Kyiv Modern Ballet presented Kyiv residents with an evening of short performances, combining miniatures already beloved by the audience with new works.
“Up the River”. Choreography: Radu Poklitaru. Music: O. Rodin
The one-act ballet “Up the River”, shown in the first section, is a fantasy based on the story by American writer Francis Scott Fitzgerald “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”. It is presented as a dying old man making a deal with the devil, after which his life, like a bright kaleidoscope, scrolls in reverse to the piercing music of Alexander Rodin. I admired this ballet for the second time (and God forbid, not the last!).
The second section consisted of stories that were very different in character and mood, unrelated to each other. The founder and chief choreographer of the theater, Radu Poklitaru, spoke about these works: “Postscript” is a kaleidoscope of choreographic short stories. Where each of them is a separate story, a separate cast of the everyday life and poetry of the life we live. In addition to my three premiere mini-ballets “The Shell”, “Sonata of Silver Light” and “I Love You”, you will be able to see the works of future stars of contemporary choreography of our country — and, I hope, the world — young ballet masters Kateryna Kurman and Ivan Zayets.
A whole galaxy of choreographers has grown up in art from the depths of our theater, and I am extremely happy that I was able to lend a friendly shoulder of help to my young colleagues when they were taking their first steps in art.”
“I Love You.” Choreography: Radu Poklitaru. Music: Peteris Vasks
These were short and meaningful stories, told in a language understandable anywhere in the world. With an exquisite composition of movements. And I really liked the lighting and background minimalism with an emphasis on the stunningly beautiful dancers. You look at these productions and it seems that you forget to breathe.
The actors don't just live the performance, they are so expressive, plastic, light, natural and incredible at the same time that you want to "put it all on repeat" and watch it again and again!
"The Dust of Your Window Sills" is a duet in which a desperate and beautiful passion pulsates, then subsiding, then flaring up.
"The Shell" is a patterned dance in which the bright beginning of a new life is felt, giving secret signs, its own unique code, its own solar impulses.
"Let's Dance Pergolesi" - there is something mechanical in this dance duet, as if it were the usual work of two dolls, behind the plastic shell of which two sensitive, gentle souls live.
The miniature "These People" is a vivid picture of the lives of neighbors or just friends to a playful French chanson. In two moods. Charmant!
"Sonata of Silver Light" seemed to me like the dream of a sleeping beauty who cannot choose one of two devoted fans, because they perfectly complement each other. Fantastic dancers. Oh, you have to take both!
The next "emerged" was a comic scene "for three" - "Oh, I'm an unhappy chumak". And this completely understandable "let's be!" was replaced by another love triangle - "1+1+1", where everything was much more complicated. In it, a man adored by everyone and two ardent women poured out their passions. The mood is fire, but you can't even imagine how it all ended!
After these playful trios, tragic notes suddenly appeared. The last was the largest miniature of the evening, “I Love You,” a story of a love funeral. “The Newly Deceased” receives angel wings and tries to help a young widow find new love. An emotional, kind, but very sad story. Radu Poklitaru spoke about this work of his: “This is my choreographic fantasy about love, about the victory of pure feeling over death, and about the intersection of two worlds — the world of the living and the world of the dead. The music of the brilliant Latvian composer Peteris Vasks allowed us to create a performance of enormous emotional extroversion.”
After these playful trios, tragic notes suddenly appeared. The last was the largest miniature of the evening, “I Love You,” a story of a love funeral. "The Newly Deceased" receives angel wings and tries to help a young widow find new love. An emotional, kind, but very sad story. Radu Poklitaru spoke about this work of his: "This is my choreographic fantasy about love, about the victory of pure feeling over death, and about the intersection of two worlds — the world of the living and the world of the dead. The music of the brilliant Latvian composer Peteris Vasks allowed us to create a performance of enormous emotional extroversion."
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