In love with ballet

A refined young woman, a true star of the Ukrainian contemporary stage, as a teenager watched the ballet «The Nutcracker» in the interpretation of Radu Poklitaru (who later became her teacher) – and fell in love with the modern, authorial synthesis of choreography.

ELLE.Kateryna, I remember the first performance featuring you, «The Sleeping Beauty» – how you operated a puppet in the production and very quickly became one of the leading dancers, and recently a choreographer as well, of «Kyiv Modern Ballet». How did fate bring you to this very theatre?
Kateryna Kurman (K.K.).My godmother said even when I was a child: «I see you in this theatre». It was she who planted this little seed in me. When I was about ten, she took me to «The Nutcracker», and from that time it began to sprout.
It became my dream and my goal – at first an unconscious one. Then I came to Kyiv and found out that in two days there would be a casting for «Kyiv Modern Ballet». I very much wanted to see what kind of theatre this was, the one where such art is created, what kind of people were there. I did not go in order to be accepted; I was curious about how everything was arranged there, what the atmosphere was like.
In this theatre everything works so much for the sake of art that you seemingly have no option but to serve it. Absolutely everyone – both our inspired leaders and the team as a whole – deeply believes in what we create and show on stage. So that little seed, planted once upon a time, sprouts into faith in the meanings we bring to the stage for the audience. In any case, you strive to be part of this great, already running machine. It cannot be otherwise – that is how it should be.

ELLE.You have been working as part of «Kyiv Modern Ballet» since 2018. What are your favourite parts, characters?
K.K.Carmen and «La Traviata» – the character of Violetta. These parts drive the dynamic of the search within me: how to do it, how to recreate a coherent character on stage so that nothing distracts, and to convey to the audience as fully as possible the true motives of each heroine. These are profound characters, in which every movement, every gesture, every glance is worked out down to the smallest detail – both in the head and in the body.
I really love the playful parts, for example, the character of the Angel in «Discrimination»: there you can be funny, and that is very cool. But I always remember the fine line between a bad joke that is not funny at all and that subtle, finely crafted humour that works.  I love «Two on a Swing».  There are many productions of our theatre that resonate with me: «The Long Christmas Dinner», «Women in D Minor», «Rain», «Tomorrow». There is also the part of the Pannochka, which for a time I did not want to take on: I did not feel it – too demonic for me. And Oleksandr Rodin’s music pierces you to the bone, it is positively eerie. This part and I «made friends» only last year – so much so that I became eager to live through it on stage. 

ELLE.Ukraine, and the world as a whole, sadly cannot boast a great number of female ballet choreographers. How did you approach fulfilling yourself in this guise? 
K.K.I have loved creating anything to do with dance and movement ever since childhood. I even put on concerts in the village (Kateryna grew up in the Odesa region. – Ed.): we would gather as children, we were eight to ten years old back then. This greatly strengthened the imagination and the belief that what is conceived can be brought to life. Then came the college and the university – they nourished this aspiration. And such a master, my Teacher and a person close to me in spirit, Radu Vitaliiovych, saw all of this and helped a great deal. His support is a most important component. And I am grateful to all the people involved in creating the production «Alice Through the Looking-Glass»! Were it not for them, there would be no such scale, nor the production itself.
Gradually I came to this path with faith inside me – and with the right, important people beside me. Our teachers sometimes turn out to be extraordinarily kindhearted people who help and motivate with inspiration, with faith in the heart.
I do not now draw much of a distinction within myself between «woman – man», «female choreographer – male choreographer». What matters to me is what you create, and the honesty in how you do it.

ELLE. What served as the impulse to stage «Alice Through the Looking-Glass» in particular?
K.K. I always liked this work, the cartoons and the books. For me it is an entirely different, very curiously arranged dimension. There is a clear sequence and chaos at one and the same time – I love that (smiles). The first impulse was a call from Dmytro Kondratiuk, my colleague: «Katia, I was thinking about you, we are going to stage «Alice». I replied: «Well, interesting, let’s try!». 
And literally the next day, when I was travelling from Odesa, I met a friend whom I had not seen for eight years. He decided to give me two wrapped books, so it was unclear what was inside. When I sat down on the train and unwrapped them, they turned out to be «Alice Through the Looking-Glass» and «Alice in Wonderland». So, I realised, this work wants to be brought to life. This combination of an inner love for the material and such signs made «Alice» a natural choice for the debut. And in general it seems to me that we are all a little bit of an Alice in this world (smiles).

ELLE. This year’s high-profile world premiere of the contemporary ballet «Solaris», in the jubilee year for the Lviv Opera, is a very refined work of yours. Music by Oleksandr Rodin, libretto by Vasyl Vovkun, conductor and stage director Ivan Cherednichenko – a mega-team! Stanisław Lem’s novel in the language of dance: everyone who saw it  came away with incredible impressions and sincerely thanks you. How did you manage it? What did you personally put into this production?
K.K.It was achieved thanks to the people who created the production together with me. The team was large, and there were countless processes, all very different. Were it not for the director Vasyl Vovkun with his guidance, vision and faith, were it not for the conductor and stage director Ivan Cherednichenko, nothing would have happened. It was my first experience of working with an orchestra: an entirely different dimension, and Mr Ivan carefully introduced me to it, explaining how everything works. Add to this the enchanting music of Oleksandr Rodin, which cannot fail to touch you to the quick.
Oleksii Busko (ballet dancer, choreographer, ballet master and stage director, director. – Ed.) was always alongside; we searched for and discussed a great deal of how and what should be. And, of course, the dancers: at first with a slight wariness, because for many it was new and unfamiliar, but a drop of faith and love works wonders. In particular, Svitlana Reinish made an important contribution, she created the entire visual design. So a super-cool team – thanks to this everything came about. Personally, I put into it a love for nature, because we are all part of it, God’s creations. For me it is important to remember about trust, kindness and sensitivity towards one another, about a sincere desire to understand. Magic is born when you truly want to create it and carry the light within yourself.

ELLE. What keeps you personally going  during the war? Where do your sources of strength lie?
K.K.My family keeps me going – it restores a state of balance and sanity.
The sources of strength are the desire for development and the desire for the new. When you are constantly interested in something, the brain works, you feel inspired, you meet people and ideas, you form connections. This gives an inner resource and an outward focus, it helps to endure the real situation in our country – the horrific events, the hard nights, the tragic news. And, of course, physical activity: it returns me to my body, grounds me and calms me.
ELLE. Share your nearest plans – as a dancer, a choreographer, a personality.
K.K.There are ideas, there is inspiration, and most importantly – there is an impulse within for creating. I believe that in the nearest future we will give this form and shape it into concrete steps – in dance, in productions and in life.

text by Myroslava MAKAREVYCH