The ninth theatrical season ended triumphantly at the Astana Ballet Theatre, which turned out to be eventful and very successful in terms of both touring and project life. With the support of the Ministry of Culture and Sports, bright premiere performances and the best performances from the current repertoire were presented.
It is worth noting that this season a truly significant event took place in the musical life of the capital - the creation of a professional symphony orchestra of the Astana Ballet Theater under the leadership of Chief Conductor Arman Urazgaliev. An orchestra now accompanies many productions of the theater, and symphony concerts have appeared on the playbill.
The Astana Ballet Theater has successfully expanded the geography of its touring activities. The capital's collective visited Uralsk for the first time, where they presented the divertissement "Heritage of the Great Steppe" in the author's interpretation of the Honored Worker of Kazakhstan Aigul Tati and the neoclassical ballet "A Fuego Lento" by Ricardo Amarante, as well as Turkestan, Semey and Taldykorgan with the best examples of national choreography. The first tour of the theater in the UAE took place: two large-scale performances were presented on the stage of Dubai Opera - the cult performance "The Legend of Love" and the ballet "Sultan Baibars". In addition, a great tour in Almaty took place with great success. For almost a whole month, the artists of the capital's theater performed as part of the opening of the multifunctional cultural space "Almaty Theatre", where the audience was lucky to see the best performances from the theater's repertoire.
The theatrical season turned out to be unusually fruitful for premieres. Five long-awaited performances appeared in the theater playbill. This is the neoclassical masterpiece "Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra" by G. Balanchine to the music of I. Stravinsky; and the original ballet "Arcana of Fate", written by the famous musician K. Abdullina in choreography by Mukaram Avakhri; the ballet "Falling Angels" by the genius of modern dance Jiri Kilian to music by Stephen Reich, directed by choreographer Stefan Zeromski. This production is truly unique: the artists of the Astana Ballet Symphony Orchestra performed the bongo solo. A special place in the repertoire of the theater was occupied by the author's performance "The Silk Road" by Mukaram Avakhri to the libretto of the Kazakh poet Bakhyt Kairbekov. The idea of staging the ballet is carried out by the Foundation for the Development and Support of Ballet and National Dance with the support of the General Partner - Samruk-Kazyna JSC. Moreover, the season ended with a stunning premiere of the ballet "Orpheus and Eurydice" directed by Christina Polin. The audience in the capital was presented with a choreographic interpretation of the myth of Ancient Greece in the neoclassical style with modern elements.
In addition, the premiere of such choreographic miniatures as Pas d'action from the ballet "La Bayadère" by Marius Petipa to music by Ludwig Minkus staged by Mayra Kadyrova and " Heavenly gift - the sacred path" to the music of the ethno-folklore ensemble "HASSAK" directed by Aigul Tati.
The season really turned out to be successful in terms of both the events held and the awards: the order "Kurmet" was awarded to choreographer Aigul Tati; teacher-repetiteur Mayra Kadyrova, as well as the chief conductor of the symphony orchestra of the theater Arman Urazgaliev. Theater artists Aizhan Mukatova, Darina Kairasheva, Sundet Sultanov, Riza Kanatkyzy and teacher-repetiteur Asel Abakaeva were awarded the medal "Eren Enbegi Ushin". Riza Kanatkyzy became the winner of the state youth award "Daryn" in the nomination "Theater". The owner of the State Scholarship of the First President is the leading soloist of the theater Sundet Sultanov. In addition, leading soloists Darina Kairasheva and Sundet Sultanov were awarded the Ticketon Prize.
According to the theatre's management, the opening of the anniversary theatrical season is scheduled for September 9th. A very busy and productive season is ahead of the theater team: premieres of such performances as Carmen Suite by Alberto Alonso and The Snow Queen by Georgy Kovtun will take place. Tours to Almaty and a tour of the cities of Kazakhstan are also expected.
The Astana Ballet noted that the preparations have already begun: Daryan Volkova was specially invited to shoot images from the performances. The choice was obvious: she is a master of ballet photography, winner of international ballet and art photography competitions, works with prima ballerinas and soloists of major European and Russian theaters. Her works are kept in private collections in the USA, Germany, Great Britain, Australia, Hong Kong, Italy, Switzerland, the storerooms of the Russian Museum and the Sheremetev Palace, the ROSPHOTO Museum and Exhibition Center.