Competition for the Bolshoi Theater. International ballet competitions. Jury over the years

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.

Anyone who has seen the screenings of the first round, to the best of their own discernment, can decipher the heading in the title as both “satisfactory” and “depressing.” Any assessment of the overall level of the ongoing ballet show will be fair. A fairly significant number of contestants without a strong individuality and with elementary school gaps do not allow us to give a solid four.

The coveted GRAN PRIX is again unlikely to find an owner. Unless, of course, a miracle happens and someone, having overcome the debut excitement, is able to conquer the jury with brilliant dance technique, artistry and... attractive appearance (there are also problems with this). So far, no one has even come close to the four winners of the main prize - Irek Mukhamedov, Andrei Batalov, Denis Matvienko and the first Grand Dame. Already at their first appearance on stage, the audience took their breath away. It was not clear how, for example, this fragile birdie girl Nadya from Perm acquired real ballerina chic? Where did the culture of her huge step in ““, which amazed everyone, come from, which other ballerinas later transformed from an academic ecarte into a dashing leg-tearing?

If at the second competition the success of a pupil of a provincial ballet school seemed like an accidental exception, then today the entire geography of the country is on the map of the show: Voronezh, Izhevsk, Yoshkar-Ola, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, Novosibirsk, Perm, Syktyvkar, Ufa, Yakutsk and Moscow with St. St. Petersburg. Not all participants will make it to the finals, but the very arrival of envoys from distant regions is visible evidence of the unprecedented popularity of the art of ballet in Russia.

This happens all over the world, as confirmed by participants from more than twenty countries, including those where ballet was not a priority of national culture. Therefore, quite interesting representatives from Albania, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan can be called a revelation of the competition. Strong and numerous landings of participants arrived from Brazil and China, Japan and South Korea.

True, the emergence of numerous new ballet schools has given rise to problems with quality training. Firstly, not everywhere teachers have the proper level of training. Secondly, most studio schools exist entirely or partially on private funds, and then the conditions are set by the students. If the children wanted to dance Esmeralda, Kitri or Basil with Actaeon, the teacher agreed, and the mother paid. One is taken aback by observing at the competition the obvious discrepancy between the selected variations and the physical characteristics of the performer and the degree of his mastery of the technique.

However, no one really stands on ceremony with technology; the freedom of replacement is amazing. And when you see three variations in a row of Swanilda from “Coppelia” staged by A. Gorsky, but completely different in choreography, you understand the great wisdom of Medici.tv to start live broadcasts of the competition only from the second round. Otherwise, you can completely confuse both spectators and professionals, and, most importantly, you yourself will unwittingly become a promoter of bad examples of classical ballet and bad taste.

There were quite a few fairly weak, C-grade, participants in the first round both in the morning, when the younger ones competed (from 14 to 19 years old), and in the evening, where the older ones (from 19 to 27) competed. Although the division took place according to passport data, everything was mixed up on stage. Failures should not be attributed to natural excitement, an unusually sloping stage or floor covering: everyone was on equal terms. And the one who performed better was the one who had not so much stronger nerves, but a better school. And many people have problems with it.

It is assumed that the main task of young artists of the junior group is to show a correct, “school” performance: purity of movements, correct form, musicality, coupled with which a sense of style and artistry can be manifested. Often something else prevailed - untrained feet, raised shoulders, “dirt” in small ground techniques, not to mention disrupted pirouettes and jumps without flight.

The older group has a different problem. Many artists tried to overcome the shortcomings of the school base with spectacular tricks, including unimaginable revolts in the countless “Flames of Paris”, obvious reliance on external impressions, and excessive exaltation of each movement. The Asians especially stood out, as they uncompromisingly, in the spirit of martial arts, entered the element of classical ballet. As a result, I wanted to see beauty and spirituality on stage, but instead there was a whole line of clumsy, short dummies that looked alike - vertuns and jumpers. It’s as if they are not ballet dancers, but circus performers in the arena. True, in the circus they do everything cleaner, they jump higher and spin faster.

The result is logical: out of 127 participants, less than half made it to the second round, and only that. 62 artists will continue to compete for medals.

About an important event in the world of culture: the names of the winners of the International Competition of Ballet Dancers and Choreographers are about to become known. This is one of the most prestigious shows, which over the years of its existence has lit up many stars, so the attention to it is enormous. The announcement of the winners takes place on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater.

Neither prizes, nor places, nor opponents matter seconds before going on stage. Only dance! And there is one answer to any questions before the performance.

Moscow these days is a center of attraction for young ballet dancers and choreographers from all over the world. The international competition for the title of the best is held every four years, like the Olympics.

And the preparation is appropriate - thousands of repetitions under the strict guidance of the teacher. And here the language of international communication is Russian.

“You can immediately feel where there is a “Russian trace”, where the Russians taught, even if it is Brazil, or Argentina, or the USA. I joked about this a long time ago. At a press conference in the USA, I was asked why I think our ballet is the best. I just said: ballet has been taught in Russia longer than the United States has existed as a state. I was joking, but it’s true,” says jury member, People’s Artist of Russia Nikolai Tsiskaridze.

New names are opening on the new stage of the Bolshoi. It was here that rehearsals, classes and stages of the competition took place all these days. But each participant strives for the historical stage. The final of the ballet competition will take place here. What these “higher, lighter, more accurate” ones are worth can be seen behind the scenes. Someone can't stand on their feet, and someone cries after a seemingly perfect performance.

“I rehearsed this number for 12 hours every day for six months, so I prepared for the competition. I danced with injuries. And not everything worked out. But the fact that I still perform on the Bolshoi stage in the finals is a dream come true, to which I walked through pain, and I am happy regardless of the result,” admitted contestant Ao Dingfeng from China.

The result, in addition to the first three places, is the Grand Prix, almost the holy grail of the competition - in its half-century history it was awarded only four times. And this year the prize also gives an unprecedented prize for the ballet world - 100 thousand dollars for the best choreographer and the same amount for the ballet dancer. But this will happen only if the jury, led by the head of the show, Yuri Grigorovich, votes unanimously.

“Everything here must be perfect, from pointe shoes to ribbons to ribbons. The way she smiles is the same with the dancers, the way they carry themselves on stage. Yes, they fell, yes, they slipped, yes, they didn’t finish something, but when an artist is on stage, these small errors disappear,” says jury member, People’s Artist of Russia Svetlana Zakharova.

Three rounds of competition are behind us. The names of the winners will be announced very soon. However, regardless of the opinion of the judges, many dancers admit that they have already received their award.

“This applause that hugs you is magical! For this you have to live, for this you have to dance, work, cry, gnaw the concrete of ballet with your teeth, just to go out and enjoy these unique moments,” said contestant from Latvia Evelina Godunova.