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| Igor Alexandrovich Moiseyev |
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| This move seemed particularly difficult as we watched them rehearse it....not just the move, but the landing. In this picture, the guy holding the material does not appear to be helping much! lol When we saw it performed it seemed the helper was working hard also. Here they are making it look pretty easy! :) |
WOW! What a very unique experience! Through the American Women's Organization (AWO) and with my friend Elisa I was able to experience a rare opportunity to be up close and personal during a rehearsal at the famous Moiseyev Ballet / Dance Company! They do not normally allow visitors here. When we all walked into the building and saw these young dancers walking the hallways we all stood up a little straighter because that's what you notice, their amazing posture!
Sitting in Moiseyev's office, we were given some background information about the company from the current Artistic Director, Elena Shcherbakova. She is a very charismatic woman who was also a dancer - taught by Moiseyev. We were told not to take photos or videos so the pictures above are from the www.moiseyev.ru website. However, the lady beside me defied these rules, so I gave her my card and asked her to send them to me! :) The above pictures are very much like the rehearsal we saw. I thought we would be sitting in a theatre setting while they were up on a stage, but we were given chairs and we sat along the mirrored wall right in the rehearsal studio! Amazing! I absolutely loved it! To be so close to the dancers, to see the little smiles and looks the dancers gave each other, to see their struggles and accomplishments, it truly was a unique experience that I will always remember! Some unexpected observations:
* They poured some water directly on the wood floor and then rubbed their shoes in it - for traction?
* They all were dressed in black. Although not in the costumes, it still makes for a unified cast visually for rehearsal.
* Unfortunately, during one part of the rehearsal a girl was kicked hard in the face by a male dancer, but she was back dancing not long after. The show must go on! :)
* It's Russia, I expected very strict instructors with lots of yelling. There was none of that. It seemed to be a very supportive environment. The dancers supported one another and the instructors were encouraging. Yes, they made them do things over, but that's striving for perfection.
*The athleticism of these young (and some not so young) dancers was truly impressive. It was a hot day and all of us spectators were hot just sitting there watching them, so I can imagine how they felt. There was no air conditioning, just a few open windows.
I believe they said the company has about 150 dancers total. New up and coming dancers can only audition every 5 years. That sucks if you are not the right age (13-14) when audition time comes around and you miss the chance to join the company.
Some of the dances we witnessed include the Spanish Dance, Korean Dance, Dance of the Kazan Tatars and the Naval Suite.
Sitting in Moiseyev's office, we were given some background information about the company from the current Artistic Director, Elena Shcherbakova. She is a very charismatic woman who was also a dancer - taught by Moiseyev. We were told not to take photos or videos so the pictures above are from the www.moiseyev.ru website. However, the lady beside me defied these rules, so I gave her my card and asked her to send them to me! :) The above pictures are very much like the rehearsal we saw. I thought we would be sitting in a theatre setting while they were up on a stage, but we were given chairs and we sat along the mirrored wall right in the rehearsal studio! Amazing! I absolutely loved it! To be so close to the dancers, to see the little smiles and looks the dancers gave each other, to see their struggles and accomplishments, it truly was a unique experience that I will always remember! Some unexpected observations:
* They poured some water directly on the wood floor and then rubbed their shoes in it - for traction?
* They all were dressed in black. Although not in the costumes, it still makes for a unified cast visually for rehearsal.
* Unfortunately, during one part of the rehearsal a girl was kicked hard in the face by a male dancer, but she was back dancing not long after. The show must go on! :)
* It's Russia, I expected very strict instructors with lots of yelling. There was none of that. It seemed to be a very supportive environment. The dancers supported one another and the instructors were encouraging. Yes, they made them do things over, but that's striving for perfection.
*The athleticism of these young (and some not so young) dancers was truly impressive. It was a hot day and all of us spectators were hot just sitting there watching them, so I can imagine how they felt. There was no air conditioning, just a few open windows.
I believe they said the company has about 150 dancers total. New up and coming dancers can only audition every 5 years. That sucks if you are not the right age (13-14) when audition time comes around and you miss the chance to join the company.
Some of the dances we witnessed include the Spanish Dance, Korean Dance, Dance of the Kazan Tatars and the Naval Suite.
Pictures we were allowed to take:
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| They've been all over the world performing - even in Canada - and are always presented with gifts that fill Moiseyev's office. |
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| The studio we were in |
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| In Moiseyev's office before the rehearsal. You can see some of the gifts presented to him after performances from around the world. |
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| Left: Our guide, Anna, Right: The Artistic Director Eleana. I love her smile as it really shows in her eyes. I think she would be a very interesting lady to get to know. |
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| Us with some of the dancers afterwards |
(below, excerpts from Wikipedia.org)
Igor Alexandrovich Moiseyev (Russian: Игорь Александрович Моисеев; January 21, 1906 – November 2, 2007) has been widely acclaimed as the greatest 20th-century choreographer of character dance, a dance style similar to folk dance but with more professionalism and theatrics.
Since the early 1930s, he staged acrobatic parades on Red Square and finally came up with the idea of establishing the Theatre of Folk Art. In 1936, Vyacheslav Molotov put him in charge of the new dance company, which has since been known as the Moiseyev Ballet.
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