DANCE OPEN - 2017:
the path to yourself

As you know, the path to the assembly point of the world lies across the road to yourself. “Know yourself,” says ancient wisdom, “and centuries of cultural experience echo it in different languages. And the present speaks to all at once. In the space of culture, an experiment is deeper and brighter, in which dance, music, literature, theater, cinema, painting, photography, bodily and spiritual practices meet, intersect and intertwine into a single layered text. And though these languages are untranslatable one on another, but they complement each other and in this they acquire new meanings, new strength and new sound. In search of harmony, freedom, creativity, we juggle with worlds: we turn to a fairy tale - it gently exposes the essence of things; we embark on esotericism, rethink history, invent the formula of love. We are all the same, but different: not afraid to look into the abyss, we are increasingly fiercely looking for a way out of the existential labyrinth and, creating the cultural layer of our time, we do not stop believing in the power and wisdom of art.

Performances of the 16th season of Russia’s largest Open Dance ballet festival will take place on the Main Stage of the Alexandrinsky Theater from April 13-24. In terms of the number and status of the premieres, the representation of ballet groups and the stylistic diversity of the program, the audience will see the largest and one of the most exciting seasons in the history of the Dance Open.

The opening of the season will take place on April 13 with a beloved fairy tale. It is important to note that for the first time in the history of Dance Open, a children’s performance is included in the festival program. But, believe me, it must be watched for sure, and it is the whole family. The artistic director of the Yekaterinburg ballet, Vyacheslav Samodurov, created his “Snow Queen” in collaboration with Russian composer Artem Vasiliev. The piercing meaning of eternal history at a level beyond the word reveals musical images that are exciting and charming, and a rich drawing of the dance.

Samodurov’s choreography is difficult to relate to a specific direction: brilliantly quoting dance styles from Petipa to Riverdance, Vyacheslav presents to the audience and critics a “world ballet digest”, while managing to remain himself and never stoop to copies. Add to this an amazing set design and inventive direction, and you will understand why during the recent world premiere of the performance for more than two hours, both children and adults were fascinated by the stage. No one wanted to miss something important. In an interview, Vyacheslav Samodurov said that his “Snow Queen” is, rather, a story about how you can spiritually part with loved ones without physically leaving them. And about what efforts it is worth restoring the warmth and love of relatives, and what path sometimes needs to be done in order to return and return.

We are sure that today it is necessary to speak about it especially loudly. And, of course, about beauty too. Aesthetic layering, imagery and the character of the production, which can be redefined endlessly, were noted not only by critics, but also by spectators of different ages.

It is very possible that this performance, like a sparkling toy from a magic chest, will add exactly to your child unforgettable colorful and happy childhood experiences. And to you - it will warm your soul, recalling the times when the kindergarten was a little larger than a flower pot, but pink bushes bloomed in it even in winter.

On April 15, reflections on finding a way to oneself will be continued by almost the most esoteric experiment in the modern history of dance art. For many years, the Israeli dance company Batsheva, led by its permanent leader Ohad Naarin, has remained not just the headliner of contemporary dance, but the ideologist and developer of one of the most powerful philosophical bodily practices - the improvisational technique Gaga. True, Ohad Naarin himself believes that this is not about technology, but about the latest language of corporeality: having mastered it, a person frees himself from the artificial shackles of gravity and decency, achieving the eternally sought balance of matter and spirit, which begin to work in co-creation. The body acquires wisdom, and the mind acquires animal intuition at the level of all sensory organs accessible to nature. Hence, fluidity and frenzied accuracy, agonizing angularity and, at the same time, ritualistic construction of dance movements.

On the main stage of the Alexandrinsky Theater, Dance Open will present the famous play “Naarina Virus”. Strictly speaking, it cannot be called ballet in the traditional sense. Its basis and point of inspiration is the text of Peter Handke, one of the key writers of the second half of the twentieth century, the “great troublemaker” of the European “new wave”. The play “Insulting the Public” was written back in the 1960s and became almost a programmatic work of neo-avant-garde: the lack of plot, action and even characters allows us to clear “any given moment of time at a given point in space” from any semantic impurities dictated by words.

The soundwriting of the words of a philosophical text, which was written calligraphically not so much by the body of each particular dancer as by the whole organism of the ensemble, allows you to literally penetrate the very DNA of the dance movement. Naarin is not so much “staging a performance” as it frees the dancers and the spectator, plunging them into the depths of plastic creativity.

The world premiere of Virus took place on March 14, 2001 at the Susanne Delal Center in Tel Aviv. But even a decade and a half after, he looks stunningly innovative and “different.” Because from time to time the process of staging the performance continues. With dancers and spectators in the title role. From time to time - in search of a way from myself to myself.

On April 17, Dance Open spectators will see the Cinderella of the Perm Ballet. The artistic director of the troupe, Alexei Miroshnichenko, and his creative laboratory will present, perhaps, the most original interpretation of the world-famous tale: its plot was transferred to Moscow at the end of the 50s of the XX century, and the action takes place in the space of the “Main Theater of the Country”.

Just as old Aigle once presented the dream to little Assol, so the stage wizard, Uncle Yasha, made magically comfortable pointe shoes for the young talented ballerina. And from this her story began: without her stepmother and evil sisters, without spectacular metamorphoses of a carriage and pumpkin, and even without intrigue with the disappearance of a crystal shoe in the interiors of the palace.

1957 year. “The main theater of the country” puts on “Cinderella” - and a whole tangle of intrigues, passions, interests is rapidly spinning around the production. Aging prims are friends against a young star, a young choreographer wins a creative fight of a mossy master, a powerful minister decides the fate of art, an overseas prince appears at the Festival of Youth and Students, intelligence agents zealously monitor the purity of morals and political orientation of citizens, foreign tours completely transform the wardrobe of artists…

What did the Perm ballet create? Not a fairy tale or a parable, but rather a novel about the theater, his art and the history of his country - which we have one for all. The novel is about how to live a life without changing your dream, and, of course, about real and fictional love, about fabulous and real happiness, about the fate of the unusual and the most ordinary, human.

The world premiere of the Perm Cinderella took place in December last year. The premiere in St. Petersburg promises to be a true decoration of the festival program. This play has it all. Full-scale classical ballet with luxurious music, an abundance of costumes and scenery, “big” choreography and original direction in the spirit of Ryazanov’s “Carnival Night” or even “Spring” by Grigory Alexandrov. There are choreographic signs of “ballet realism” of the 30s and “ballet symphony” of the 50s, a dynamic change of paintings and episodes, hundreds of costumes that create a delightfully nostalgic, sometimes nagging aura. There is sparkling humor and dramatic language rich in allusions…

And yet - an intelligent, subtle and humanly powerful ending: not thanks, but contrary. Other than in a fairy tale, predetermined by the maliciousness of dark forces, but from this only more piercing and bright. And, of course, the genuine aesthetic pleasure from the work of the Perm troupe - especially warmly received in St. Petersburg, is undoubtedly one of the best today in Russia and in the world.

On April 19, the Polish National Ballet will present the play “The Tempest” based on the play of the same name by William Shakespeare, which many researchers consider it to be a poetic testament - unpredictable, multi-layered and open to endless interpretations. The upcoming Russian premiere in many ways claims to be the culmination of the season.

Judge for yourself. Fairy-tale-philosophical plot of the parable of the genius of the Renaissance. Directing worthy of dramatic material: a stupefying mix of emotions and meanings, a whirlwind that carries the fresh forces of spiritual renewal. The neoclassical choreography of Krzysztof Pastor is the quintessence of modern rethinking of classical canons. A strong academic troupe, rapidly rising to the top lines of ballet ratings. Exquisite scenography combining expected theatricality and a real breakthrough in the application of modern technology. Video scenography of the Iranian artist Shirin Neshat, named in 2010 as the “Artist of the Decade”, created in collaboration with Shoj Azari. Costumes of "extremely theatrical" Tatyana van Walsum. A musical series drunk with the rhythm of Iranian folk melodies and passing through a single mental space of European culture - from Shakespearean contemporary Tallis to young and impudent Michel van der Aa.

Here is a real fusion of talents, and, despite the multidimensional nature of forces, everything is harmony here, everything is unity, everything is balance and balance.

Krzysztof Pastor himself believes that this play does not have a definitive ending or morality. Perhaps Shakespeare intentionally left so much room for interpretation. And then it becomes clear why the Boer does not need a passive observer: each time it requires intellectual participation from the viewer, and this is the secret of its modernity.

For two consecutive evenings, April 21 and 22, Dance Open and the creative partner of the project, the Buche St. Petersburg company, present an exceptional event that the festival team has been preparing for several years: a tour of one of the world’s leading contemporary ballet companies - the Netherlands Dance Theater / NDT 1.

The troupe, led by Master Paul Lightfoot, includes 28 phenomenal dancers from around the world aged 24 to 41 years old, each of whom is a genuine talent. The troupe’s repertoire includes over 600 productions of such outstanding choreographers as Jiri Kilian, Hans van Manen, Crystal Payte, Marco Göke, Alexander Ekman and others. NDT1 is actively touring the world: annually the troupe’s performances are held in different countries of Europe, the USA, Asia and Australia.

In the current theater season, the NDT1 star route leads to St. Petersburg. Viewers of the Dance Open will see three famous one-act performances: “Reaching for the Stars” (“Shoot The Moon”) and “Silent Screen” (“Silent Screen”) by Paul Lightfoot and Sol Leon to the music of Philip Glass, as well as the mini-ballet “Thin Skin” "(" Thin Skin ") Marco Göke to music by Patti Smith and Kate Jarrett.

In Shoot The Moon, mixing the lyrical beauty of movements with a convulsive buffoonery of inner insanity, deliberately skipping the metaphor of panic and passion through a tape of repeating frames of black and white cinema, Lightfoot and Leon created an endless series of reflections of one story. Love stories, the plot of which, it would seem, is overwritten and simple, but… Walls covered with black and white wallpaper continue to move, and no matter how you decide to leave this existential labyrinth - through a window or through a door, a universal answer, like “Reach stars "does not exist in nature. After all, everyone has his own path from himself to himself.

Continuing to merge the dance with other forms of art - with theater, cinema, music, innovative visual art experience - in “Silent Space” the creative tandem Lightfoot and Leon set off a brilliant psychological experiment. Literally, they create a story that the viewer tells himself. The background is woven from large screens on which, as if in a dream, bizarre images arise, reincarnate and replace each other. 45 incredible minutes Silent Screen immerses the audience in complete tranquility, then in a form of panic to the sounds of the famous cinematic melodies of the mystical Philip Glass.

Thin Skin is a dedication to the icon of punk rock and the poet Patti Smith. Rhythmically complex musical compositions, sometimes performed in one breath, are visually and acoustically consonant with the frantic body language created by Goeke. “Consciousness is a picture. And in this hint of a spiral there is a corner. Maybe it’s a virus, maybe it’s a tattoo of the spirit, ”writes Smith, and Goeke dancers, covered from head to toe with tattoos, create an ever-changing ephemeral world under these words. The dance is elusive, but it penetrates through the skin, through the thin skin… And it becomes a part of you on the path where no one will give an answer: do you live your life? Nobody. Except yourself.

In addition to five evenings, five performances, five meetings and conversations with great choreographers and the strongest groups of our time, the audience of the festival is waiting for the Gala of the Stars of the Open Dance. A traditionally closing season excursion to the heights of the world choreographic experience will bring together only the brightest stars of the ballet world. The program of the concert, which will be held on April 24, announced the soloists of leading ballet companies and their most striking performances.

Off-program Dance Open will give a chance to meet with choreographers-producers of program performances of the XVI season and even get to a master class with some of them. During the festival, an auction of ballet photography will be held at one of the fashionable art venues in St. Petersburg, lectures and open professional discussions will be held with the participation of authoritative choreographers and leading ballet critics.

This year the international educational program for students of ballet schools of the world will be held from April 20 to 24 in the classrooms of the St. Petersburg State Academic Ballet Theater named after Leonid Jacobson. Among the teachers of the workshops are leading world-famous ballet soloists, tutors of the Mariinsky Theater, A. Ya. Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet. On April 23, the reporting Gala concert of young stars will take place on the stage of the Hermitage Theater.