|
For over one hundred years, The Kyiv Ballet of The National Opera
of Ukraine has dazzled audiences with its artistry and technical
brilliance. The resident ballet company of the National Opera of
Ukraine (formerly the Kyiv Ballet Theatre), the company was
established in the 1860's and soon developed a reputation for its
fine ballet and opera work. One of the highlights of the
company's early career was its 1874 premiere of Tchaikovsky's
The Oprichnik attended by the author himself who praised the
company for its excellence.
At the end of the 19th Century, the Kyiv Ballet was one of only
three professional dance companies in Ukraine; the other two at
the opera houses in Kharkiv and Odessa. Like its contemporaries,
the Kyiv Ballet used classical Russian ballet technique as its
basis, the company's repertoire comprised of Swan Lake,
Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote, Bayadere and Raymonda.
During the 1920's - 1930's, the company began staging works with a
more 'modern' approach, including The Fool to the music of
Sergei Prokofiev and Dmitiri Shostakovich's Golden Age.
Always, though, the company has focused on music by Slavic
composers, particularly Ukrainian artists and themes. Works with
a 'national' theme staged in the Theater include the ballets
Pan Kaniovki by Verikovsky, Lileya by Dankevich,
Marusia Bohuslvka by Svechnikov and The Shadows of
Forgotten Ancestors by Kireyko. One such production,
Scorulky's The Forest Song based on the drama by poet Lesia
Ukrainka, was given the status of being a 'classic' and was
performed in various countries.
As with any ballet company, the sum is only as good as its parts,
and the Kyiv Ballet's artists are, and always have been, among
the most talented in the world. Serge Lifar, one of the 20th
Century's greatest dancers and Chief Choreographer of the Grand
Opera of Paris, was a soloist with the Kyiv Ballet. Other dancers
from the company have won Gold Medals at the London Festival of
Dance and laureates at international ballet competitions in
Moscow, Tokyo and Varna. Dancers Tetiana Tayakina and Iriada
Lusahova received the coveted Anna Pavlova Prize while Valeriy
Kovtun and Valeriy Parsohov were awarded the Vaslav Nijinski Prize
for outstanding choreography. For its excellence as a company,
The Kyiv Ballet has received a Gold Star from the French Academy
of Dance.
Popular throughout the former Soviet Union, the Kyiv Ballet has
also performed in Italy, France, the USA, Britain, Luxembourg,
Monte Carlo, Japan, India, Finland, Syria , Belgium, Peru,
Czechoslovakia, the former Yugoslavia and Argentina. In 1991 the
company made its first Canadian tour with its production of
Cinderella, featuring choreography by Victor Lytvynov and sets
and costumes by Maria Levitska, which met with standing ovations
and critical acclaim.
Website Design by 10E20
Web Design
|
