On December 22, 23, 25, from December 27 to December 31, and also on January 4, 5, and 9, 2019, the «Astana Ballet» Theater together with the Kazakh National Academy of Choreography will present the fairy tale ballet The Nutcracker by Pyotr Tchaikovsky. More than 150 students of the academy, teachers and 40 theater artists will take part in the performance. This unusually touching New Year's fairy tale for children and adults will be an indispensable decoration of the pre-Christmas urban bustle.
Each new year is accompanied by a magical atmosphere of dreams and desires, feelings are dressed up in the enthusiastic, airy decorations of fabulous changes. Bright street lamps, covered with a white veil of nature, ignite the lights of shining and sweet hopes in their hearts. In these delightful pre-New Year days, the capital theater «Astana Ballet» will present the audience with a real winter fairy tale: for six days, the amazing New Year atmosphere of the theater and the ballet extravaganza «Nutcracker» will not leave anyone uninterested. This was told at a press conference on the premiere of the performance.
According to the director of the theater, Valeriy Kuzembayev, on the stage of “Astana Ballet” the performance will be presented in the expressive and bright edition of Vasily Vainonen. For many years such a performance has decorated the stage of the Mariinsky Theater. The ballet in three acts, the libretto for which was written after the Hoffmann's fairy tale “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King”, will be shown in the performance by National Artist of the Russian Federation, director of the Kazakh Academy of Choreography Altynay Asylmuratova.
Director’s assistant Elena Sherstneva underlined that the performance has been around for many years, but it still remains young, beautiful and amazing.
“Taking part in this performance is a pleasure. In «The Nutcracker» (edited by Vasily Vainonen) there are a lot of children involved. He is fabulous, childish, kind and gorgeous. For students of the Academy the production is an amazing school, knowledge of a profession that will be a very valuable and rewarding experience”, - she said.
Vasily Vainonen set up his own edition of the ballet «The Nutcracker» in 1934 at the Kirov Leningrad Theater (the Mariinsky Theater), and in 1938 at the Bolshoi Theater. Later, the production was transferred to the stages of many theaters in the USSR and abroad. This performance is one of the most popular in the world, which in many countries has become part of the New Year ritual. Wonderful music attracted many choreographers, ballet experienced a record number of productions.
In the performance, students of the Academy of Choreography will perform children's scenes of the first act, a dance of snowflakes, dancing dolls from the divertissement, and graduates of the Academy will try their hand in the leading roles of Masha and Prince along with future colleagues from the theater. According to the teachers-tutors, young and adult artists work long and hard every day.
“This is a great stage experience, which will allow future ballet dancers to be on a higher level of professionalism, to feel the spirit behind the scenes, a real “taste” of preparation for the performance. Children go to daily rehearsals with delight, their eyes glow. They are in high spirits, ready to not even go home for their winter holidays to their parents. The joyful mood, the expectation of a wonderful, fantastic new year and performance predominates in our academy. It is as if the Academy lives in this festive and exciting atmosphere”, -said Svetlana Kukshinova, head of the school-college of professional education of the Kazakh National Academy of Choreography.
The scenography of the performance for the Astana Ballet Theater was developed by the theater employee, the head of the decoration workshop, Zhandos Omarov. When developing scenography, he adhered to the concept of the Mariinsky Theater.
“We are becoming a full-cycle theater. A little-known backstage work is done by our masters: more than 200 costumes and details were sewn and prepared, titanic work was done. Original details of the props are made here, which will emphasize the beauty and magic of the holiday. Our theater for the first time puts a large, full-fledged canvas. We hope that the original set design will turn out to be warm, cozy, homely and will make a unique impression on children and adults”, - said Deputy Director Dyussembay Mussabekov.
Theater director Valeriy Kuzembayev said that Astana provides an opportunity for art lovers and its connoisseurs to choose performances of a different nature and edition. This has not happened before. For example, if « Astana Ballet » presents «The Nutcracker» in the magical and romantic version of Vasily Vainonen, «Astana Opera » theater stages on the production of outstanding contemporary choreographer Yuri Grigorovich. Tickets sold out on all the performances of the two metropolitan theaters in advance.
“Such public interest imposes on us creative responsibility. With a whole team we will try to make a bright holiday for our viewers”, - he said.
The story of Masha and the Nutcracker is a story about how true love, friendship and loyalty help overcome many trials, fight the Mouse King's army and defeat it. This New Year's fairy tale will tell the children and remind adults that only by bravely rushing into battle you can win the battle, and the strong power of love will be able to defeat any evil spell.