Konstantin Uralsky: "Every performance is life." The ballet troupe of the opera house is headed by the legendary choreographer Konstantin Uralsky Konstantin Ural choreographer biography

Uralsky Konstantin Semyonovich (b. 07/14/1960, Moscow), ballet dancer, choreographer. Graduated from Moscow. choreography school (Moscow Art School, 1978; teachers: L. T. Zhdanov, B. Kh. Rakhmanin, A. R. Simachev), choreographer department of GITIS (1990; course of prof. O. G. Tarasova). In 1978–88 he was an artist of the Bolshoi Theater troupe; performed solo parts in ballets: “Love for Love” by TN Khrennikov; "Romeo and Juliet", "Ivan the Terrible" by S. S. Prokofiev; "The Nutcracker" by PI Tchaikovsky and others. Toured with the theater troupe in Germany, USA, South. America, Japan and other countries. The first choreographer's work was performed at the Moscow Art School ("Tarantella", adaptation of Italian folk music). In 1987-88 U. attended seminars of leading foreigners. choreographers in Germany, Czechoslovakia. At the invitation of the Amer. ballet. M. Lopez moved to the USA in 1990. In 1991-97 hands. Ballet Company "Iowa Ballet". Since 1997 in New York: founded his own. ballet school; artistic. dir. ballet troupe "New York". U. is the director of 15 innovative ballet performances, interesting by a combination of academic. traditions with choreography in the Art Nouveau style, ethnogr. elements. On the stages of Europe (Bulgaria, Russia, Ukraine) and the United States, they were staged. U. ballets: "Carmen Suite" by R. K. Shchedrin (1991), "Snow White" by B. Pavlovsky (1993), "Macbeth" by K. V. Molchanov (1995), "Doctor Zhivago" by K. E. Volkov ( 1996; honorary award of the National Association of US Governors), Reflections on Petrushka (1995; music by I. Stravinsky), Moonlight (1999; C. Debussy), Wanderers in the Light (2000, premiere in the Kremlin Palace; music by Rachmaninov), “The Second Piano Concerto” (2005; Rachmaninov), “Moment” (2008; F. Chopin), etc. performance "Waltz of White Orchids" based on the production. E. M. Remarque (music by M. Ravel and French chanson of the 1930s). Has performed ballet performances in dramas. and opera performances: "The Passion of the Black Sea Region" (Theater of Satire, Moscow), "Fedot the Archer, a Brave Young Man" (State Academic Center. Puppet Theater named after S. V. Obraztsov, Moscow), "Balmasquerade" ("Iowa Opera ", USA). In 2006, 2007 in Pers. state academic the theater of opera and ballet them. MI Glinka U. staged performances: “Romeo and Juliet” by Prokofiev and “E1 mundo de Goya” by V. Besedina (prize in the nomination “Best choreography” at the regional festival of professional theaters “Scene-2007”), which caused a great resonance, noted. critics as an example of "the organic interweaving of classics, modernity, folk dance, unusual music, new scenography." Since May 2008 U. arts. hands. ballet troupe Opera and Ballet Theater. Laureate region. and nat. ballet festivals.

Russian ballet is a brand that has developed over the years and is known all over the world. Respect for Russian dancers was born thanks to strong technique and deep psychologism. In the creative space "TeleLeto" opened an exhibition dedicated to the play "Waltz of White Orchids", staged by the world-famous director Konstantin Uralsky. How and where was the language of the choreographer formed? Why did he trade states for Russia? And what attracts him the most to Astrakhan? Read on in our bold interview.

Reference: Graduated from the Moscow Academic Choreographic School (now the Moscow State Academy of Choreography), the ballet master department of RATI-GITIS (course of Professor O. G. Tarasova). He began his career as a dancer at the Bolshoi Theater of Russia. Improved in the art of contemporary dance in Germany and the USA. In 1991-1997. Konstantin Uralsky, at the invitation of the American side, directed the Iowa Ballet (USA). In 1998 he opened his own ballet school in New York. At the same time, the artistic director of the New York chamber ballet. Since April 2008, Konstantin Uralsky became the artistic director of the Chelyabinsk Academic Opera and Ballet Theater. Glinka. Since September 2011, he has been artistic director of the ballet and chief choreographer of the Astrakhan State Opera and Ballet Theater.

I don't think we decide our fate only sometimes, out of stupidity, we miss the right "turns". It happens that you are walking along the path of life, suddenly a crossroads, you do not pay attention to it, you go further. And he takes it and again you come across. Here you are already thinking. I had many different moments when fate seemed to guide me. At one of the moments when I succumbed to the will of fate, I found myself on an internship in the United States.

I was then an aspiring choreographer... Arriving, I discovered a completely new world. Unforgettable emotions. There are wonderful lines in the memoirs of the Russian dancer-choreographer Leonid Myasin, a participant in the Diaghilev Seasons. He describes how he sailed to New York from Europe on a ship. And an avalanche of freedom of thought literally fell on him. The avalanche is an accurate description of what I experienced at first. In American culture, "freedom" is the key word. Do as you feel, as you see.

However, in order to invent, you need to have a good foundation. If there is no good knowledge, then there is nothing to build on. Any innovation can only be based on a good school. If we talk about choreography, then only having a very strong conservative school behind your back (and many European ballet schools are quite conservative), you can develop, break out of the frame.

I have spent many years of my life in the USA. The formation of my language was influenced by the study of modern dance schools: jazz dance and modern dance. But I remain a classical ballet choreographer. And, of course, the people around me.

With little or no experience, I headed the Iowa Ballet. We had various productions, but we did everything quickly and clearly. The economy of the capitalist world does not allow you to spend years on rehearsals, here everything needs to be done at a pace. And you also need to be able to present yourself, promote. In the states, all cultural projects are supported by sponsorship, which can only be obtained by proving that your product is better than others. For this, I even went through the school of marketing and PR. In general, I am always ready to learn.

Always looking for a middle ground. Working at Iowa Ballet, I first of all learned how to communicate with people. There simply did not exist such a concept as "they owe me". It was necessary to act only by convictions - it was necessary to interest, inspire people. This law is still valid in my work today. Every artist in my troupe is an individual.

Small troupes are rare in Russian theaters. Often a large number of people are used to create scale. How about making a crowd if you only have 20 people on stage? Here it is already necessary to compose, come up with schemes, draw the arrangement of compositions in which a feeling of mass character will be born. I searched, put on compositions, recalling the experience of my teachers. The ability to work with a small number of people is very valuable, so today I teach my students how to put 15-17 people on stage and make the viewer believe that there was a crowd there.

Once, in one of the sleeping areas of New York I came across a gorgeous ballet hall, which was left from one Russian teacher. The room was empty. And I did not miss this "turn" - I occupied the hall, typed a command, and everything started spinning. This is how my dance school appeared in New York. There is great respect for Russian ballet all over the world, so there were no problems finding students. This was one of the most interesting periods of my life for me.

In this hall I composed my famous productions- "Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto", "Waltz of White Orchids". An interesting feature of this place was that there was a residential apartment above the ballet hall. I settled in it, so I had the opportunity to go down and work at any time of the day. By the way, returning to Massine's memoirs, I will make a small remark: in his book he says that he had a long-standing dream of having a house with a ballet hall to practice whenever he wanted. Over time, this dream of his came true - he had a large house with a hall on Long Island. So, my room with the apartment upstairs was also on Long Island.

In the states, I really missed the big repertory theater with a large hall, orchestra. I missed the "Russian dancer" and really hoped that my experience would help him develop. Today I can say that I was not mistaken. And an example of this is the Astrakhan ballet troupe, which I gathered. My message was not to "entice" experienced artists from other theaters, but to make my own team of young dancers. Therefore, I invite graduates of the leading ballet educational institutions: from St. Petersburg, Moscow, Kazan, Perm, Novosibirsk, Ufa. From them, the basis of our ballet troupe was created. Of course, I had to deal a lot with novice artists, but I love working with young people. This troupe is unique in its own way, the artists are about the same age. For six years of work, we have raised strong dancers, developed our own style. The ballet-master assistants who came to Astrakhan at my invitation helped me a lot in this. I am especially grateful to the former dancer of the Bolshoi Theater, wonderful teacher Yuri Romashko.

It's hard for me to say which of my productions is the best. Each has its own charm and its own difficulties. Each is loved in its own way.

I don't like the word "innovation". Because art is a constant search. If there is no search in the artistic conception (no matter you are an artist, composer, director, choreographer), then your whole idea is a stillborn child. For me, every performance is life. This is a world into which I plunge myself, and into which I try to immerse the artists, and then the audience. For example, in "Waltz of the White Orchids" we see Paris at a certain period in history. To create the right atmosphere, it was necessary to use everything - music, language, literature. You had to live that era.

I've been listening to French music for days of that time, he got used to the pictures painted by the artists of this period. Before the performance, I specially went to Paris. I remember asking my wife to leave me alone. I stood on the bridge for a long time and smoked. I tried to remember every detail, to absorb the world around me in order to convey it to the viewer. I am sure that dance technique is only part of a big job.

It is interesting that the exhibition dedicated to "Waltz of White Orchids" is located in such an unusual place. I am very good at creative spaces. In New York, I often visited the Soho area - former manufacturing zones, where today creative spaces are created, developed by young people. So there the dominant style of the premises is just a loft. I love walking along Fioletova Street, where all old buildings are now taking on a new life. For me, this is a signal: usually such changes are associated with young people, with creative people. I like "TeleLeto" and I hope that this exhibition, according to my production, is not the last one. Vaulted ceilings evoke medieval thoughts. Maybe we will do something unusual on the theme of the play "Andrei Rublev" ...

I love Astrakhan very much. I drove here with the attitude that perhaps this is the point where I want to stay and live. And so it happened. I like that this is an old Russian city with incredible architecture and a combination of styles. From the window of my office I can see the Kazan Church and the domes of the Assumption Cathedral. It is very expensive for me. I love a multinational culture and am glad that I am surrounded by different, dissimilar people. My youngest daughter, for example, has three best friends, and they are all different nationalities. And how great it is to celebrate national holidays with friends. I am sure that Astrakhan is my city.

Konstantin Uralsky, after graduating from the Moscow Choreographic School (now the Moscow State Academy of Arts) in 1978, was admitted to the Bolshoi Theater of Russia.

In 1990 he graduated from GITIS (RATI) as a choreographer (course of Professor O. G. Tarasova). In parallel with his studies at GITIS, Uralsky studied modern trends in choreography in Germany and the USA.

In 1991 he accepted an invitation to head the troupe of the Iowa Ballet, USA. Konstantin Uralsky has been directing the Iowa Ballet for 6 years, during which time he has restored a large number of ballets from the classical repertoire and created 15 original performances that aroused great interest of spectators and critics. Among them are "Birds", "My Reverie", "Carmen Suite", "More Than Two to Tango", "Macbeth", "Thinking about Parsley", "Albinoni's Music", "Doctor Zhivago" and others.

in 1998 Konstantin Uralsky became the Artistic Director of the New York Ballet chamber ballet. At the same time, in 1998, he opened his ballet school in New York. For the new team, the performances "Moonlight", "Christmas Dances", "Wanderers on the Way" and others are being created.

In 2006 he was invited to the Chelyabinsk State Opera and Ballet Theater to stage S. Prokofiev's ballet Romeo and Juliet. After the success of the performance, he received a second invitation, and together with the composer V. Besedina, in 2007 he created the world premiere of the ballet "E lMundo de Goya" about the life of the Spanish artist Francisco Goya. The performance aroused great interest among the public and professionals. The ballet El Mundo de Goya received five prizes at the Scene 2007 festival, including the best choreography of the year.

Since April 2008, Konstantin Uralsky has become the artistic director of the ballet of the Chelyabinsk Academic Opera and Ballet Theater named after Glinka.

In 2008, for the ballet "El Mundo de Goya" Konstantin Uralsky was awarded the State Prize of the Government of the Russian Federation for achievements in the field of culture.

Among the performances staged at the Chelyabinsk Theater are the bright works "The Firebird"

I. Stravinsky, "Chekhov. Reflections" to the music of PI Tchaikovsky.

In September 2011, he received an invitation from the government of the Astrakhan region to head the ballet troupe of the opening Astrakhan Opera and Ballet Theater. Konstantin Uralsky becomes the artistic director of the ballet and the chief choreographer of the theater.

In December 2012, with the premiere of the ballet Swan Lake in a new production by Konstantin Uralsky, a new ballet troupe of the Astrakhan State Opera Ballet Theater was opened.

In recent years, Uralsky has staged a ballet to the music of Sergei Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto and the ballet "Waltz of White Orchids" based on the works of E.M. Remarque to music by M. Ravel and French chanson, a new version of the ballet "Don Quixote", author's performances "Carmina Burana "," Piaf. I do not regret anything "and a major world premiere - the ballet" Andrei Rublev ".

Among the productions: in the USA: "Birds", "My Reverie", "Carmen Suite", "More Than Two to Tango", "Macbeth", "Thinking about Parsley", "Albinoni's Music", "Doctor Zhivago", " Moonlight ”,“ Silent Night ”,“ Wanderers on the way ”,“ Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ”,“ Nutcracker ”,“ Rachmaninov second ”, etc.

In Russia: "Waltz of White Orchids", "Romeo and Juliet" by S. Prokofiev, ballet "El Mundo de Goya", "Chekhov. Reflections "," The Firebird "," Rachmaninov's Second Piano Concerto "," The Nutcracker "," Don Quixote "by L. Minkus and others.

Konstantin Uralsky staged the performances Little Night Serenade, Rachmaninov's Second Piano Concerto (Ukraine), Doctor Zhivago (Bulgaria), Faces of Russian Seasons (National Dance Academy in Rome), More Than Two to Tango ( National Theater of the Republic of Kosovo), Rhythms of the Sun (Bolivia). He continues to stage performances in different countries of the world, working equally successfully with both classical material and modern works

The new artistic director of the ballet troupe, chief choreographer of the Opera and Ballet Theater is a great personality. Konstantin Uralsky is the winner of the State Prize of the Government of the Russian Federation for achievements in the field of culture, laureate of international competitions. He is known in professional circles not only as a professional in restoring the classical ballet heritage, but also as an innovative choreographer. A true cosmopolitan, Konstantin Uralsky knows no boundaries for his work, successfully working on productions both in Russia and abroad.
Today he was invited to Astrakhan personally by the governor A. Zhilkin. The task set by the management for the choreographer is wonderful and great. To create for the opera and ballet theater the collective and the repertoire of the academic ballet theater. The status of the theater has grown by several orders of magnitude, it is time to correspond to the artists.

MIRACLE: Konstantin Semyonovich, with your arrival in Astrakhan, many new ballet dancers have appeared in our troupe. Have you met before?
Konstantin Uralsky: I have actually worked with some of them. These are the soloist Alexander Zverev from Yoshkar-Ola, the leading ballet dancer from Samara Daria Klimova, Ulyana Batluk from Novosibirsk and Vladislav Borisov from Moscow. Many artists will come to Astrakhan from different cities and ballet schools of the country. So the composition of the theater's ballet troupe will soon at least double. Imagine 32 white swans are dancing in the ballet “Swan Lake”. for this production, about 35 women and the same number of men are needed.

MIRACLE: Ideally, how do you see the “Uralsky ballet”, which you are working on now?
Konstantin Uralsky: The durability of what will eventually be created depends on the correctness of my today's choice. A new Theater is being born, and we all stand at its origins. This is a historic moment both for Astrakhan and for me personally. It is important to understand that the Theater is created where there are creative leaders and a close-knit team, and not where there is a large new building and far-reaching plans.
I select artists for my troupe very carefully. In my creative team, everyone feels their need and the shoulder of a comrade, and there is nothing that is considered to be ballast.

MIRACLE: Will new performances be added to the ballet performances already familiar to the Astrakhan people, or will the ballet troupe's repertoire be completely renewed?
Konstantin Uralsky: As for the repertoire policy, of course, it will soon undergo major changes. First of all, ballet performances from the classical heritage will be performed on the Astrakhan stage (Don Quixote, The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet, Giselle - in a new edition). In addition, I plan to show my author's performances in Astrakhan (for example, “Waltz of White Orchids”).
The first big work of our troupe at the Opera and Ballet Theater will be “Swan Lake”. For the New Year we are preparing a one-act performance for children “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King”, and in 2012 we will expand it to a full-length performance.

MIRACLE: Tell me, are there any absolutely new productions that will be staged for the first time in Astrakhan?
Konstantin Uralsky: Yes, I plan to stage new world ballet premieres on the stage of the Astrakhan Opera and Ballet Theater. I love to surprise the audience! But for now I will not reveal the secret of which productions I am talking about now.
In addition, I will invite foreign choreographers to the Astrakhan Opera and Ballet Theater to perform author's performances.

THE MIRACLE: Is the path from conception to staging a new ballet long?
Konstantin Uralsky: Very long. For example, 16 years have passed from the day the idea was born to the staging of my play “Waltz of the White Orchids”. On average, 2-3 years pass from the day of the idea to the birth of the performance. After the Idea has crystallized in the brain of the choreographer-director, the theater joins the project, acting as a producer. The development of the script plan begins, the composer's work on the scores, the work of costume designers, set designers. The time calculation of all these creative processes takes years.
But those premieres, the names of which I cannot disclose now, will be staged on the Astrakhan stage, most likely in a year. By the time I received a job offer in your city, these performances were already in the final stages of preparation.

MIRACLE: Astrakhan is called the Caspian capital of Russia. Do you plan to organize here, for example, a large-scale ballet festival?
Konstantin Uralsky: We are already conducting such developments. Together with the artistic director and chief conductor of the theater, Valery Voronin, we decided to combine the two types of art in one big festival. This will be an original project for Astrakhan. But I will remind you that the primary task now is to create a new ballet troupe and a new repertoire for it.

MIRACLE: The Governor of the Astrakhan Region, Alexander Zhilkin, has repeatedly voiced information about the opening of a ballet school in Astrakhan on the basis of the Opera and Ballet Theater. Tell me when will this event happen?
Konstantin Uralsky: The decision to create it will be made in the near future, since the opening of a professional ballet school-college today is a very urgent issue. The ballet theater must become a serious part of the new troupe of the opera and ballet theater, and for this it is necessary to provide it with professional personnel. The college will be needed both for training personnel and for popularizing ballet in the city.
In the future, I would like a choreography department to appear in Astrakhan on the basis of the Astrakhan Conservatory, for example. I would love to teach future teachers, ballet masters and choreographers.

MIRACLE: Konstantin Semyonovich, and finally, explain once again the situation with the distribution of the repertoire between the old and new venues of the opera and ballet theater?
Konstantin Uralsky: In November and December, the theater artists will work at two venues at the same time. Opera performances and tickets for children will be staged on the old stage in Arcadia Park. And on the new stage of the Opera and Ballet Theater, all creative troupes take part in a series of charitable group concerts. Tickets are not for sale for these concerts, admission is by invitation only.
Already on November 26, we will show the new ballet repertoire at the Ballet Evening in two parts, tickets for which have already been fully sold out. Our premiere will take place on the new stage of the Opera and Ballet Theater.

short biography

The creative life of Konstantin Uralsky began at the Bolshoi Theater, on the stage of which he danced after graduating from the Moscow Choreographic School. Having chosen the path of a choreographer for himself, he entered the choreography department of GITIS on the course of Professor Olga Tarasova. Then he took a desperate step - he left the Bolshoi troupe and went to the West (Germany, USA) to learn the forms of modern dance, the echoes of which reached Moscow, but which was not taught in the USSR. In America, he was offered to lead the Iowa Ballet Company as Artistic Director.

In 1991-1996. K. Uralsky directs the Iowa Ballet. He focuses on strengthening the ballet school, restoring a large number of classical ballets. Uralsky staged 15 original performances at the Iowa Ballet, which aroused great criticism, among them "Birds", "My Reverie", "Carmen Suite", "More Than Two to Tango", "Macbeth", "Reflecting on Petrushka", Albinoni's Music, Doctor Zhivago, and others. These works brought him fame in the United States.

In 1998. Konstantin Uralsky headed the ballet school in New York. He continued his staging activities and became the Artistic Director of the New York Ballet Company. For this collective, new productions are being created "Moonlight", "Silent Night", "Wanderers on the way" and others.

2006-2007. Konstantin Uralsky created for the Chelyabinsk State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater named after Mikhail Glinka S. Prokofiev's ballet “Romeo and Juliet” and the world premiere of the ballet “El Mundo de Goya”, about the life of the Spanish artist Francisco Goya to the music of the composer Valeria Besedina. Both performances aroused great interest among the public and professionals. The ballet “El Mundo de Goya” won five prizes at the “Scene 2007” festival, including the “Best Choreography of the Year” prize.

Since April 2008 K. Uralsky becomes Artistic Director of the Ballet of the Chelyabinsk State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater named after M.I. Glinka.

In 2008. K. Uralsky was awarded the State Prize of the Government of the Russian Federation for achievements in the field of culture. The prize was awarded for the production of the ballet El Mundo de Goya.

Today K. Uralsky continues to stage performances in different countries of the world. His latest works are the premiere of the new ballet "Faces of Russian Seasons" in Italy, at the National Academy of Dance in Rome, the play "More Than two to Tango" at the National Theater of the Republic of Kosovo.

In 2010. Konstantin Uralsky staged a new ballet performance “Chekhov. Reflections "dedicated to the 150th anniversary of A.P. Chekhov.

Awards and achievements

Laureate of the RF Government Prize

Laureate of International Competitions