14.11.2012
Ballet’s ‘Fragile’ Youth
The prizes for the future winners of the Mikhailovsky Theatre Grand Prix are already complete, and in the run-up to this festival of ballet they are currently on display in a cabinet in the foyer of the dress circle. The mobility and expression of the six elaborate statuettes embodies the concept of the art of dance. We will soon find out who will be receiving the awards: pupils from ballet schools in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Perm, Krasnoyarsk, Novosibirsk, Ufa, and Chișinău will perform on the stage of the Mikhailovsky Theatre on 21 and 22 November.
The prizes for the competition winners were created by the glass art workshop Rosvuzdesign. Workshop Director Tatiana Rodygina is proud that their series of works, which includes replicas of items from exhibits at the Hermitage, the Peterhof Museum, and the Elagin Island Museum, will be supplemented by ballet statuettes especially for the next generation of international ballet stars. The artists who created the prizes for the Grand Prix expressed their desire to contribute to the ballet festival’s “beauty, attraction, and success”, as well as their appreciation of the chance to “gladden, surprise, inspire, and support” its participants, Rodygina said.
This is the fourth time that the Grand Prix will be held at the Mikhailovsky Theatre. Past winners include Olga Smirnova and Kristina Shapran. These recent graduates of the Vaganova Ballet Academy are now household names in Russia: they top the rankings of the Bolshoi Ballet TV programme on the Kultura channel. Olga Smirnova, Grand Prix winner in 2009, was partnered by Viktor Lebedev, who at that point was not competing. Now the young Mikhailovsky Theatre soloist has a collection of prizes of his own, the most recent (and most prestigious) of which was first prize in the competition festival for young ballet dancers and choreographers in honour of Yury Grigorovich’s 85th birthday. Buoyed by his recent success — the competition took place in October of this year — Viktor Lebedev recounted how important recognition is for young artists:
“In my opinion, competitions are an important part of your artistic development. They allow you to watch your peers from other cities and to learn from one another. In Krasnoyarsk, I performed excerpts from Swan Lake and The Nutcracker and a Grand Pas Classique to the music of Daniel Auber. In the second round we had to perform modern choreography, and I danced a part of Nacho Duato’s Preludes which I had never done before. It was a serious challenge, and the tense, competitive atmosphere was palpable. But after the winners were announced, the aim of the contest became clear: winning it gives you confidence in yourself and in your professional abilities.”
The prizes for the competition winners were created by the glass art workshop Rosvuzdesign. Workshop Director Tatiana Rodygina is proud that their series of works, which includes replicas of items from exhibits at the Hermitage, the Peterhof Museum, and the Elagin Island Museum, will be supplemented by ballet statuettes especially for the next generation of international ballet stars. The artists who created the prizes for the Grand Prix expressed their desire to contribute to the ballet festival’s “beauty, attraction, and success”, as well as their appreciation of the chance to “gladden, surprise, inspire, and support” its participants, Rodygina said.
This is the fourth time that the Grand Prix will be held at the Mikhailovsky Theatre. Past winners include Olga Smirnova and Kristina Shapran. These recent graduates of the Vaganova Ballet Academy are now household names in Russia: they top the rankings of the Bolshoi Ballet TV programme on the Kultura channel. Olga Smirnova, Grand Prix winner in 2009, was partnered by Viktor Lebedev, who at that point was not competing. Now the young Mikhailovsky Theatre soloist has a collection of prizes of his own, the most recent (and most prestigious) of which was first prize in the competition festival for young ballet dancers and choreographers in honour of Yury Grigorovich’s 85th birthday. Buoyed by his recent success — the competition took place in October of this year — Viktor Lebedev recounted how important recognition is for young artists:
“In my opinion, competitions are an important part of your artistic development. They allow you to watch your peers from other cities and to learn from one another. In Krasnoyarsk, I performed excerpts from Swan Lake and The Nutcracker and a Grand Pas Classique to the music of Daniel Auber. In the second round we had to perform modern choreography, and I danced a part of Nacho Duato’s Preludes which I had never done before. It was a serious challenge, and the tense, competitive atmosphere was palpable. But after the winners were announced, the aim of the contest became clear: winning it gives you confidence in yourself and in your professional abilities.”
