March 13, 2017
The spring ballet season will soon open in Moscow. On the eve of this event, the Morning correspondent spoke with the leading ballet dancer of the State Academic Theater classical ballet Nikolai Chevychelov about dance, leisure, incarnations and what distinguishes the Russian ballet school from the rest.
"Swan Lake". Photo: Alexey Pankov
"Morning": Nikolay, tell us what program the State Academic Theater of Classical Ballet of Natalia Kasatkina and Vladimir Vasiliev will offer to Muscovites and guests of the capital at the State Kremlin Palace at the opening of the spring season from March 15 to 19?
Nikolay Chevychelov: this year we are performing “Swan Lake”, the performance will take place on the 15th at the Palace of Congresses, then on the 16th - “Spartak”, on the 17th the audience will see “Sleeping Beauty” and on the 19th - “Cinderella”.
"U": Is it exciting for you to perform in the Kremlin?
LF.: You know, still no. No more exciting than on any other stage.
"U": Do you have a concept of “favorite scene” and what does it depend on?
LF.: Yes, I have. And this, of course, is the New Opera, where we have been dancing and giving performances for many years. This theater is prayerful, it is imbued with the spirit of ballet. And I would say that the concept of “favorite” does not depend on the convenience or equipment of the stage, only on the theater itself. For example, the Kremlin Palace is a good scene, yes, but, it seems to me, it is not entirely theatrical. Or rather, everything is fine there for gala concerts and shows, but a little unsuitable for ballet. And if we look at the “New Opera”, then the spirit of the theater is present in it, just as it is in the St. Petersburg theaters: Alexandrinsky, Mikhailovsky, on the old stage of the Mariinsky Theater, in the Bolshoi Drama Theater - we danced everywhere, and the spirit of the theater is present everywhere, one can feel it .
"U": Nikolay, many performances have been performed with your participation. Is there any job that you can describe as the best for yourself?
LF.: I probably won’t be able to name a specific ballet - they are all my favorites, and even if the part is not the leading one, but a secondary one, in the theater it is called the “luminary part”. They are all good, especially since they are all different, because from performance to performance we add, change or remove something without compromising the dance part. Work on the performance never stops, it resumes again and again.
It will probably be much easier to single out the most difficult part, and this is our classical heritage, the ballet “Giselle”, the part of Albert. She is difficult both physically and emotionally, there is “something to do.” In addition, it is necessary to convey to the viewer the emotions and experiences that the hero experiences. Also, in my opinion, the complex roles of Romeo and Mercutio in “Romeo and Juliet” and in “The Creation of the World” staged by Natalya Dmitrievna Kasatkina and Vladimir Yudich Vasiliev. In “The Creation of the World,” in the first act you need to show yourself as a child, in the second act you suddenly transform into a man.
"U": Emotions, roles, constant work... Tell me, is it possible to relax with such a schedule?
LF.: It depends on what you mean by “rest”. If you lie on the couch all day, it probably works out sometimes. And if we talk in a broader sense about how I spend my leisure time, then I’m not a big fan of sports pastimes (laughs), after all, I like quiet walks, because my work is intense, my schedule, so to speak, is abnormal, I have to worry a lot - not only about my performances, but also about my students, how everything will turn out for them. And if I have time, I go to the park or to the temple, sit on a bench on the embankment with a book.
"U": Is there an opportunity to sit on a bench, fans find out?
LF.: I try to go very far away (laughs). Although, of course, it happens, especially where there are a lot of people. In a shopping center, for example, girls often come up and say, “We like you so much!” - and ask to take a photo together, take an autograph. I don’t refuse, it’s nice and great that ballet is popular among young people.
"U": Nikolay, you are an Honored Artist of Russia. What does this title mean to you?
LF.: For me, this is a kind of sign from the government, which noted the merits of the theater in art and my work in particular. As for me, I can’t say that I wake up in the morning and immediately think: “I have the title of Honored Artist,” it is what it is, as they say now, the crown has not grown. Even despite all the titles, regalia, etc., a person must remain human and continue to move forward. In our profession, people study all their lives and move forward step by step.
"Spartacus". Photo: Alexey Pankov
"U": It’s too early to talk about it, but are there any plans for finishing your dancing career?
LF.: For now, teaching is the priority. I would like to continue, especially if young artists want to, and I see burning eyes, interest, a desire to become better, for me this is very pleasant and valuable.
"U": Do you have students?
LF.: Now I can say yes, I have young artists with whom I work, and I try to pass on to them the knowledge that I myself received when I worked - and continue to work! - with the teacher. I try to educate the kids and pass on the old school that I was once taught.
"U": See teaching as a way to embody yourself in your students?
LF.: No, no, I want to pass on to my students the experience that I have. Moreover, I believe that I do not have the right to judge the level of my skill myself - for this there are spectators, teachers and critics. But to make students better than they are, to bring out what is inside, is very difficult. A person comes after college, he has skills, but in addition to skills, he also needs to develop stage stamina, learn how to communicate with partners, be it a leading soloist, a leading actor or a corps de ballet. It is necessary to develop acting talent so that they can convey to the viewer those emotions, those experiences that are embedded in the performance, which are inherent specifically in Russian, Russian ballet. You see, in the West, artists have moved forward in terms of technique, but they are cold and uninteresting from the point of view of acting. And at the moment, among Western ballet dancers, I cannot single out a single one specifically for artistry and conveyance of emotions. I am sure that our task is to preserve Russian ballet as the embodiment of one or another image on stage. Ballet with a truly Russian soul.
The most difficult parts of Russian classical ballet - Odette and Odile in Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake - are being prepared at the Musa Jalil Theater with eighteen-year-old Ekaterina Odarenko. In these roles, on October 30 she will make her debut on the Kazan stage.
Katya’s story is similar to the story of the first soloist of our troupe, Oleg Ivenko: they are both from Ukraine, at different times they studied at the Kharkov Choreographic School and continued their studies at the Belarusian Choreographic College in Minsk. It was Oleg who advised Katya to continue her career at the Jalil Theater. She started out in the Moscow City Ballet troupe, also known as the Victor Smirnov-Golovanov Classical Ballet Theatre.
“I always wanted to work in Russia,” says Katya. - When I graduated from the Belarusian Choreographic College, I was 17 years old. According to the law, I, a citizen of Ukraine, a minor, did not have the right to get a job at the state theater in Russia at that age. Therefore, I accepted an invitation from the private troupe of Smirnov-Golovanov.
- Were you immediately invited to the position of prima ballerina at the Moscow City Ballet?
Yes. They needed a ballerina to play the roles of Odette and Odile in Swan Lake. As far as I know, I was noticed at international competitions, for which my favorite teachers, my ballet mother and father, Yulia Dyadko and Konstantin Kuznetsov, prepared me.
- Have you already had many competitions?
If we talk about prestigious ones, then there are only two: international ones in Varna and in Moscow. I performed in junior age group, I became a diploma winner at both competitions, and in Varna I was also awarded the “Young Promising Ballerina” prize from the Japanese company “Silvia Ko”. By the way, the casting for the ballet troupe of the Jalil Theater was a kind of competition. The teachers and theater management watched me do my lesson, and then asked me to dance the “black” pas de deux from “The Swan...”. They gave me a partner...
- Was it easy for you to study?
At first it was very difficult. Some experts even said that ballet is not my thing. I didn’t have enough data: the turnout of the legs, for example, was not ideal. And then it so happened that the same specialists began to say that there was clearly something in me, that I would be good.
- And you yourself probably always knew this about yourself?
I always wanted to be a ballerina. My dad told me since childhood: “If you, Katya, take on something, try to become the best at it!” And I try... Sometimes I think: anything happens in life, if I have to leave ballet, then what will I do? And nothing comes to mind. I only see myself in ballet. Well, maybe the profession of dramatic actress is closest to me...
- Why did you want to work in Russia?
Where else if I love Russian classical ballet?..
- Where did you dance your first “Swan Lake”?
In Abu Dhabi, in the Auditorium concert hall of the Emirates Palace hotel. My first Prince Siegfried was Talgat Kozhabayev... Then she danced Odette and Odile, mainly in England. How many “Swans...” have I already had? I do not think. But it’s definitely already over twenty.
- Do you prefer the black swan, Odile, or the white one, Odette?
Black. He is emotionally brighter. It’s easier for me to express Odile’s strength and cunning on stage...
- What, in your opinion, is the main difficulty of this ballet for a ballerina?
The fact is that not only the legs should demonstrate filigree technique. But also hands. Odette and Odile should have different plastic hands.
- Who will be your partner in the Kazan performance?
The exact details are still unknown. Now I am rehearsing with Ilnur Gaifullin. Perhaps the option of my duet with Nurlan Kanetov will be considered... Rehearsals are led by teacher Valentina Prokopova, I really like working with her.
- Are your first impressions of the Kazan ballet troupe different from today’s?
No. I still like everything here: the theater, the working conditions, the work itself and the people who surround me. The troupe is very strong, especially the male cast. On the first day, I couldn’t even understand who was from the corps de ballet and who were the soloists.
Maya Plisetskaya. The best ballet parts. VIDEO
She died on May 2 at the age of 90. famous ballerina Maya Plisetskaya. The cause of death was a heart attack.
Below is a video of the famous ballet parts of the great ballerina.
Maya Plisetskaya. Dying Swan
Maya Plisetskaya. Carmen
Maya Plisetskaya. Kitri
Maya Plisetskaya. Isadora
Maya Mikhailovna Plisetskaya(November 20, 1925, Moscow, USSR - May 2, 2015, Munich, Germany) - ballet dancer, representative of the Messerer - Plisetsky theatrical dynasty, prima ballerina Bolshoi Theater THE USSR.
People's Artist of the USSR (1959), laureate of the Anna Pavlova Prize of the Paris Academy of Dance (1962), laureate of the Lenin Prize (1964), Hero of Socialist Labor (1985), full holder of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, laureate of many other awards and prizes, honorary Doctor of the Sorbonne University, Honorary Professor of Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov, Honorary Citizen of Spain.
She also acted in films, worked as a choreographer and as a teacher-tutor; author of memoirs. She was the wife of composer Rodion Shchedrin.
Born in Moscow in the family of the famous Soviet business leader Mikhail Emmanuilovich Plisetsky and silent film actress Rakhila Mikhailovna Messerer.
Uncle is a ballet dancer, choreographer, National artist USSR (1976) Asaf Mikhailovich Messerer (1903-1992). Brothers - choreographers Alexander and Azary Plisetsky. Cousin - theater artist Boris Messerer.
From 1932 to 1936 she lived in Spitsbergen, where her father first worked as the first head of Arktikugol, and later as the Consul General of the USSR.
On the night of April 30 to May 1, 1938, Mikhail Plisetsky was arrested, convicted and executed in the same year (rehabilitated during the Khrushchev Thaw). Plisetskaya’s mother was deported to Kazakhstan to the Akmola camp for the wives of traitors to the Motherland. She returned to Moscow in the spring of 1941. So that the girl would not be sent to Orphanage, little Maya was adopted by her maternal aunt, ballerina, soloist of the Bolshoi Theater, Shulamith Messerer.
From September 1941 to September 1942 she was evacuated with her family in Sverdlovsk. There was no opportunity for regular ballet classes in the city, but the first performance of the number “The Dying Swan” took place here.
In 1943, after graduating from the Moscow Choreographic School (teachers E. P. Gerdt and M. M. Leontyeva), Maya Plisetskaya was accepted into the Bolshoi Theater troupe. Soon she switched to solo roles and established herself as a prima ballerina.
In 1958 she married composer Rodion Shchedrin.
After the collapse of the USSR, she lived mainly in Munich (Germany), from time to time she and her husband came to Moscow or St. Petersburg, and also traveled to Lithuania, where she had a dacha not far from Trakai Castle (Maya Plisetskaya had Lithuanian citizenship - she and Rodion Shchedrin were the first Russians to receive Lithuanian passports).
According to the will, the ballerina's ashes will be scattered over Russia.
“This is the last wish. Burn our bodies after death, and when the sad hour of death comes for the one of us who lived longer, or in the event of our simultaneous death, combine both of our ashes together and scatter them over Russia.”, - said her husband Rodion Shchedrin.
