Eifman Ballet Closes DON QUIXOTE at Teatr Wielki, 9/10

EIFMAN BALLET OF ST. PETERSBURG presents DON QUIXOTE, OR THE FANTASIES OF A MADMAN
Minkus / Eifman
Guest performances
2nd Days of Dance at the Teatr Wielki

Music: Ludwig Minkus
Premiere of the new version: Sankt Petersburg, State Conservatory, 31 August 2009
Guest Performances: 8, 9, 10 September 2010

Production and Choreography: Boris Eifman
Set and Costume Designer: Vyacheslav Okunev

Grom choreorapher:

Dear Friends

I am happy to welcome you on behalf of our Theatre's members and myself. Poland has played an exceptional role in my artistic career and in the history of my Theatre. It was in your country, in 1975, at the Teatr Wielki in ?ód?, that I staged the ballet Gayane to the music of Aram Khachaturian. That production was my first choreographic experience outside the Soviet Union. Thus I can say it was Poland that allowed me to step onto a completely new, international plane of creativity. The importance of this is hard to overestimate. After all, if restricted by state and geographical frameworks, ballet art is unable to evolve, seek new forms, and respond appropriately to the challenges posed by contemporary times. The language of ballet is universal, that's why I am absolutely convinced that the space for choreographic creativity can be and should be the whole world.
In the course of its 30-year history, our Theatre has visited your wonderful country many times with guest performances, and we have always been very warmly received in Poland. Once again, this has proved to me that ballet art can be an important force uniting nations, giving the inhabitants of different countries the opportunity to touch The Loftiest spiritual values and helping them overcome various conflicts, of which the contemporary world has many.
I hope the show Don Quixote or Fantasies of a Madman brings you a lot of joy and positive energy - emotions in the name of which we do our best to serve our unique dance art.

Boris Eifman

Cast:
Don Quixote: Oleg Gabyszew, Oleg Markow, Siergiej Wo?obujew
Doctor: Lina Czo, Natalia Poworozniuk, Anastasia Sitnikowa
Dulcinea: Lina Czo, Natalia Poworozniuk, Anastasia Sitnikowa
Kitri: Z?ata Jalinicz, Nina Zmijewiec
Basilio: Niko?aj Radiusz, Aleksiej Turko, Iwan Zajcew
Gamache: Dmitrij Fiszer, Ilia Osipow
Sancho Panza: Aleksandr Mielkajew, Siergiej Zimin
Lorenzo, Kitri's father: Aleksandr Iwanow, Igor Poljakow

and Ballet Company:

Polina Gorbunowa, Alina Gornaja, Sofja Jelistratowa, Alina Klujewa, Julia Kabzar, Aleksandra Kuzmicz, Aj?an Mukatowa, Natalia Pozdniakowa, Natalia Smirnowa, Agata Smorodina, Olga Telupa, Walentyna Wasiliewa, Diana Zalewskaja, Jewgienija Zodbajewa, Jekatierina ?yga?owa

Siergiej Barabanow, Siergiej Biserow, Wasil Dautow, Maksim Gierasimow, Pawe? Gorbaczew, Anatolij Grudzinskij, Michai? Iwankow, Andriej Iwanow, Aleksandr Iwlew, Kiri?? Jefrriemow, Jurij Keka?o, Stanis?aw Kultin, Anton ?abunskas, Dmitrij ?uniew, Artur Pietrow, Roman So?owjew, Herman Sznajder

Many leading ballet companies and dance theatres have performed at the Teatr Wielki. In 2009, with the inception of the Polish National Ballet, we decided to make these visits a cyclic event and organize the annual Days of Dance. These are held in September before the official opening of the season at the Polish National Opera. The second festival of dance at the Teatr Wielki will feature two ballet companies, four dance theatres, and young ballet artists - a total of more than 20 choreographies, from large-scale shows to small dance miniatures.

This year's review focuses on a few themes we feel are important. We remember the 100th anniversary of the death of the father of classical ballet, Marius Petipa, by inviting you to see his famous Don Quixote in a new choreographic arrangement by Boris Eifman. We also remember the Chopin Year, showing how it was celebrated by Polish ballet companies, dance theatres, and Warsaw ballet school students. We touch on the difficult problem of ageing in dance (The Ruins of the Body, By? sobie dziad i baba), an art in which youthful energy and physical fitness are age-old and inalienable elements. We juxtapose the latest Polish dance Theatre Projects with our Belarusian neighbours' exploration of this genre. Finally, with the Polish National Ballet's two evenings from the previous season (Bach Dances, Alpha and More), we present new directions in the ballet company's activity under Krzysztof Pastor's leadership.

Photo Credit: Hana Kudryashova, Anatoliy Budnyk

 

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