BALLET OR MODERN DANCE?
We talk about modern dance with the director of the Ballet Moscow theater Elena Tupyseva
Maria Shramova
Contemporary dance festival is already in August OPEN LOOK
brings together the best international dancers in St. Petersburg to show the most interesting things happening in the world of modern choreography. The festival brings both productions by foreign choreographers, local Russian troupes from Kazan and Chelyabinsk, and troupes of the most successful Russian institutions specializing in modern dance, one of which will be the Ballet Moscow theater. In our interview, Elena Tupyseva, director of the Ballet Moscow theater, talks about the peculiarities of the existence of modern dance in Russia and the organization of the work of dance companies.
Excoda: Over the 6 years of your leadership of the theater, the performing level has increased significantly. How were you able to bring the theater to the level it is today?
E.T.: A new team has arrived at the theater "Ballet Moscow" in June 2012. There is nothing complicated here. In order to overcome the crisis, any organization needs a clear program and priorities. If a mission is formulated and there are priorities that it follows, then results and successes appear. To do this, it was necessary, on the one hand, to gradually develop the creative potential of the troupe, on the other, to gradually invite interesting choreographers, both Russian and foreign. But, the main thing is a formulated plan and strict adherence to this plan.
We had the task of becoming a theater professional in the field of modern choreography. To achieve this, we took certain steps: we invited various teachers, specialists and choreographers to the troupe to conduct master classes. For example, in April of this year, for three weeks in a row, our artists took part in master classes on eider (and improvisational technique created by Ohad Naharin, choreographer and artistic director of the Israeli company Batsheva Dance Company, editor's note). We received such a unique opportunity thanks to the Festival" Golden Mask" and educational program " Theater Institute".
Excoda: How feasible is cooperation with foreign directors now? Taking into account the political situation, and even if not taking into account, what difficulties arise?
E.T.: Cooperation is possible, there is absolutely no doubt about it. In my opinion, the main difficulty is economic, because the exchange rate has grown very strongly over the past six years, almost doubling, so this requires more careful financial planning. But from a political point of view, this is a mixed story. Yes, maybe not everyone agrees to come to Russia to work, but so far we have not encountered a refusal for political reasons. In general, no one interferes in our artistic policy, and over these six years the choreographers have never refused our proposal due to the fact that “we are from Russia.”
It has become more difficult because it has become more expensive. But to remain a successful Moscow theater, we must create an interesting product. In general, the laws of the ballet and dance genre are as follows: if we want to be successful and noticeable, we need to be integrated into the international dance scene. This is one of the success factors of any dance or ballet theater. I think it is wrong to release only a national product. If you look at the European infrastructure, I do not know of a single European theater that operates solely on the basis of its internal national resources, both performing and production.
Excoda: Your theater is famous for having a modern dance troupe and a ballet troupe. How is ballet transformed into “modern dance” today?
E.T.: Modern dance is one that was formed in the 20th century, starting with Isadora Duncan, and so on. Modern dance came to Russia in the early 90s. As for ballet, it is a separate genre, with its own school, with its own canons, with its own aesthetics, with its own market of choreographers, performers, and so on. These are two different genres that sometimes overlap. In the second half of the twentieth century, ballet is also actively engaged in modern choreography, the search for a new language, but taking into account the other performing capabilities of the artists. After all, a contemporary ballet dancer dances ballet. These are pointe shoes, a different body, and a different choreography. Modern dance also has an established infrastructure with its own education and so on.
Photographer Vasil Yaroshevich
Excoda: Contemporary ballet – what is it?
E.T.: When we think of ballet, we think of classic productions like Swan Lake.
We all need to be more educated, start to understand these two directions and not confuse them. In Europe they are not confused: there are state theaters that perform ballet, for example in Dresden there is a ballet troupe - the Semper Ballet. The repertoire of this theater consists of works by modern choreographers: William Forsyth,David Dawson, Jiri Kylian and so on, and this is ballet. And if you take the work of, for example, the German choreographer Constance Makras, then this is no longer ballet, this is modern dance. Modern ballet is looking for its own language; it is based on a different aesthetics of movement.
Yes, he uses floor work, yes, he has become more horizontal, unlike the classical one, there are no such canons. There are also story ballets, such as those staged by the choreographer of the Zurich Ballet Christian Spuck. But in general, when you ask a choreographer: “What are you choreographing: ballet, modern dance, neoclassical?”, they often answer: “I do ballet or dance of today.” They don’t really like to determine what type of dance they should be classified as.
In our theater "Ballet Moscow" There are two troupes: a ballet troupe and a modern dance troupe. The two troupes exist completely separately from each other, their working day even begins in different halls, but the public that comes to Ballet Moscow watches the performances of both troupes. If you ask (and we conducted such surveys): “What did you watch: a ballet troupe or a modern troupe?”, every second person will answer incorrectly. Therefore, I believe that we need to make interesting performances, and then we can call them performances “contemporary choreography”; anyone who needs to understand in more detail whether it is modern dance or ballet will understand it.
Excoda: Is your theater still a “theater” or a “troupe”? Are you more about “dance” or “theater”?
E.T.: For me these are all synonymous words. We are a theater and the result of our work is performances. They can be either with a plot or based on some literary work, for example, "Cafe Idiot" by Sasha Pepelyaev, "Kreutzer Sonata" Canadian choreographer Robert Bineta, "Waiting for Godot" by Anastasia Kadruleva and Artem Ignatiev, and plotless.
Photographer Vasil Yaroshevich
Excoda: Your theater is famous for the fact that two troupes coexist there: ballet and modern dance. How do you manage to maintain a balance of classics and innovation?
E.T.: It depends on what you mean by “classic”. We are not a museum theater and do not engage in 19th-century ballet; we do not have such a mission or task. The Ballet Moscow theater was founded in 1989 and has no mission to deal with the past. He has the task of dealing with the present and the future. Accordingly, there are historical scenes in Russia: the Bolshoi Theater, the Mariinsky, which are engaged in museum art, but at the same time, they clearly must create a new product. But we are a young theater and must deal exclusively with the present and the future. And as for music, yes, we use classical music, for example, children's ballet "Thumbelina" set to music Tchaikovsky "Seasons", but at the same time, modern samples are integrated into this music. We have a ballet to music John Adams, is a composer of the second half of the 20th century, but nevertheless, this music has already become a classic of the 20th century. Our ballet troupe dancers are all graduates of ballet academies, but in addition to the classical baggage that they have developed in the academies, they are also familiar with modern ballet techniques. We had a performance in our repertoire "The Rite of Spring" in a modern troupe. Stravinsky– this is already a classic. Sometimes modern choreographers take classical music, if it inspires them, then why not?
Excoda:
How difficult is it to regularly perform performances without your own venue? Does the fact that you don’t have your own space affect the productions themselves?
E.T.:
Our performances can be seen at three venues in Moscow - the Center named after. Sun. Meyerhold, the ZIL Cultural Center and the small stage of the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Musical Theatre. As a rule, the performance is performed at the venue where it was released. The absence of your own stage has virtually no effect on the artistic process and the final result.
Excoda:
Are you planning to expand the venues or experiment with locations? As many people do now: use some kind of urban or industrial space.
E.T.:
More like one-time projects. Repertory performances with certain adaptations can be shown in non-theatrical spaces. We work a lot with this, we perform annually as part of the project "Mask in the City". We danced at the Kursky station, in the atrium of the Bolshevik business center, in the Tretyakov Gallery on Krymsky Val. We took part in such projects as “Night in the Metro”, “Night of Museums” and so on. Such projects become a noticeable part of our work.
Photographer Vasil Yaroshevich
Excoda: Are these performances attracting new audiences?
E.T.:- I don’t know how much of a “new” viewer this will be, but if we talk about a viewer who is already similar to our target audience, and who learns about the theater through these projects, then yes, of course. And we, naturally, work a lot in open areas, annually show our best performances on the “Stage on the Water” at VDNKh, and recently took part in the Tolstoy Weekend festival in Yasnaya Polyana. The festival takes place outdoors in the forest on the territory of the Yasnaya Polyana museum. We perform annually in the Hermitage Garden at the bottom of the city in a special program on an open stage, and recently we danced on an open stage in Izmailovsky Park.
Excoda:
Why is the OPEN LOOK festival interesting to you?
E.T.:
In my opinion, OPEN LOOK
currently the largest contemporary dance festival in Russia. Therefore, it is important for us to be on the festival bill, to bring our new works that we made in Moscow. Our theater comes to this festival for the third year in a row and this is very important to us.
Excoda:
That is, your performances are more of a festival format than a repertoire format?
E.T.:
Not really. The point is that touring activities in Russia are organized in such a way that the opportunity to go to another city is to perform at a festival, such is the infrastructure of the Russian dance market, unlike Europe. Because there, in addition to festivals, it is possible to organize tours, when the same performance travels to several cities in a chain. In Russia this is less developed, this is due to finances and other factors, which is why we are a repertory theater, unlike European dance companies, We are just the exception to the rule, we are a repertory dance theater.
Our artists do not dance one or two performances, but dance from four to six, and performances by different choreographers. We exist according to the laws of Russian repertory theater; we show the same performance every month for several seasons. We have performances that we released 5 years ago, which are still in the repertoire. And festivals are a great opportunity to introduce residents of other cities to our performances.
Movement is life, life is movement.
There is a lot of movement in our lives,
and THEATER gives direction to this movement.
Plastic THEATER of Victoria Yanchevskaya
A young, successful dance theater with a repertoire that is completely atypical for metropolitan dance projects: joy, jokes, lively emotions, unusual naturalism in self-expression, posing a simple question: “What is love?” and trying to live without being able to find an answer to it. It is no coincidence that she herself Victoria Yanchevskaya loves the words of the late Pina Bausch: “I’m not interested in how people move, I’m interested in what moves them.”
Plastic THEATER of Victoria Yanchevskaya, or YaTheater,– a truly unique phenomenon for the Russian viewer. The emergence of modern dance in our country as a direction of choreography pulled with it the quilt of modern dance as a philosophy quilted in Europe. For the third decade now, Russian spectators who come to performances of contemporary dance theaters have been carefully covered with this blanket, under the thickness of which it will not take long to suffocate. A philosophy is imposed on us, which neither the audience nor sometimes the choreographer himself understands. We are asked lengthy questions from the stage that we have never thought about, although we consider ourselves no more stupid than the artists on stage. And we leave unsatisfied.
Artists Plastic THEATER Victoria Yanchevskaya speak to the viewer with images familiar to him and about problems familiar to him. They talk about the relationship between a man and a woman, and you believe them like no one else, because the theater soloists are Alexander And Victoria Isakov-Yanchevsky– have behind them not only rich stage and choreographer experience, but also valuable experience in marital relationships (Alexander and Victoria are married and have a wonderful son).
Alexander and Victoria were born and began dancing in different cities, but the desire to dance professionally led both to Moscow. They're done MGUKI, Faculty of Classical and Folk Dance, we met there. They studied with the masters: Victoria with M.P. Murashko at the department of folk dance, and Alexander with E.L. Ryabinkina and A.A. Mikhalchenko at the department of classical ballet.
Contemporary dance, which timidly made its way into creative universities in the early 2000s, but mostly into Moscow’s pop stages, took them with it into the world of unlimited opportunities for mature dancers. Show ballets, music halls, life-size puppets at -30 at Christmas were the first attempts to go beyond the boring academic dance. Later, Alexander was selected for the State Academic Theater "Moscow OPERETTA" for productions: “Romeo and Juliet” and “Monte Cristo”, as well as in a modern troupe "Chamber Ballet "Moscow", where he was a soloist in the performances “Wedding” and “Smotriny”. And Victoria at that time worked in the dance theater "Fortress Ballet" E. Prokopieva, and then in the musical "The Witches of Eastwick".
But it wasn’t enough for her to dance someone else’s choreography; she wanted to talk from the stage not about what the director asked, but to become a director herself. Thus, an amateur dance theater appeared on the basis of one of the Moscow universities « PLASTIQUE». Under the brand of this theater, the first collaboration with Alexander Isakov, “Window” (2009), arose. At first it was a 5-minute performance staged for the Black Cat festival in Ryazan, and then a 40-minute performance with video, live music and a conflict on the topic of relationships. Work on the performance provoked even greater interest in modern dance techniques, in line with which the Isakov-Yanchevsky spouses developed their own technique.
Victoria and Alexander visited contemporary dance festivals together in Yaroslavl, Vitebsk, Ryazan, and St. Petersburg. In addition to participating in other people’s festivals and competitions, they themselves are engaged in organizational activities: every month they hold the contemporary ART festival “Trajectory of Movement” in Moscow, where they give original but little-known authors (choreographers, directors, performers and other experimenters of movement theater) the opportunity to speak out.
Teaching occupies a large place in the lives of Victoria and Alexander: they conducted lessons and master classes at the Theater Mansion in Moscow, at the Dance Hotel in Novosibirsk, and at the exemplary ballet studio Debut in Serpukhov. Yoga occupies a special place in the life, worldview and dance technique of Victoria and Alexander. For several years they worked as instructors in various Moscow yoga studios.
In addition to performances, theater artists conduct master classes in contemporary dance, contact improvisation, and yoga for dancers. Victoria and Alexander also regularly travel to dance groups in different cities of Russia (Tula, Kostomuksha, Serpukhov and others) as guest choreographers.
The Victoria Yanchevskaya Plastic Theater is a complex laboratory consisting of two choreographers, a creative workshop and invited performers (dancers, musicians). To date repertoire theater includes three performances: “Window”, “She... is the first” and "Love Never Fails" and several miniatures.
Show ballet
The dance program of the Show Ballet direction in Zheleznodorozhny is based on such dance disciplines as demi-classical, folk, contemporary, jazz, modern, classical and is designed for children from 5 years old. Much attention is paid to the basic dance registers: light flying jumps and virtuoso spins.
Demiclassics is a dance style that is completely based on the classical ballet school, but has something in common with other dance styles: jazz, modern dance, folk dance. The elements basically remain the same as in classical ballet, but they can be modified and significantly deviate from the classical canons; improvisation is allowed, both in dance elements and in music and costumes.
Contemporary is a modern stage dance that does not have a specific form of style, because the main thing in it is self-expression.
The result of the work of show ballet groups is always a dance show
Jazz-modern is a dance style that can be different: broken, flashy, impulsive, or vice versa, very soft, almost weightless, but always very emotional. Jazz-modern is the basis on which the compositions of dance shows of students of this direction are built.
Jazz-modern
If you are extraordinary and want to express your attitude to the world around you through movement...
If your soul wants to fill the music you hear with movement, plasticity, beauty...
If you think that the main thing in dance is control of your body...
If you dream of learning to move the same way as the artists of sensational musicals on Broadway or M. Bejart’s ballets, valued throughout the world...
Your element is modern jazz!
This dance style of extraordinary beauty amazes with its sincerity and apparent simplicity.
The main difficulty in modern jazz - and also the most interesting thing in mastering it - is that it largely opposes the laws of classical choreography, while at the same time being its logical continuation!
But this is by no means a denial, but simply an option! By breaking the rules of gravity, which is only possible in modern jazz, we comprehend the laws of classical dance. It is not for nothing that the greatest ballerinas in the world did not hesitate to perform original numbers in this style - remember Maya Plisetskaya!
The roots of this trend should be sought in the dance culture of African-Americans. Improvisation, inherent in the very nature of Afro-jazz, receives its logical continuation in jazz modernity and reaches a certain stage of historical development.
Clarity of lines, completeness of movements, without denying the smooth flow of poses from one to another. The whimsicality and, to some extent, “cosmicism” of the choreographic solutions reflect the musical intent - following the music, the body sensitively repeats its whimsical design!
A lot of the emphasis in dance is on finding balance and using the body to create shape in space.
The most important feature of jazz dance is improvisation. It helps the dancer reflect the changes that occur in the world around him (aesthetic and social). Distinctive features of jazz dance are also sensuality and emotionality. The soul in jazz dance lives together with the body, in the same rhythm, mood....
Blues jazz is a slow, sensual and emotional dance performed to blues music. Blues-jazz dance can express loneliness, sadness, melancholy, suffering, anger and joy, as well as love, passion - any experience from the entire spectrum of human feelings and emotions. Expression is a very important factor in jazz dance. Music is expressed through dramatic grand movements.
Modern jazz dance offers unlimited possibilities, requiring creativity and individuality from performers. Some people want to have fun, some strive to convey the mysterious, incomprehensible ups and downs of life, others are captivated by pure movement, composition, rhythm.... Today's jazz dance is hard rhythms, emotional pressure, even some aggression. It contains elements of hip-hop, break, rap, funk. The dance figures combine complex hand movements and intricate body movements that fit into the intense rhythm of the music. Broken movements, asymmetrical figures, spectacular throws to the floor - the dance depends on the music and imagination of the choreographer. Jazz dance moves forward through the use of various materials: ethnic dance, ballet, step, as well as street styles. Modern jazz dance destroys the boundaries between them, bringing together all styles, forms, directions.
Africans and African-Americans are considered the creators of jazz dance. Improvisation is inherent in the very nature of Afro-jazz, with the help of which a person expresses his emotions and mood. The movements are clear and complete. The body sensitively follows the whimsical pattern of the music! The emphasis of the step is not on pushing off, as in ballet jumps - on the contrary, the impulse of movement is directed towards the ground.
Modern jazz is the basis of pop dance. Modern takes its roots from classical choreography and focuses on finding balance and using the body to create shape in space.
The transformation of jazz dance into dance theater and the combination of professional technique and choreography created modern jazz dance. Modern jazz dance challenges the modern dance language spoken throughout Europe.
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Contemporary
Contemporary is one of the new directions of modern dance, which combines both elements of Western dance (classical dance, modern jazz) and eastern art of movement (qigong, yoga, tai chi chuan). Moreover, this is a dance that does not have a specific form of style, because the main thing in it is self-expression.
Contempo contains elements of ballet, but ballet is a form of storytelling, dead, frozen matter, contempo is a search for answers to your questions. And therefore, each person has his own dance. If classical dance is a strict form of expression, then in contemporary there is an alternation of tense muscles with a sharp release, relaxation, sudden stops, falls and rises, and work with breathing. A lot of movement happens on the floor. The dancer does not follow some clear script, but listens to the voice of his body, which expresses deep emotional experiences. And therefore, there are no two identical dances, even by the same dancer, even if he dances with someone else.
Another distinctive feature of this style is that it is danced barefoot.
Anyone can master this style. This does not require special preparation. The main thing is to learn to understand the voice of your body. And you can dance contemporary to any music.
The absence of boundaries allows you to fully reveal yourself, gives amazing physical capabilities and unforgettable sensations. A person begins to treat himself as an individual, his body, and the world around him with great respect and love.
During the dance, special attention is also paid to:
- Relief from muscle tension,
- Relaxation and release of joints,
- Alignment of the spine
- Establishing connections between the center of the body and its limbs.
During the dance you need to pay attention to:
- breathing,
- awareness of your body,
- moving your body in space,
- quality of movement, speed and force of movement.
Contemporary is an intellectual dance that allows you to balance the state of the body, psyche and soul. Thanks to such harmony, not only your mood improves, but also your well-being.
Some spiritual practitioners suggest paying as little attention to the body as possible, considering it insignificant due to its temporary nature. Contemporary art shows how important it is to learn to understand your body, since it reveals deep inner experiences of the psyche and soul. Having learned to listen to one’s body through dance, a person begins to understand what the needs of the soul may be at the present moment in time.
This style arose in the West in the 60s of the 20th century. It appeared in Russia in the 80s. The pioneers of this style were: Isadora Duncan, Francois Delsarte, Emilie Jaques-Dalcroze, Merce Cunningham, Martha Graham, Rudolph von Laban, Jose Limon and Marie Rambert.
In contemporary art they do not think about harmony, the ideals of beauty and proportionality; it is a dance of disharmony, the absence of standards, the absence of a well-thought-out storyline. And each dancer here is the main character, expressing his entire range of feelings and emotions.
Contemporary dance can be a great training program for “working” with the world. Each dance is a new lesson that brings new knowledge and pleasure from learning.
Source http://samopoznanie/schools/kontemporari
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It is quite difficult to give an exact definition of what modern choreography is. A whole range of trends fall under this category: contemporary, jazz-modern, contact improvisation and a whole list of sophisticated styles. Dancing in modern choreography They differ from others in that they are based on a harmonious combination of complex sports elements and an aesthetic component.
Modern choreography classes: features
Since there is no general definition of modern choreography as a type of dance, it is impossible to determine the exact date of its origin. The direction, as a rule, includes dance techniques of the 20th and early 21st centuries. For example, a style such as modern jazz arose at the beginning of the 20th century in the USA. And the creation of countermemories was timed to coincide with the 60s of the 20th century. Contemporary choreography in Moscow includes various areas and has been taught for quite a long time.
Dances united by one era have one common feature: a demonstration of the body’s capabilities with a special, subtle desire to “tell the world your story.” Modern choreography training allows you to show what is happening to your soul without squeezing yourself into any strict framework and restrictions. If improvisation and experimentation are close to you, modern dance will appeal to you.
Modern choreography studio Trix Family: professionalism and hospitality
Immerse yourself in the wonderful world of dance now. Only with school of modern choreography at Trix Family you can count on benefits such as:
- the opportunity to participate in concerts, filming video clips, competitions;
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- professionalism of coaches, many of whom have achieved champion status;
- individual approach and warm, friendly atmosphere;
- attending the first lesson is absolutely free.
Choose modern choreography classes: Create the body of your dreams and feel enormous self-confidence. After completing the training, you will be able to overcome any internal pressures and fears. Modern choreography is an ideal solution for those who want to make a statement to the world. Sign up for a completely free trial lesson right now.