Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Russian ballet reaches new heights: Stars of the White Nights

20 July, 2009, 13:58

       

One of Russia’s most versatile ballet dancers, Diana Vishneva, presented her performance on the final day of the country’s most important musical festival “Stars of the White Nights” in St. Petersburg.

The prima ballerina of the Mariinsky Theatre made a name for herself as a dancer who has broken new ground in ballet.

Hailed as the leading dancer of her generation, the 32-year-old artist has danced an impressive repertoire from both classical ballet and contemporary dance.

Her latest performance consists of 3 parts, and is entitled “Beauty in Motion." It was staged by three choreographers: Alexey Ratmansky (“Pierrot Lunaire”), Moses Pendleton (“F.L.O.W”), and Dwight Rhoden (“Three Point Turn”).

The former artistic director of the Bolshoi Theatre, Ratmansky, says Vishneva has an “inborn sense of melodrama” which is most evident in the first part of “Beauty in Motion" --“Pierrot Lunaire”. The performance consists of 21 numbers and is set up to heavy-textured music by Arnold Schoenberg. But even despite the bleak music, Vishneva’s performance is somewhat life-enhancing and tragic at the same time.

George Balanchine was quoted as saying that “in ballet a complicated story is impossible to tell." But it seems that the Russian dancer, Diana Vishneva, has a rare talent of telling all kind of stories, no matter how complicated or simple they are.

Vishneva’s performance in the short ballet “For Love of Women," staged by American contemporary dance choreographer Moses Pendleton, keeps you on the edge of your seat, sending shivers down the spine. The graceful artist has proven again – there’s no challenge she has failed to meet on stage.

The ballerina and her partner on stage Desmond Richardson spoke to RT when they brought "Beauty in Motion" to Moscow.

“This performance is like a breath of fresh air to me. You suddenly feel like you can do so many different things. And not only you because, of course, it’s teamwork. We’ve got a team of wonderful dancers, musicians and all those who helped bring together this show," Vishneva said.

A U.S. Choreographer, Dwight Rhoden, described his performance with Vishneva in the lead as an “abstract journey into the world of romance." In “Three Point Turn” Vishneva is joined on stage by multi-talented American dancer/actor/choreographer Desmond Richardson.

In an interview with RT, Richardson called Diana “an artist with charisma, excellence, elegance, and excessibility.” He said she is “one of those great ballerinas that comes along once in a lifetime and accesses so much of her heart and humanity. It’s not only the technique… “

“Diana and I understand one another in the dance. When you work with great artists, there has to be that exchange of mind, heart and spirit. There’s an exchange of push and pull, challenge, but there’s ultimately coming together in a unity. We have a great time dancing together,” Richardson told RT.

Diana Vishneva hopes that “none of the three parts of the “Beauty in Motion" performance will leave audiences indifferent. They are totally different, feature different vibes, and moods, and that’s probably one of the peculiarities of this project.”

Vishneva’s performances are booked months in advance. Vishneva has a multitude of awards, she’s worked with some of the world’s best choreographers and dancers from around the globe.

“I dance quite a lot. Of course, I want to dance more, but my schedule is very full and I have almost no breaks at all. I’m as much interested in classical repertoire as in modern dance, and I’m still polishing my skills.”

Diana Vishneva’s performance in “Beauty in Motion" is in the running for the Golden Mask award, Russia’s top national honor in theatre.

Valeria Paikova, RT

source: http://www.russiatoday.com/Art_and_Fun/2009-07-20/_Stars_of_the_White_Nights_.html#

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