“Kyiv Modern Ballet” Academic Theatre presents a new project — the one-act ballet “DiscrimiNATION”
The ballet “DiscrimiNATION” is a choreographic fantasy consisting of a series of, at first glance, completely unconnected novella-parables that tell, non-linearly and in the most generalised way, about different kinds of discrimination.
With the financial support of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation, on 21 October 2023 the Academic Theatre «Kyiv Modern Ballet» presents a new project — the one-act ballet «DiscrimiNATION» to music by George Frideric Handel and Valentin Silvestrov. The performance will take place on the stage of the ICCC October Palace.
The production team of the ballet «DiscrimiNATION»: Radu Poklitaru, principal choreographer of the Academic Theatre «Kyiv Modern Ballet», Honoured Artist of Ukraine — libretto, choreography, staging. Oleksandr Bilozub, People’s Artist of Ukraine — set designer. Dmytro Kuriata — costume designer
The ballet «DiscrimiNATION» is a choreographic fantasy made up of a series of novella-parables that, at first glance, are in no way connected with one another, and that will tell, in a non-linear and maximally generalized way, of various kinds of discrimination. They are bound together by the uninterrupted movements of the choreography and of inner life, by the emotions and the divergences of human society, in which, like a drop of water, the entire Universe and all of Humanity are concealed. They are united by ideas that will promote the values of the democratic, civilized world. They will focus attention on the problems of the phenomena of discrimination and tolerance, of contempt and mutual understanding, of a person’s awareness of their own identity, and of the formation of that modern community of people which we call a nation.
The production team on the distinctive features of the «DiscrimiNATION» project:
«At first glance, an exploration of such a complex concept as discrimination may seem an unobvious choice for the main theme of a large dance production. Yet at the heart of all manifestations of discrimination lies a conscious or unconscious desire to make another person’s life unbearable; it is the quintessence of emotional suppression, of the humiliation of the human individual. Dance, in turn, is above all emotional by its very nature. That is why everything vividly emotional in our lives, even if with a negative tinge, is a wonderful object for study and reflection through the creation of a choreographic-directorial text — the body of a ballet production», says Radu Poklitaru of the ideas behind the new ballet.
«In the «DiscrimiNATION» project, one can trace an appeal to the theme of industrialization as a new sign-and-semantic system, and to the theme of the newest forms of urban communication. The apologetics of urbanism will not only dictate a certain range of images, themes or subjects of the choreographic design, but will also prompt an intensive search for unconventional ways of embodying them, and hence a radical renewal of the entire system of expressive means — something that will be traced not only in the scenographic design, but also in the aesthetics of the costumes», says Oleksandr Bilozub, People’s Artist of Ukraine, of the distinctive features of the stage design.
According to the vision of costume designer Dmytro Kuriata, the clothing will reflect the cosmopolitanism and urbanization of the modern world in a costume palette resembling the colours of a big city’s kaleidoscope — the colour of asphalt, of concrete and of brick.
«In the forms and silhouettes of the costumes, which are allusions to the architectural forms of cities, the so-called metaphor of the outer shell, within which a living soul is imprisoned, will be reflected. The structurality and geometry of urban buildings is the basis of the rhythmic-metric construction of the costume», notes Dmytro Kuriata.
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