Without Cinderella

In the nomination “Modern Dance – Best Performance”, experts chose four performances. Two small solos - both from Chelyabinsk - “Audrey” by Maria Greif, who made a charming dedication to the famous actress, and “Nesolo” by Vladimir Golubev, who created a new genre of dance stand-up comedy. And two full-length works - “She Rides a Bicycle” by Elena Prokopieva (the creator of the “Fortress Ballet” moved from Irkutsk to St. Petersburg; several years ago, while still a Siberian, she amazed Moscow with a powerful and generously colored dance interpretation of “The House of Bernarda Alba”) and “Above the Sky” by Sergei Smirnov, the leader of modern dance pop. It is strange that Prokopyeva is included in the private category of choreographers, but Greif and Golubev are not; they staged for themselves and dance themselves, if their performance is good, then besides them, who is to blame for this?

In the ballet nominations, the expert council did not skimp: seven performances were nominated. Two from the Bolshoi Theater (firstly, “The Game of Cards”, and nominated in the private nomination “Best Work of a Choreographer” by Alexei Ratmansky; secondly, “Carmen Suite”, and in the nomination “Best Actress” - Maria Alexandrova ). Two from the Mariinsky Theater (“Ondine”, its choreographer Pierre Lacotte, starring Evgenia Obraztsova and Leonid Sarafanov; and “The Overcoat”, its choreographer Noah D. Gelber and Andrei Ivanov, who was Akaki Akakievich in the play). Two more are from the Novosibirsk Theater (“Cinderella” and its director Kirill Simonov, “Russian Seasons” and Alla Sigalova, who created them). And finally, the performance of the St. Petersburg Ballet Theater named after Leonid Yakobson “Exercise XX”.

With the latter, everything is clear: the theater, which is engaged in the revival of long-standing (“Exercise” is thirty-six years old) performances of a beaten, bent and ultimately destroyed by the Soviet government of a talented choreographer, is supported for its honest memorial fervor. It’s also clear with Novosibirsk - life there has been in full swing lately, and it’s always interesting what this competent and open-minded troupe will do. Even if the choreography can inspire fears, as in the case of Kirill Simonov, who polished his talent at the Mariinsky Theater under the direction of Mikhail Shemyakin - some birth injuries are incurable - the theater will still pull out the performance.

There is a clear compromise in the “St. Petersburg” choice: yes, “Ondine” is indisputable (not a masterpiece, but a neat example of the French style, and Obraztsova is so precise in every small movement of her legs that I can’t even believe that she never studied for a day in France), and here is “The Overcoat”... An American - Forsythe's tutor, who has created a drama ballet in the best traditions of Rostislav Zakharov and the cast-iron forties, was rewarded with inclusion on the short list, probably for his unexpected love for Soviet ballet. However, maybe the experts decided that he was not serious, that this was some kind of postmodern gesture? Then why didn’t they include “The Golden Age”, created by him in the same season, where the genre boiled over and poured out of the pan - on stage the suffering heroine lay in bed under a natural IV?

As for the Bolshoi Theater, “Cinderella” is not on the list of stunning beauty (nominated by the expert council, it cannot be shown due to the Bolshoi Theater’s tour in America, that is, the theater recused itself), but there is “Carmen”, which was already forty years old. . Well, yes, then Maya Plisetskaya saved her, now Maria Alexandrova is doing this - well, nominate only the ballerina, why bother with the whole performance?

And here we can see the main problem of “The Mask” related to ballet. The most important acting events in this art are not celebrated due to the strict regulations of the award. The main acting events in the past season? Please. In the Mariinsky Theater - yes, Obraztsova (the only coincidence). But also a manifestation, a delineation of the appearance of Vladimir Shklyarov. Powerful performance by Igor Zelensky in Concerto grosso. Fantastic "Carmen" by Nikolai Tsiskaridze. At the Bolshoi - Alexandrova's appearance in "Raymonda" (which was much more interesting than "Carmen"). Ekaterina Shipulina, from a faithful “technician” who turned in “Cinderella” into a desperate and free ballerina (an absolutely fabulous metamorphosis). Ekaterina Krysanova, who suddenly grew up in the Bolshoi, is a completely “Western”, Balanchine ballerina. We could go on - but it’s clear: premieres in our time appear and disappear from the repertoire, acting events remain in history. “The Mask” does not take into account the specifics of ballet art and therefore does not notice the most important things.

Anna GORDEEVA