At the beginning of 2022, Astana Ballet set ambitious plans and tasks. What results have been achieved over the past year? With the support of the Ministry of Culture and Sports, the capital theatre presented five high-profile premieres, went on tour to Tbilisi, Almaty, Taldykorgan, and Karaganda, as well as announced the launch of the First Republican Competition “ASHYQ SAKHNA”.
Premieres of 2022
The repertoire of the theatre was replenished with such iconic performances as “Falling Angels” by the genius of modern dance Jiří Kylián, staged to music by Steve Reich, and “Carmen Suite” by a choreographer Alberto Alonso, based on Georges Bizet’s “Carmen” opera.
“Orpheus and Eurydice”, a choreographic interpretation of the myth of Ancient Greece, staged by Kristina Paulin was also presented.
A special place in the show bill was occupied by the author’s performance “The Silk Road” by Mukaram Avakhri based on the libretto by the Kazakhstani poet Bakhyt Kairbekov. Besides, the premiere of the TV version of that ballet took place on the air of Kazakhstani TV channels.
The long-awaited performance for children appeared in the treasury of the theatre – “The Snow Queen” staged by Heorhii Kovtun based on the eponymous fairy tale by the famous Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen.
In addition, there was the premiere of such choreographic miniatures as “Pas d’action” from “La Bayadere” ballet by Marius Petipa to the music of Ludwig Minkus and “Tanir Syiy – Ak Zhol” (God’s Gift – Path of light) staged by Aigul Tati to the music of the “HASSAK” ethnic and folk music group.
Tours to Tbilisi, Almaty, Taldykorgan, and Karaganda
The Astana Ballet tour in Almaty was a great success: for almost a whole month, the dancers of the capital’s theatre performed as part of the opening of the multifunctional cultural space “Almaty Theatre”, where the audience had the opportunity to see the best performances from the theatre’s repertoire.
Further, the creative team visited Taldykorgan to show the best pieces of national choreographic art, as well as the “DosStar” festival of operetta and musical in Karaganda to show such ballets as “Falling Angels” by Jiří Kylián and “The Arcana of Fate” staged by Mukaram Avakhri to the music of the famous Kazakhstani composer Karina Abdullina.
Astana Ballet performed in Georgia for the first time with a raving success: the one-act ballets “Salome” and “A Fuego Lento”, as well as “The Heritage of the Great Steppe” national divertissement were presented at the Zakaria Paliashvili Opera and Ballet State Theatre in Tbilisi.
Symphony Orchestra
This year there happened a truly significant event in the musical life of the capital – the debut concert of the Symphony Orchestra of the Astana Ballet Theatre under the baton of chief conductor Arman Urazgaliyev. The orchestra has big creative plans and a lot of fresh interesting ideas. This includes broadening the repertoire and geography of performances, and most importantly, introducing promising, interesting young and experienced soloists and conductors to the musical community.
So, symphonic concerts were presented, in which the soloists were the laureate of the Foundation of the First President Kalamkas Jumabayeva, People’s Artist of Kazakhstan Jania Aubakirova, as well as talented students of the KAZNUA School, who are the laureates of international and republican competitions. In addition, the concert “Music Tour. The way back home” under the baton of conductor Elmar Buribayev took place.
Competitions and awards
It is worth noting that the theatre, together with the Fund for the Development and Support of Ballet and National Dance with the assistance of the General Partner – “Samruk-Kazyna” JSC, within the framework of the policy of supporting talented youth in Kazakhstan, established the I Republican competition “ASHYQ SAKHNA”. The winners in such categories as “Choreography”, “Libretto”, “Music”, and “Scenography” will receive a money prize in the amount of 1,000,000 tenge and the opportunity to participate in the creation of a full-fledged choreographic work, which will premiere on May 1, 2023.
Mukaram Avakhri in the nomination “Best Choreographer” and Ainura Abilgazina in the nomination “Best Performer of Ballet” became the winners of the UMAI National Art Award, established by the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Besides, the Astana Ballet Theatre earned the annual prestigious award of the Association of Theatre Critics in 3 nominations: “Ballet of the Year” – “The Silk Road” performance by the chief choreographer of the theatre Mukaram Avakhri; “Best Ballet Dancer” – the leading soloist of the theatre Tatyana Ten for the role of Eurydice in the “Orpheus and Eurydice” performance, and “Best Work with the Media”.
It also should be noted that the leading soloists of the theatre Darina Kairasheva and Sundet Sultanov became the winners of the independent Ticketon Award.
All this is just the beginning of the long way that the theatre still has ahead of it. In 2023, the theatre is planning several premieres: amongst the nearest ones there are the national ballet fairy tale “Ot-Kyz” (Princess Ot) staged by Mukaram Avakhri, “Soli Deo Gloria” staged by Ainura Abilgazina, and “Nine” choreographed by Olzhas Makhanbetaliev. The musical repertoire of the theatre will also be enriched. Certainly, all achievements have the main and only goal – to make the theatre a point of attraction for the spectators, a cultural space in which they want to be, in which they want to make discoveries and reflect on art.