Київ Модерн-балет | |
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 Interactive map of Kyiv Modern-Ballet | |
| Address | 2 Mezhyhirska St. Kyiv Ukraine |
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| Opened | December 19, 2005 (2005-12-19) |
| Website | |
| kyivmodernballet | |
The AcademicKyiv Modern-ballet Theatre (Ukrainian:«Київ Модерн-балет», fully titledCommunal facility 'Theatrical and entertainment establishment of culture "Academic Kyiv Modern-ballet Theatre"') is aUkrainian theatre of modernchoreography, which was designed as authorial, with the repertoire and artistic priorities being determined by the production of one, single choreographer.
This theatre seeks to create an artistic laboratory of modern dancing with its daring experiments, with the original, unconventional interpretations of world-famous theatrical plots, and with the renovation and enrichment of the form and language ofmodern dancing.[1] It performs on a tour quite a lot, both in Ukraine and abroad.[2] The founder and the head ballet master of the Theatre isRadu Poklitaru[3] — the Honoured Worker of Art of Ukraine, the winner of theShevchenko National Prize of Ukraine, the People's Artist of Moldova.[4][5][6]
The history ofKyiv Modern-ballet begins on December 19, 2005, with the first night of the productionLe forze del destino (Ukrainian:«Le forze del destino / Сили долі»), commissioned byVolodymyr Filippov's Art Foundation,[7] which involved the main creative resources of the would-be theatre – choreographerRadu Poklitaru, scenographer Andriy Zlobin, costume artist Hanna Ipatieva, lighting producer Olena Antokhina, sound producer Oleksandr Kuriy, choreographer assistant Anatoliy Kozlov, and a number of performers who later became a part of the permanent company.[8]
The one-act productionLe forze del destino reproduced the atmosphere of the old theatre of the 1930s – 1940s, with its diverse soft scenery; in which the new interpretation of the classical opera hits (the arrangement of Pavlo Shevchuk) was performed by Olena Hrebeniuk (soprano), and the intense action was described in reviews as follows: "It is difficult to discern the precise contents of the production; the title, however, comes the closest to it. This collage of opera airs is "cemented" by the leit-motif ofVerdi's operaLa forza del destino, which sounds each time in different modifications."[2]
The companyKyiv Modern-ballet Theatre Ltd. with Radu Poklitaru as its head was registered on July 18, 2006, and supported by the patron of art Volodymyr Filippov. In the course of all-Ukrainian casting, 16 young dancers were selected. The academic ballet education was not a necessary criterion for being admitted to the company; however, all the performers were professional modern dancers, knowledgeable about classical dancing and capable of conducting a classical lesson.[2]
The two-part balletCarmen.TV to the music ofGeorges Bizet was first presented on October 25, 2006, at theIvan Franko National Academic Drama Theater. The production was awarded two prizes ofThe Kyiv Pectoral contest – in the nominationsThe best production of the year andThe best plastic interpretation of the production. Olga Kondakova who played the part of Carmen was nominated forThe best female performer.[9] In 2008 the Theatre was awardedThe Kyiv Pectoral prize in the specially established nominationThe event of the year for the selection of illustrious new productions:The Verona Myth: Shakespearements to the music ofPyotr Tchaikovsky,George Handel and theRenaissance music (2006),Bolero ofMaurice Ravel (2007);Rain to the music ofJohann Sebastian Bach and folk music of the world (2007), andThe Nutcracker ofPyotr Tchaikovsky (2007).[10]
In collaboration with theNational Opera of Ukraine the ballet-triptychThe Intersection to the music ofMyroslav Skoryk was produced;[11] the one-act balletHereven to the music of Vladimir Nikolaev is the co-production with thePerm Opera and Ballet Theatre (both in 2012).[12]
The year of 2013 turned out to be critical for the company when the Theatre found itself on the verge of closing down. The balletSwan Lake ofPyotr Tchaikovsky was thought to become the last production in the history of the Theatre. For financial reasons (exceedingly low salaries) 9 out of 21 performers of the company had to quit.[7] They were replaced by new ones, and the whole repertoire had to be renewed almost from scratch. The productions were made owing to the patrons' support. The balletGiselle was supported by Ludmyla Rusalina (the founder of thePetrus-Media holding), a number of projects were assisted byVolodymyr Borodiansky (the then Director General of theSTB (TV channel), the head ofStarLightMedia group); the direct participation of the businessman Andriy Demydov made the production ofSwan Lake possible.[13][14]
In March 2016 the productions ofKyiv Modern-ballet (he balletsSwan Lake,Women in D-Moll,The Long Christmas Dinner and the ballet-triptychThe Intersection) directed byRadu Poklitaru were honoured with theShevchenko National Prize of Ukraine in the nominationMusical Art. The application of the National Academy of Arts of Ukraine specifically pointed out thatThe semantic polyphony of dancing created by the maestro reproduces the intense dynamics and the vocabulary of "encoded" metaphors and sophisticated symbols, highlighting the dramatic depths of existence in the first place.[15][16]
From 2009 until 2017 theKyiv Modern-ballet company was incorporated into theKyiv Municipal Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre for Children and Youth, with most of the company's ballet productions being performed on its stage.
On October 5, 2017, the communal enterpriseTheatrical and entertainment establishment of culture "Kyiv Modern-ballet Theatre" was founded according to the decision of theKyiv City Council as of June 22, No610/2772On founding the theatrical and entertainment establishment of culture "Kyiv Modern-ballet Theatre" by separating it from the theatrical and entertainment establishment of cultureKyiv Municipal Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre for Children and Youth". It was specifically indicated that the theatrical and entertainment establishment of culture 'Kyiv Modern-ballet' Theatre is the legal successor of a part of property, rights and duties of the communal enterprise the theatrical and entertainment establishment of cultureThe Kyiv Municipal Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre for Children and Youth.[17]
In November 2017 the Theatre was assigned the rank ofacademic by the order of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine No1176On assigning the rank of 'academic' to the company of the communal enterprise "The theatrical and entertainment establishment of culture"'Kyiv Modern-ballet' Theatre" as of November 8.[18][19][20]
In February 2018 the Theatre was renamed the communal enterpriseThe theatrical and entertainment establishment of culture "The Academic Theatre 'Kyiv Modern-ballet' according to the decision of theKyiv City Council as of February 8 No11/4075On renaming the communal enterprise "The theatrical and entertainment establishment of culture 'Kyiv Modern-ballet' Theatre. The company numbers 23 performers.[21]
Four productions ofKyiv Modern-ballet were shortlisted for the rating pollThe Kyiv Score, which promulgated the list of the best Ukrainian productions of the 2000s in January 2021. 15 Ukrainian drama critics took part in the poll and included the productionsThe Long Christmas Dinner (2014),Carmen. TV (2006),No 6 Ward inThe Kyiv Score.[22]
Theatre reviews describeRadu Poklitaru as awizard of choreography, who inspires a new life in old fairy tales on the ballet stage –The Nutcracker,The Little Prince,Swan Lake....[23] Every new production of the company is based on the original interpretation of some apparently familiar story through the prism of Poklitaru's vision. Thus, only the characters' names are retained from the classical plot ofProsper Mérimée's short novelCarmen – a village girl Michaela becomes the central figure: this dreamy blond is captivated by the world of television serials (hence the title of the productionCarmen. TV);[24] hisGiselle is not a sweet country girl, but an unfortunate child of a big modern city;[25] the first episode ofSwan Lake begins with the murderous shooting of a swan family and the subsequent care of the rescued cygnet by the infernal Lord Rotbar;[26] the story of theNutcracker is not focused on a liitle daughhter of wealthy parents – it centers round a teenager, a backfisch who has to go begging in the cold, snow-covered streets of a big city and then has a wonderful dream, falling asleep in the open.[27]
The company has noinaccessible plots for the ballet; Poklitaru translates into the language of plastic artsF. Scott Fitzgerald'sThe Mysterious Story of Benjamin Button (Up the River); he combines, daringly, the story ofThe Little Prince byAntoine de Saint-Exupéry withMozart's early music аndUkrainianlullabies performed by Maria Pylypchak;[28] he tellsPushkin's storyThe Queen of Spades using the music ofPyotr Tchaikovsky, only not the expected one of the opera of the same name, but hisSecond andSixth Symphonies. The productions are exciting, up-to-date, ironic and, at times, comic, even bordering on mockery (In Pivo Veritas).[29][30]
The artistic images of the balletsCarmen. TV,Shakespearements,Rain andUnderground were developed by the scenic artist Hanna Ipatieva, a graduate of theNational Academy of Visual Arts and Architecture (the class of ProfessorMykola Storozhenko).[31] Hanna's scenery forGiselle is inspired by the prints of graphic works (Mykola Honcharov's) as the imagery language for theatrical costumes. The scenography (Carmen. TV,Shakespearements,Underground) is created by Andriy Zlobin, the Honoured Worker of Arts of Ukraine, a graduate of theLviv National Academy of Arts (the class of Eugene Lysyk)].[32] The scenic interpretation of productions is done in modern style (for instance, the action of the balletGiselle is transferred to dilapidated slums of a present-day megapolis).[25] The scenic artist Oleksandr Druhanov used the engravings ofDenis Diderot in the scenery of the ballet-triptychThe Intersection (2012) and brought the 3D-animation to the stage.[11] The permanent sound producer of all projects of the Theatre is Oleksandr Kuriy.
The laconism of visual highlights becomes symbolic. The delicate, vulnerable, as though naked, Rose has only one ornament – a luxurious bright royal bud. There is a solitary coat-rack on the stage with various clothing accessories the inhabitants of the Planets - and that coat-rack eloquently implies that all the characters are to be looked for in coils up in a tight knot or uncoils to a gigantic length like the banner of the Evil itself, who acquires the unbelievable plasticity and the scenic expressivity of movements owing to the visual effect of the performers' black-and-white costumes which become, for a few eerie moments of the ballet, parts of his flexible and omnipotent body.
In 2014, the costume artist Dmytro Kuriata joined the producing group in the balletsWomen in D-Moll,The Long Christmas Dinner (both in 2014),[34]Up the River (2016),The Sleeping Beauty (2018),Viy (2019),The Little Prince (2020), andThe Queen of Spades (2021). Since 2019, Olga Nikitina has been the art director of video projections; she developed the 3D mapping for the balletsViy (2019) andThe Little Prince (2020) and the continuum ofadded reality forThe Queen of Spades project (2021), similar to thereplenished reality andhybrid reality.[29]
The musical component of productions has a wide range from canonical ballet scores (Boléro ofMaurice Ravel,Swan Lake ofPyotr Tchaikovsky,Giselle ofAdolphe Adam and others), to authorial musical compilations (Two for the Seesaw to the music ofJohann Sebastian Bach andChavela Vargas,The Little Prince to the music ofWolfgang Amadeus Mozart andUkrainianlullabies,In pivo veritas to theIrish folk music and themusic of Renaissance,The Queen of Spades to the music ofSecond and theSixth symphonies ofPyotr Tchaikovsky, etc) and original musical compositions (the balletViy includes the recording ofOleksandr Rodin's opus performed by theNational Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine[35]). Radu Poklitaru puts it like this,...in most cases, my choreography is based on the musical material which is generally referred to as "classical music". It can be modern academic classical music, or the Baroque music, or the music of some earlier times. But, in each case, it is classical, even if I sometimes resort to bardic songs and folklore – these are the three foundations for my entire choreography.[36]
The history ofKyiv Modern-ballet registers a few productions the music for which was written specially. Those include the one-act balletHereven to the music of Vladimir Nikolaiev (co-production with thePerm Opera and Ballet Theatre, 2012)[12] and the ballet-triptychThe Intersection to the music ofMyroslav Skoryk (co-production with theNational Opera of Ukraine).[11] Maestro Skoryk himself was the conductor of his work during the performances ofThe Intersection. The two-act balletViy (2019) to the music of the Ukrainian composer Oleksandr Rodin also belongs here.[36]
Any new production of Radu Poklitaru is always the anticipation of the Maestro's new discovery, of a new trend in the modern art of choreography and, additionally, it is the certainty of coming into contact with the eternal values of Spirituality and Beauty, Kindness and Love.
Kyiv Modern-ballet is the authorial theatre whose repertoire comprises, by and large, the original productions of its founder Radu Poklitaru, which have become the most valuable possession of the theatre, received prestigious rewards and got the recognition of both experts and spectators.[37] Additionally,Kyiv Modern-ballet is the platform for the artistic quest of young Ukrainian choreographers who are ballet dancers at the same time. The latter produced, at different times, one-act balletsThe Spectre of the Rose (2014) andThe Seasons (2014) by Oleksandr Rodin directed by Oleksiy Busko;The Second Floor to the music of J.Black, N.Frahm and G.Santaolalla directed by Anatoliy Vodzianskiy (2016);Variations of Life to the music ofAlfred Schnittke,Henry Purcell,Ólafur Arnalds, S. Anderson andMax Richter, directed by Anna Herus (2017). There are also the productions of Anastasiya Kharchenko, Olena Dolgikh, Olersandr Manshylin, Volodymyr Mitiev, Viktoria Tolstova, Ruslan Baranov, Petro Naku, Vladyslav Detiuchenko and Kateryna Kurman.
The repertoire of the Theatre comprises one-act ballets produced by its leading performer Artem ShoshinCloser than Love to the music ofJohann Pachelbel,George Frideric Handel,Christoph Willibald Gluck,Antonio Vivaldi,Ezio Bosso,Alessandro Marcello (2015),Running Through Life to the music ofJohann Sebastian Bach,Wim Mertens, Max Richter (2016),Lovebirds to the music ofGustav Mahler andGiacomo Puccini (2019) and the mono-ballet of the leading dancer of the Theatre Illia MyroshnychenkoA Tree Cannot Run Away to the music ofPēteris Vasks,John Cage andEliseo Grenet. llia Myroshnychenko and Kateryna Kuznetsova together produced the anti-utopian ballet1984. Different to the music ofHildur Guðnadóttir andHauschka based onGeorge Orwell's novelNineteen Eighty-Four (2020).[38][39]
The repertoire includes thedivertissements of modern choreography (Con tutti i strumenti) in which Radu Poklitaru's experimental miniatures and the début choreographic productions of the company members are performed; this contributes to the high reputation ofKyiv Modern-ballet as a leading centre for the development of modern choreography in Ukraine.[40]
Since the first days of its existenceKyiv Modern-ballet has actively participated in various festivals and contests both in Ukraine and abroad.[7][41] The Theatre is a permanent participant of the biggest theatrical festivals:Time to Love Dances (Biarritz,France), Bienala Teatrului «Eugène Ionesco» – BITEI, the International Festival of Culture and Dancing (Bangkok,Thailand), the International Theatre Festival FITO (Oradea,Rumania), the International FestivalThe Ballet Summer in Bolshoi (Minsk,Belarus), the International Festival of Modern Choreography in Vitebsk (IFMC) (Vitebsk,Belarus), The International Festival-Contest of Choreographic Art (Łódź,Poland). The Theatre does not only go on tour to cities and towns ofUkraine, it is frequently invited for active collaboration by foreign representative agencies (for over nine years, the Theatre has collaborated with MTSM.B.V Music Theatre Stage Management owing to whose assistance the KMB productions are presented in the countries ofBenelux).[42]
Throughout the years of its existence the Theatre has represented Ukraine's art on tours inFrance,Spain,Switzerland,Netherlands,Belgium,Portugal,Rumania,China,Thailand,Russia,Belarus,Moldova,Estonia,South Korea, etc.[2][43]
The tour schedule of 2019 only includedOdesa,Kharkiv,Mykolaiv,Kherson,Poltava,Sumy,Vinnytsia,Khmelnytsky,Berdiansk,Mariupol,Kramatorsk,Sievierodonetsk,Dnipro,Kryvyi Rih,Zaporizhzhia,Cherkasy. The Theatre showed its productions on the stages of Salle Métropole (Lausanne), Théâtre du Léman (Geneva), Theater de Korenbeurs (Franeker), Theater Veluvine (Nunspeet), Theater Singer (Laren), Theater De Hofnar (Valkenswaard), Theater Voorhuys (Berstadt), Cultuur-En Congrescentrum Van (Veendam), Schouwburg (Lochem), ZINiN (Nijverdal), Cultura Ede (Molenstraat), Posthuis Theater (Heerenveen), Stadsgehoorzaal (Кampen).[44]
The Theatre participates in the traditional festivalThe Summer in Art Nouveau Style which is held inOdesa on the stage of theOdesa Opera and Ballet Theater. The first festival was organized in 2016 for the Theatre's tenth anniversary, the seventh took place in 2021.[37]
TheKyiv Modern-ballet Theatre answered the lockdown restrictions of thepandemic period with the online production ofThe Little Prince, the first performance of which on October 21, 2020 was watched by over 17 thousand people. On New Year Eve, December 31, 2020, the Theatre presented the online version of the balletThe Nutcracker, which was broadcast from theOctober Palace inKyiv.[23]
| Year | Prize | Nomination | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | TheKyiv Pectoral theatrical prize of the 2006/07[42] | The best production of the drama theatre | Carmen.TV | Won |
| The best choreography and plastic arts / plastic interpretation of a production | Radu Poklitaru (Carmen.TV) | Won | ||
| The best performance of a female part | Olga Kondakova (Carmen in the balletCarmen.TV) | Nominated | ||
| 2008 | TheKyiv Pectoral theatrical prize of the 2007/08[10][51] | The Event of the Year | Bolero Rain The Verona Myth: Shakespearements The Nutcracker | Won |
| 2013 | TheKyiv Pectoral theatrical prize of the 2012/13[61] | The artistic event at a musical theatre / The best production of a musical theatre | The Intersection | Won |
| 2014 | TheKyiv Pectoral theatrical prize of the 2013/14[62] | The artistic event at a musical theatre / The best production of a musical theatre | Swan Lake | Won |
| The best choreography and plastic arts / plastic interpretation of a production | Radu Poklitaru (Swan Lake) | Won | ||
| The best stage directing début | Oleksiy Busko (Seasons) | Nominated | ||
| 2016 | Shevchenko National Prize of Ukraine[15] | Musical Art | Swan Lake Women in D-Moll The Long Christmas Dinner The Intersection | Won |
| 2019 | GRA II All-Ukrainian Theatrical Festival-Prize[63] | The best choreographic/ballet/plastic production | The Sleeping Beauty | Nominated |
| 2020 | TheKyiv Pectoral theatrical prize of the 2019/20[64][65] | The best stage directing | Radu Poklitaru (Viy) | Nominated |
| The best performance of a male part | Illia Miroshnychenko (Khoma Brutus in the balletViy) | Nominated | ||
| The best musical conception of a production | Оleksandr Rodin (Viy) | Nominated | ||
| The best plastic interpretation of a production | Radu Poklitaru (Viy) | Won |
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