The Spirit of Dance. Exhibition in the Fireplace Hall

During the Ballet. High Season festival, an exhibition dedicated to the dance world and its stars will be presented in the Fireplace Hall of the Dress Circle. The exhibition is organized by LUXOR Art Gallery, which like the theatre, is situated on Arts Square. Farukh Ruzimatov, an exceptional dancer, one of the most interesting figures in international ballet, and from 2007 to 2009, the Artistic Director of the Mikhailovsky Ballet, is one of the stars featured in the exhibition.

Anatoly Bisinbaev, member of the Artists’ Union of Russia and the Federation of European Photographers, presents photographs of Farukh Ruzimatov in the guise of the Indian god Shiva. The series is thus entitled Dancing God. Ruzimatov as Shiva, with his multiple legs and arms, is vital and passionate, but also a fearsome herald of unrelenting fate. The Indian theme continues in the photographic panel, Maharaja’s Palatine Pleasures, which are decorative compositions saturated with rich Eastern exoticism and sensuality. The sculptural violence that dominates these photographs provides a contrast with the photographs of resting dancers where a deliberate distance prevails.

Another part of the exhibition focuses on the sculptures of Vlad Zaytsev, a member of the Artists’ Union of Russia, whose pieces are inspired by the ‘Silver Age’ of Russian ballet. The main characters from the Russian Seasons in Paris, Anna Pavlova and Vatslav Nizhinsky, are transformed from sketches by Léon Bakst into Zaytsev’s sculptures. The sculptures capture the dancers’ grace in static form, conveying its subtlety and magnetism. The intentional roughness of his works is combined with academic precision and perfection. Along with the legendary dancers of the early twentieth century, Zaytsev’s sculptural works also feature our contemporary, Farukh Ruzimatov. The series Eastern Dance is dedicated to a piece in his solo programme.

The exhibition in the Fireplace Hall will run until 25 September.