International competition of ballet dancers and choreographers. Ballet labeled “UD.”

The All-Russian competition of young performers “Russian Ballet” has finished at the Bolshoi Theater. The review takes place every two years. The current one is already the third in a row. Students of final and pre-graduation courses of ballet schools and universities participate in the creative competition. This time, 29 candidates presented their talents on the new stage of the country's main theater. Report by Irina Razumovskaya.

Most recently, here at the Bolshoi Theater there was a premiere of Valery Todorovsky’s film “Bolshoi” about the attitude and path of young ballet dancers and teachers. The Russian Ballet Award is a real story on this topic. Today, the best of the best are getting very close to their dream - to dance at the Bolshoi.

They are 17, 18 years old, students of choreographic schools came to the competition from all over Russia: Kazan, Novosibirsk, Perm, Bashkiria, Buryatia... Most are preparing for final exams and performances. And, of course, they dream about one thing.

“My dream is to dance in the best theater, and to dance very well, with soul, to carry it into the hall, to open up to the whole hall!” - contest participant Anastasia Shelomentseva shares.

“My dream is to become a good dancer. To have charisma inside is the most important thing,” contest participant Andrei Kirichenko is convinced.

“Becoming a promising ballet dancer - so that I can bring something more to art,” admits competition participant Igor Kochurov.

The main reward is an internship at the Bolshoi Theater and golden pointe shoes on the pedestal. But not everyone can cope with anxiety. The competition has a strict and very honorable jury - they are greeted with a long standing ovation. Yuri Grigorovich, Boris Eifman, Nikolai Tsiskaridze, heads of the country's leading ballet troupes and theaters.

“Of course, there are rules and a rating scale that the jury will have to assign to each performer. We've been using this for three years now. Points are calculated online. After the performance of every five participants, sheets are collected from the jury members and a count is made,” says the acting director. head of the ballet troupe of the State Academic Mariinsky Theater, member of the competition jury Yuri Fateev.

The teachers are almost more worried than the competitors. Yes, many of the young performers still miss, stumble, landing in a jump or in a spin. But that's why they are students. By the way, teachers are awarded cash certificates for preparing laureates of all degrees and Grand Prix.

“This competition really stimulates them - they have to come to Moscow and show their abilities, preparation and defend the honor of the school. They come to Moscow on the main stage of the country, and this is very honorable and responsible,” notes Marina Leonova, rector of the Moscow State Academy of Choreography, member of the competition jury.

After counting the points, the majority of the laureates are still from the choreographic schools of the two capitals. The Grand Prix was awarded to Denis Zakharov from the Moscow Academy. Vaganovka students Egor Gerashchenko and Eleonora Sevenard took first place. And the second and third places were shared by young ballet dancers from Moscow, Perm and Novosibirsk.

XIII International Competition of Ballet Dancers and Choreographers. Photo – Igor Zakharkin

This ballet show has been held in Moscow every four years since 1969.

It is held in three rounds in two age groups: junior (up to 18 years old inclusive) and senior (19 – 27 years old). Each group competes in solos and duets.

The Moscow competition is quite conservative, primarily focused on ballet traditions, although it does not ignore modernity.

Competitors in the first round are offered a mandatory program (variations or pas de deux from classical ballets), plus a fragment from the classics of their own choice.

In the second round, in addition to classics, participants perform a modern number or a fragment from ballets staged no earlier than 2005. In the third round - again the classics.

The choreography competition only includes numbers specially choreographed for the Moscow show, and in any style of choreography.

This year's awards are very generous: a Grand Prix of $100,000 (for comparison, at the last competition the Grand Prix was valued at 15 thousand and went to no one), and three prizes in each category, from five to thirty thousand. However, any award may not be awarded. Or it can be divided between performers.

Based on the results of the qualifying round (video recording), 126 participants in the “Ballet Dancers” nomination and 30 participants in the “Choreographers” nomination were allowed to participate in the competition. From 27 countries. It would seem that the picture is cloudless. In fact, there are problems that have arisen not for the first time.

The geography of this international competition largely consists of Asian and CIS countries. Representatives of European ballet powers - France or Denmark, for example - do not come to Moscow. This year a large delegation arrived from Brazil. There are representatives from Ukraine and the USA.

But the Bolshoi Theater, on whose stage the competition is taking place, actually ignored it. And the ballet troupe of the Mariinsky Theater was not presented at its best.

There are also many organizational shortcomings. Moreover, they are permanent, wandering from competition to competition. For example, constant errors in the announced names of choreographers.

No, the accents are placed correctly. But what was written in the classics by one master was easily attributed to another. If we were talking about male variations in classical ballets, staged or radically edited in Soviet times.

As a rule, the nineteenth-century classic Marius Petipa, who has long been known in professional circles as a “collective pseudonym,” took the rap for all the authors. A remark under the conditions of a competition (about any style of choreography) often turned sideways: since the jury only cares about the year of creation, and not the signs of modern dance, it means that the contestants can dance the same classics on pointe shoes in a modern number.

But the most depressing thing - and this is also a tradition - was at the choreography competition. The competition was not without its organizational scandal. Applicant Dmitry Antipov was suddenly removed from the shows, he went on stage to protest, but the protest was drowned out by a radio announcement.

The executive secretary of the jury, Sergei Usanov, announced to the audience that Antipov and two of his colleagues were fired for violating the regulations: their productions had already been shown earlier. This was kindly reported to the organizers by the competitors of those punished.

Formally, awards were distributed to the directors. Moreover, six people received them. But in reality, from a series of plastically faceless and similar performances, only the gold medalist, a Chilean with the sonorous name Andres Eduardo Jimenez Zuniga, was truly remembered.

He can both hear music and convey it through movement in a non-trivial way. This was also shown by the number “Dagger”, in which the soloist in black captivatingly balanced between seriousness and parody, to the repeated Spanish words of a sweet love song.

And “Archipelago” is a triumph of the feminine principle to the music of Schubert, where three modern graces in T-shirts and shorts formed their own inner world. Others, including Russian participants, once again confirmed that the long-term crisis of choreographers in the world continues. Even the second gold laureate choreographer, Wen Xiaochao (China), in the duet number “Through Adversity” did not go beyond illustrating the title.

Three tours for the performers brought both good and bad. In the third round, the capable Alexander Omelchenko suddenly left the race: he fell on stage and was injured.

The young miracle of the competition, Ivan Sorokin from Syktyvkar, made it to the finals, but was unable to perform because he did not prepare variations for the third round. Why? Because the boy did not believe that he would be able to advance so far!

Since the canonical text of the classical variations was not approved at this competition, many danced whatever they wanted, right down to sets of steps, clearly set by the teacher to the individual abilities of the student. The choice of variations was also more than once puzzling: those who could not spin well were given a spin dance, those who could not jump were noted in the jumping variation. Why?

The understanding of music, even simple ballet music, is also not all thank God: the slowdown in tempo has become a natural competitive disaster. The saddest thing is that many people don’t dance at all, but simply perform individual movements, without much meaning, trying to show off their technique to the detriment of their image. Often the nominees lacked individuality. And at some point the competition began to merge into a kind of stream of more or less professionally dexterous applicants. Only by the third round did the picture, as always, begin to become clearer.

Despite her young age, Subin Lee is an accomplished, very outstanding ballet actress. For the author of these lines, she became the undisputed leader.

The very young American Elizabeth Beyer, cutely resembling a long-legged foal, has learned the classical ballet intricacies perfectly, down to the smallest detail. Mark Chino and Denis Zakharov, future prime ministers and princes. A strong Japanese couple, with an understanding of choreographic styles, working in Kazan - Midori Terada and Koya Okawa. And a number of good dancers from China and Brazil.

The list could go on for a long time, but it’s better to look at the names of the laureates. In the senior group, they were: in duets, women - Amanda Gomez Moraes (Brazil), skillfully twirling triple rounds, took second place (no one was given the first prize), and Midori Terada (Japan) and Ao Dingwen (China), with her excellent stability, became third.

For men, Koya Okawa (Japan) took gold, the diligent Ernest Latypov from the Mariinsky Theater received second prize, and Wang Janfeng (China) received third. Among women, Evelina Godunova from Latvia was nominated the best; in the final of the competition, she dashingly danced Kitri from “Don Quixote” with a high jump; second prize was not awarded.

For men, gold went to Baktiyar Adamzhan (Kazakhstan), who skillfully combines artistry with technique, silver went to Ma Miaoyuan (China), bronze went to Marat Sydykov (Kyrgyzstan), a lover of ballet tricks.

For the younger group in duets: girls Park Sunmi (South Korea) and Elizaveta Kokoreva shared the first prize, and the skilled Ekaterina Klyavlina (Russia), who is good at Princess Florina from “Sleeping Beauty,” took third.

Denis Zakharov won the boys' duets, there was no second award, the third place went to the Brazilian Victor Caixet Goncauves. In the girls' solo category, the jury considered Elisabeth Beyer to be the best, and Subin Li received the second award, as did the Chinese Li Siyi.

Among the boys in the “solo” section, the first was Mark Chino, the second was the not so distinguished Igor Pugachev, for whom this place is an advance for the future, and the third was Karlis Cirulis (Latvia), who, frankly speaking, did not particularly impress.

It would take a long time to analyze the merits and demerits of the laureates, as well as the validity of the jury’s decisions. According to the author of these lines, the younger group was much more interesting than the older group, and there were too many awards. It wasn't such an outstanding competition. And the hierarchy of those awarded in some cases is entirely subject to challenge. But it speaks for itself that not all awards found owners. But the Grand Prix was not awarded to anyone.

Every year, prestigious ballet competitions, choreographic competitions and professional shows are held around the world. And the competition of ballet dancers and choreographers, held in Moscow for the 13th time, is rightfully considered one of the most significant. The opening of the international competition will take place on June 11, and to see the gala concert, order tickets to the Competition of Ballet Dancers and Choreographers on our website at attractive prices. In 2017, the tournament comes under the auspices of the “Year of Russian Ballet and the 200th anniversary of Marius Petipa”.

Over the years, the competition has acquired serious authority and an unshakable creative reputation. It has become part of the world ballet, an event where new names are discovered, promising artists shine and future stars demonstrate their talents. Without much hesitation, we can say that all participants in this event will have a brilliant career and conquer creative heights. More than 200 participants from 15 countries are already ready for intense competition.
Since 1973, Yuri Grigorovich has been a permanent member of the jury. He heads the jury and is also the artistic director of the competition.

There is no doubt that all 10 days of the competition will turn into a holiday for fans of choreography and ballet art. A memorable duel between beginner dancers will be bright and full of unexpected moments. There are 10 busy days ahead, and they need to start with the opening gala concert. You can order tickets for the XIII International Competition of Ballet Dancers and Choreographers on our website right now.

The International Ballet Competition in Moscow has become a strong and fruitful tradition, an integral and important part of the life of world ballet. Born in 1969, it quickly acquired high professional authority, a serious creative reputation, and the status of a responsible and brilliant forum for young performers. The irresistible magic of the Bolshoi Theater of the USSR (and now Russia) has always attracted young dancers from around the world, and a successful performance on its famous stage opened the way for them to the future.

Each Moscow competition gives the world a new galaxy of bright performers. It becomes an invaluable creative experience for young artists, and most of the winners of the competition will have a brilliant career in the art of ballet.

Jury over the years

At the origins of the creation of the Moscow ballet competition were such legends of Russian art as Galina Ulanova, the chairman of the jury, Igor Moiseev, who headed the Organizing Committee of the first competition, Olga Lepeshinskaya, the chairman of the Organizing Committee of many subsequent competitions. And from the second competition in 1973 to the present, the permanent chairman of the jury and its Artistic Director is the great choreographer of our time - Yuri Grigorovich.

The jury of the competition over the years included: Marina Semenova, Galina Ulanova, Sofia Golovkina, Maya Plisetskaya, Irina Kolpakova, Natalya Kasatkina, Mikhail Lavrovsky, Vladimir Vasiliev and other famous Russian ballet figures, as well as Yvette Chauvire and Claude Besy, Cyril Atanasov, Charles Jude (France), Alicia Alonso (Cuba), Arnold Haskell (UK), Alan Friederichia and Kirsten Ralow (Denmark), Brigitte Kullberg (Sweden), Rudi van Dantzig (Netherlands), Robert Joffrey and Natalia Makarova (USA), Konstanz Vernon and Dietmar Seifert (Germany), Doris Laine (Finland), Julio Boca (Argentina) and other representatives of the world's ballet elite. In the entire history of the Moscow competition, only four artists were awarded the Grand Prix: Nadezhda Pavlova (USSR) at the II Ballet Competition in 1973, Irek Mukhamedov (USSR) at the IV Ballet Competition in 1981, Andrei Batalov (Russia) at the VIII Ballet Competition in 1997 and Denis Matvienko (Ukraine) at the X Competition of Ballet Artists and Choreographers in 2005.

Discoveries

The Moscow competition revealed to the world, in addition to the above-mentioned Grand Prix winners, such names as Francesca Zumbo and Patrice Barthes, Mikhail Baryshnikov and Eva Evdokimova, Lyudmila Semenyaka and Vyacheslav Gordeev, Alexander Godunov, Loipa Araujo and Vladimir Derevyanko, Nina Ananiashvili and Andris Liepa, Vadim Pisarev, Julio Bocca and Vladimir Malakhov, Maria Alexandrova, Alina Cojocaru, Nikolai Tsiskaridze, Natalya Osipova, Ivan Vasiliev and many others.

Choreographers Competition

Since 2001, a choreographers' competition has also been added to the ballet competition. The Moscow competition paid tribute to outstanding figures of Russian and world ballet art three times: the VII Moscow Ballet Competition in 1993 was dedicated to the choreography of Marius Petipa, the IX International Competition of Ballet Artists and Choreographers in 2001 was held in honor of the great Galina Ulanova, the XI International Competition of Artists ballet and choreographers in 2009 - in honor of the outstanding Russian ballerina Marina Semenova.

As part of the competition, there is a press center, creative meetings, seminars, master classes and exhibitions are held.

Meaning

The Moscow competition is important not only as an arena for professional communication between creative youth, but also as a serious platform for the exchange of experience between teachers and choreographers, a territory for discussion and development of ballet studies and critical thought, and a basis for bringing together cultures of different peoples.

An international competition of ballet dancers and choreographers in Moscow is held every four years. It has state status and plays a significant role in the development of world culture.