical director — main conductor of the theater Felix Korobov.
Gentian Doda is an Albanian choreographer who actively collaborates with ballet companies in Europe, the United States, Israel and China, and is also known for projects with Nacho Duato. Gentian staged The Hill for the Greek National Opera Ballet at Stavros Niarchos Foundation in March 2023. The music for the ballet was written by the Albanian composer César Aliaj Gorishti. The idea for the ballet The Hill comes from an image described by the sculptor Alberto Giacometti in his Writings:
“I saw myself in a strange clearing, a vaguely circular space […], whose limits […] were lost in an atmosphere that was dense and light at the same time, and very soft. All around me, […] small hills alternating in indefinable, whitish constructions […]. But those hills, those constructions, were complex, surrounded by resonances, and I felt that they were gestures, sounds of voices, movements, stains, sensations from another era, far from each other, in time […]. Those sensations turned into objects, existed simultaneously in the space around me and amazed me” (Writings – Alberto Giacometti, 1901 – 1966).
In the end of the evening the audience will see the world premiere of the one-act ballet by Anastasia Vyadro The Beauties could not fall asleep. The feminine ballet in heels is a plastic polyphony of the female archetypes trapped inside a woman. The plot revolves around one heroine named Eva. Her subconscious personifies eight female characters existing with Eva in the same space. In her exploration of the emotional and psychological woman’s world, Vyadro’s woman is based on the already existing images from ancient Greek mythology, world literature and cinematography. In the formation of the idea the director relied on «8 women» by François Ozone, «Women on the verge of a nervous breakdown» by Pedro Almodovara, «Persona» by Ingmar Bergman, «Sleeping beauty» by Charles Perro», «2001: Cosmic Odysseys» by Stanley Kubrick and «Interstellar» by Christopher Nolan. Eva is a collective female image containing the fears, mysteries and pain of a woman in a timeless context.
The stage space for 9 ballet dancers embodying female images is designed by theater artist Anastasia Ryazanova. Set design illustrates the idea that a woman and her inner world is a space which it is difficult to understand.
Costumes for the ballet are restrained futuristic and created by the creative director of the fashion Russian brand USHATÁVA Nino Shamatava. Nino chooses white colour for the cosmic world.
