Imperial Russian ballet

Without Kevordo

On the eve of the festival of the millennium, Gediminas Taranda visited Brest, the famous director who became famous as a dancer on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater, the head of the Imperial Russian Ballet ballet troupe, touring around the world. He came not alone, but in the company of his friend – our countryman, Hero of Russia Alexander Darkovich.

In a cafe on the street. The Soviet guests were offered (pure accident!) Dessert Pavlova. The cake became popular after his recipe invented during a tour in Australia and New Zealand the famous Russian ballerina almost 100 years ago. But a surprise prepared by guests was a real “cherry on the cake”. On New Year's Eve, “Imperial Russian Ballet” intends to bring the performances “The Nutcracker”, “Swan Lake” and a brilliant gala concert to Brest. About this and not only – in an exclusive interview with Gediminas Taranda Evening Brest.

Nutcracker in Brest

– Gediminas Leonovich, tell us more about your plans …

“We are negotiating with the regional Philharmonic regarding a joint project during the New Year holidays in the cities of the Brest region: Brest, Pinsk, Kobrin, Birch … The name of the project:“ Make New Year with friends and classics. ” On December 30-31, the Nutcracker ballet performed by professional artists of the Imperial Russian Ballet will be able to look at the Brest residents.

In each city, it is planned to participate in the play of local children who learn dances: to perform on the same stage with a professional ballet is for life.

If everything turns out, in December we will bring to Brest a unique costume of Maya Plisetskaya – her crinoline (when the Moscow Museum Bakhrushin made an exhibition dedicated to the ballerina, they took it from us). In addition, we will bring our costumes. And the audience will be able to try on packs and poinets and take a picture at the machine. Therefore, it is better to come to the performance in advance, before the start of the presentation.

I will say more: if Dynamo Brest will win the championship, we are ready to show the ballet at his native stadium.

Now Alexander and I go a lot in Belarus. Calls from Moscow find us either in Pinsk, then in Brest, then in David Gorodka. In Pinsk, we met with the leaders of the culture of Belarus and the region, looked at the performance of the city’s teams. Amazing.

David-town infected the ballet

-The noise was made by your ballet school in David-city. How is this project developing?

– He is already a year already, now there will be a second set of children. By the way, we just returned from there. They solved organizational issues related to the development of the school. The administration examined one historical building in the city center. This is an old library from which all books were taken out.It is currently vacant pending renovation. It would be great for the 920th anniversary of David-Haradok, which will be celebrated in August 2020, to repair it and equip it as a choreographic studio – this will be a chic gift for children and their parents. In addition, we came with a ready-made scenario for the holiday (we came up with absolutely amazing things) and offered it to the leadership of the city executive committee for consideration.

– Do you think that another Maya Plisetskaya or another Taranda can grow in the outback of Polissya.

– When parents bring their children to our school, I tell them at the parent meeting: “What do you want: to make soloists of the Bolshoi Theater out of your children? Or get a harmonious personality?” If you want to make them ballet stars, you have no idea what you doom them to. This is hard, exhausting work. Out of a thousand children, two, five will receive satisfaction from the profession, because they will get to the right place, and the rest may not find themselves in this life. Children should be sent to a ballet school so that the child grows up as a harmoniously developed personality. So that he understands what dance is, what ballet is, music, posture, how to walk. Sports are available to everyone. And the people who are involved in music and choreography are the elite. Among other things, there are physical data, without which there is no point in being in a big ballet (professional). And I really like that in David-Haradok they understand this: the parent committee is passionate about tailoring, design, people are ready to paint the walls. And children are so inspired by trips to Moscow, where they participate in the performance of The Nutcracker with the Imperial Russian Ballet.

– Presumably, Goryn could not do without fishing?

They won't be released without it. I haven’t fished like this for 15 years, I was delighted: Goryn, nature, everything is so cool. The ear was made delicious. Alexander caught a pike perch and kept joking that I, who has Baltic roots, “is drawn to sprats”. But I also managed to catch a pike.

– How did Alexander Darkovich appear in your life?

– We are members of the same public organization (Russian-Belarusian Friendship). Alexander is very closely connected with David-Gorodok, where he comes from. Their delegation came to Moscow, got to the ballet, before the performance I introduced them to the Moscow audience, and at the end invited them backstage. There, Alexander, in the presence of guests and artists, suggested considering the possibility of opening a ballet studio at the local House of Culture. What was left to do when the Marines asked? I had to agree in the hope that it would soon be forgotten. And one day he said: “Come with me to David-Gorodok!”. And we did not just open a ballet school there. Initially, we entered into an agreement with the city executive committee and undertook to provide methodological support and assistance in the design of the dance class. They picked up an intelligent leader, held training seminars with her.They gave the opportunity to enter the stage as part of the Imperial Russian Ballet in Moscow. This is very important for development.

This year, together with my artists (25 people in costumes and masks), we went to the Konіki festival. We were accepted by the chairman of the Stolin district executive committee. I introduced the traditions of the district and conducted a tour of the city enterprises. Then a meeting was held with the parents of the children of the ballet studio. The kids prepared the first performances, and in the evening plunged into the atmosphere of a unique festival – one of the few in the post -Soviet space, where a living tradition has been preserved. Each person is preparing for the holiday, decorates his house with flashlights and waits for a mummy to be carved. And in the evening everyone gathers in the square. I could not imagine that it was possible to strip so much, we took away two cars – sausages, lard, pickles. In general, he arrived for two days, and disappeared in Belarus by five. By the way, from those who wanted to get to Konki, the turn was already lined up next year. I will definitely come.

I devoted a quarter of a century to this

– This year, the “imperial Russian ballet” marks 25 years. As part of the anniversary, our troupe was touring in Australia, New Zealand, China, and Brazil. In St. Petersburg, we had 21 performances, as well as 6 performances in Moscow.

For 25 years I have devoted to our team so proven itself. In addition, now I am still heading the ballet troupe in the ensemble of the song and dance of the Russian Guard of Russia under the direction of Viktor Eliseev.

In the troupe of the Imperial Russian Ballet, the best graduates of our ballet schools from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Moldova. There are Lithuanians, British, Spaniards, Jew … In all countries, Russians laid the foundations of ballet art. Two years ago, Eugene Raukut from Minsk joined the troupe and took good positions in it. Fantastic artist: almost two meters tall, handsome, wonderful male character. When Belarusian artists arrive, the troupe breathes differently. Belarusians are different. They have preserved culture: a special attitude towards old people, women. This creates the right image.

There are a lot of performances in the repertoire. We are a private company that performs in the best theaters in the world. We have a business card – “Bolero”, “Polovtsian dance”, “Carmin Buran” with a choir and an orchestra, “Swan Lake”, “Sleeping Beauty”, “Don Quixote”, “Romeo and Juliet” – the most powerful three -tecial performances that we are we are We show not only in the best theaters of Russia, but also in Australia – in the Sydney Theater, at the Royal Theater of New Zealand …

10 years of friendship and gap with Maya Plisetskaya

– As an artist of ballet, you made their debut at the Bolshoi Theater – in Don Quixote.

– Yes, with a shame. He went on stage late for 16 measures and stumbled. And all because I forgot to remove the knitted leggings that the ballet artists put on so that the muscles do not cool. After such a debut, one could fly out of the theater. But I, nevertheless, remained and established myself right away.In general, such debuts are. Leo Yashin also missed several goals in a debut match.

– Not just stayed, but were a partner in the scene of the amazing Maya Plisetskaya.

– Together we performed in the ballet Carmen. She took me right from school to her performance. Literally six months later, I spoke with her at Carmen. And then already, in 1993, she asked to make a creative evening for her in Japan. And since 1993, we have performed with her annually for 10 years: we organized tour, sewed costumes.

-But then there was a disagreement not at all because of creativity …

– One beautiful cosmetic factory offered us cooperation on the release of a special ballet line, which was recommended by Maya Plisetskaya. By agreement, the factory made us the costumes of the Swan Lake and the scenery (we will also bring them to Brest, they will see them unique. We easily compete with the best state theaters in quality of costumes and decorations). But it so happened that Rodion Konstantinovich Shchedrin, the husband of Maya Mikhailovna, decided to change the terms of the contract. The company did not go to this, there were notarized documents. But the scandal nevertheless occurred and ended with a break in the relationship. It was terrible for us: ten years did all together, went hand in hand. 10 years Maya Plisetskaya was in our Imperial Russian ballet by the honorary president: from 1993 to 2003. She took part with us in the tour of our company in Japan, Korea, Brazil, Argentina … and all the chapters of the first book that she wrote, she read to me. During a tour in Japan, she opened the head and read.

– How is a man – what was she?

– It is very simple in communication, she never had snobbery. As soon as people begin to bustle and flirt – she felt instantly, at a subconscious level, she should not lie. And you must be a professional to the brain of bones – this is in the first place. Otherwise, she will not talk to you.

– What expressed you to participate in the Ice Age project?

– The director of Channel One Konstantin Ernst made an offer that I could not refuse him. Although the preparation was allotted only 7 days. He did not stand on skates in life, and we are forbidden. The support of the artists of the ballet to the semi -fans, and the skaters are in the middle of the foot. And the skaters have cloves on the nose of the skate. Since I have a habit of standing on the half-wrappers, the teeth all the time crashed into the ice, and I fell each training 20-30 times. And on ice during filming – never. Because my partner was the Olympic champion Irina Slutskaya, who holds you and shoulder, and a hip, a knee, and a look. We managed to create numbers that were included in the Golden Fund of the Ice Age.

I love such adventures, I like to set impossible tasks for myself. So now we have an amazing dream – to make a festival in Brest. This is almost impossible, but we will do.

Overcoming

– I consider myself a lucky one: I fell into the ground 20 times in the ground – and rose again, walked again.

– When was it the most painful to fall?

– One of the most sensitive, of course, is the dismissal from the Bolshoi Theater in 1993. Tonight I have the premiere of the Ballet Corsair. I have to dance the main role, people came to watch. I come to the performance at five in the evening, and they say to me: Taranda, you are not dancing today, you are fired. The second composition is made up, the order has been signed. You are sitting in the locker room – and who are you? You are nobody.

Something needs to be done, but what-you do not understand. Before the start of the performance, I dawned on me. I go out to the viewer, I say: “Dear friends, I went to say goodbye to you, because today our officials are the main ones in the theater, the artist is nothing for them. Today I was thrown out of the theater, fired. I say a lot thanks to firefighters, costumeers, wardrobes, to you, spectators, for coming to me for performances. ”

Then five years, as soon as he appeared in the theater, they called the guards: Taranda in the theater, put a man.

– Why did everything happen?

-Complex years of the 1990s, the theater in a large stagnation. Yuri Nikolaevich (Grigorovich. – Auth.) Own young troupe, which he was engaged, she went on tour, and we were left without work. Therefore, I officially organized touring in England, Australia, Germany. He said: “I have a contract for a trip to Austria. I am ready to take the troupe of the big and the orchestra – 150 people. I acted as a producer for 3 years. How could Grigorovich and other directors look at me? Of course, my popularity in the ballet was high. But they told me: Either you stop, or we will fire.

After dismissal from the theater, Maya Plisetskaya proposed becoming a director of her creative evening in Japan. I picked up the composition of the performers, put a special choreographic number for Plisetskaya. The performance was recognized as the best music program of 1993. “Gediminas, you have abilities, you can talk to people, you can organize. You need to collect your company, ”said Maya Mikhailovna then. So the imperial Russian ballet appeared.