Astana Ballet Gala
Acts
On January 17, 2018 the Astana Ballet Theater will present the program Kazakhstan Astana Ballet Gala at the Lincoln Center, one of the world’s famous cultural venues. The performance of choreographic art of various genres is part of Modern Kazakhstan Culture in the Global World, a project of the Republic of Kazakhstan Ministry of Culture and Sports
It is also with this performance in New York that The Astana Ballet will launch a series of cultural events to commemorate the capital’s 20th anniversary, El Zhuregi – Astana. In the course of these years the capital has become an important center of socio-political and cultural life not only for the people inhabiting Kazakhstan but the entire Central Asian Region as well: the city has turned into an international hub in all of Eurasia.
The Astana Ballet will present spectators with an authentic, well-contrasted program which introduces both national culture and pieces reflecting the influence of the world ballet art. Significantly, it is New York, a multicultural city, that hosts the presentation of the Kazakh choreographic heritage and contemporary ballet performances by the theater's troupe.
“The task that the troupe of the theater has to tackle is not an easy one – to attract the attention of the public to our culture, to display the best samples of national and modern ballet art of Kazakhstan”, says Valeriy Kuzembaev, the theater director.
The Astana Ballet’s signature approach to performing has been achieved by merging the richness of classical heritage and modern ballet art, which has enabled augmenting the national dance and taking it to the big stage and on to being introduced to the entire world. The Astana Ballet attaches great significance to studying and modern rethinking of the Kazakh national dance as well as creating new choreographic miniatures to reveal its harmony in movement and beauty. What decisively defines the nature of the folk dance is the reflection of its root qualities and innate force as it is through the national dance that the audience gets to know and appreciate our culture. For this reason, Kazakh national dances are part and parcel of any tour program, having become the theater’s signature performance.
The Astana Ballet Gala program includes choreographic miniatures from Legacy of the Great Steppe: Arular, Ak-kyz, and Asem Konyr, which impress deeply due to their distinctive music and unique artistic imagery (choreographers: Mukaram Avakhri and Aigul Tati, both Honored Workers of Kazakhstan).
The spectators will also see a classical version of the Adagio from the Nutcracker, performed to Tchaikovsky’s eternal music, (choreography by Vasiliy Vainonen); a neoclassical duet from Love Fear Loss, a ballet set to the music based on songs of Edith Piaf; and scenes from the one-act ballet A Fuego Lento (choreography by R. Amarante).
A diverse and extraordinary repertoire coupled with a high performing and staging quality is the reasons Astana Ballet Theater has enjoyed continued success not just in its home country but far beyond its borders as well. As to the choreographic miniatures, critics around the world point out their freshness of interpretation along with faithful adherence to traditional ideas, richness of emotional palette and a flawless sense of style.
The Astana Ballet Theater has had the privilege to perform its programs on world-famous theatrical stages in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Beijing, Paris, Vienna, Seoul, Budapest, Baku, Minsk, New York, Tokyo, Warsaw and Brussels.
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