At a ballet competition in Sochi, a participant fainted

“We are confident that our current campaign to search for ballet talents will be crowned with success, will reveal the names of talented young people, allow them to establish themselves in the profession, and strengthen their will to win,” the great choreographer of the XX wrote in his message to the IX International Competition “Young Ballet of the World” century and the founder of the competition, the 96-year-old patriarch of Russian ballet Yuri Nikolaevich Grigorovich, who was not present at the competition this time due to his age, but instructed the jury members on his behalf to plant a small tree in Sochi National Park in honor of the competition – Elliott pine, which grows more than 200 years.

The name “Young Ballet of the World” reflects the main feature of the competition: among the laureates, mostly artists are still completely unknown, who, however, in the future can become real stars. And the competition at the competition was the most exciting: out of more than 50 performers who sent their applications, 10 performers in the junior group and 11 in the senior group reached the third round, while many interesting participants, having scored fewer points, simply did not make it to the finals.

Thus, 19-year-old participant from Great Britain Hector Moore, who cannot imagine himself without Russian ballet, was unlucky. The guy graduated from the Moscow Academy of Choreography this year, went to England, managed to work at the English National Ballet, but returned to Russia, where he is trying to get a work permit and build his career.

A share of points was not enough for Dmitry Uksusnikov, the leading soloist of the Belarusian Bolshoi Theater, and Nina Skrebkova from the Belarusian Gymnasium-College to qualify for the third round. Dancers from this country generally performed well at the competition, and Elizaveta Privalchuk, a representative of the same Belarusian academy-college in the junior group, generally became a silver laureate.

The best among men could be called 28-year-old Artem Bankovsky, if he performed at the competition not just as a partner, but took part in the competition, especially since age restrictions allowed this. The former premier of the Bolshoi Theater of Belarus was remembered even before the competition for his excellent performance on the Historical Stage of the Bolshoi Theater in the role of the Nutcracker Prince during the tour of the Belarusian Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, and at the competition he confirmed this impression even more.

The tension during the performances was such that the fragile Kazakh ballerina Akbota Bekbolatova, who resembled Malika Sabirova, fainted in the first round right on stage after performing her variation. She performed at the competition with Bogdan Verbov, who eventually became the gold laureate of the competition.

The gold was awarded to a truly first-class dancer. 20-year-old Bogdan Verbovoy is still very young, but he is already leading the repertoire at the Kazakh National Opera and Ballet Theater. Abaya. Moscow audiences might remember this artist from the Moscow international competition that took place at the Bolshoi Theater last year. There he competed at number 13, reached the third round and became a diploma winner. And in June of this year, he performed wonderfully on the Historical Stage of the Bolshoi Theater in the role of Romeo as a nominee for the Benois de la danse prize, which is often called the ballet Oscar in the world.

To be nominated from Kazakhstan for an Oscar and not receive gold at the Young Ballet of the World – such nonsense could not happen, and, of course, it did not happen. Bogdan and his beautiful partner Akbota Bekboltova stood out from the first round. The young and not yet fully strengthened ballerina did not receive a medal, but she was among the finalists. Bogdan Verbovoy, who supported her at the competition, also turned out to be an excellent partner and an extraordinary artist.

In addition to the technical difficulties, he stood out at the competition for his excellent acting, giving the pas de deux from Petipa’s ballet Harlequinade, which was rather “hackneyed” from frequent performances, charm and originality. But in the third round, his nerves gave way, and in the pas de deux from the ballet “Don Quixote” he made several negligence. But his lead in points was such that he became first, and beyond any competition.

– This is my first gold medal at such large-scale competitions. There were victories, but still not at such prestigious competitions as the Grigorovich competition. “I’m a little dissatisfied with my performance in the third round, but such dissatisfaction is inherent in our profession,” Bogdan told me immediately after he learned of his victory in the competition.

If Bogdan Verbovoy is already quite famous in the ballet world, then another discovery of the competition this year was an artist who is still completely unknown – a representative of the Moscow Theater. Natalia Sats Alexey Pomytkin. He is 23 years old.

I remember Alexey from the recent premiere of “Giselle” at the Sats Theater, where artistic director Kirill Simonov re-staged the peasant pas de deux, and to the music of Adan (in the classical version, this pas de deux is set to the music of Burgmüller). The guy already then clearly stood out with his lifts and spins, but the way he danced at the competition went far beyond just good performance.

The variations of Actaeon from the ballet “Esmeralda”, Lanquedem from “The Corsair”, or Philip from “The Flames of Paris” were distinguished by excellent technique and breadth of dance. The dancer graduated from the Novosibirsk Choreographic School, worked briefly at the Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theater, and soon moved to Moscow.

Once, while participating in one insignificant competition, he did not even make it to the second round and decided to prove to himself that he “can.” And he proved it at the Young Ballet of the World, so much so that both the public and specialists admired it. At the competition, the jury was clearly greedy, awarding him only a bronze medal, which he shared with a dancer from the Donetsk Opera and Ballet Theater. Solovyanenko Valery Vidmankin.

Representatives of Kazakhstan, especially among men, were clearly in the lead at the competition, and another dancer from the Abay Theater, Kaskyrbay Eskali, rightfully won silver at the competition, sharing it with a young 20-year-old dancer from the Moscow Musical Theater. Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko by Evgeniy Maslennikov. The artists of this theater also became favorites of the competition.

– First of all, why I came to the competition is, of course, practice, the opportunity to dance on stage in front of the audience… To feel myself on stage, to spin, to feel my body, myself on the axis, my center of gravity, to jump… But it is very important to practice in front of the audience, with all the surroundings, when you know that you have some responsibility. In order to present oneself as a real artist, Evgeniy Maslennikov, who works at the Stanislavsky Theater in the corps de ballet, but clearly aims for a more status position, tells me. To show what he is capable of, he came to the competition.

– Did you come here hoping to win? – I ask the gold medalist of the competition, Anfisa Oshchepkova. She is 21. She is a graduate of the Eifman Academy, after which she was also invited to the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Musical Theater, where she has been working for the second year with her teacher Margarita Drozdova. She had no competitors at the competition and the gold medal rightfully went to her.

“It’s not that I didn’t have hopes, but I didn’t go with the goal of getting some kind of place.” I wanted to get a new experience. Endurance develops. Different conditions: different light, different gender… And all this helps to get together, helps to tune in, to feel your body differently. That is, you learn to control it even stronger and even better. And it was just a great experience.

– When you found out about the victory, what were your feelings?

– Just a delight! I didn’t even believe it at first! The first feeling is what is really happening to me?

Other winners of the Sochi competition also turned out to be promising dancers. Anastasia Nikolskaya, an artist of the Donetsk Opera and Ballet Theater, received second place among women in the senior group. Solovyanenko, and the third is the Japanese ballerina Shibagaki Miu, soloist of the Saratov Opera and Ballet Theater.

Among the winners in the younger group are almost entirely students of the Moscow Academy of Choreography. But the academy did not prepare boys for the competition this time. Apparently, all of its best graduates graduated from the academy this year. For example, the gold laureate of the last Moscow International Competition, who two years ago represented the Academy at the previous VIII Yuri Grigorovich Competition and who also won gold then, Makar Mikhalkin, has been performing since this season on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater.

There was generally “tension” with the boys in the younger group this time. Only two participants came to the competition. One of them, although very gifted, is 18-year-old Tigran Ayvazyan from Armenia. And he was clearly “convicted.” Despite first-class data and excellent performances in all rounds, he was awarded only third place.

But there were a lot of girls in the competition in the younger group, and there were some very good ones. Kamila Sultangareeva, who moved to the Moscow Academy this year from the St. Petersburg Academy of Russian Ballet. AND I. Vaganova. She is 18 years old. It was she who won first prize and a gold medal at the competition among girls.

The special prize of the competition “For the best contemporary choreography” went to Nina Madan, who staged for the competition an excellent number to the music of Maria Tchaikovskaya “Talk to Me”, beautifully performed by dancers from the Mari Opera and Ballet Theater Valeria Volkova and Danil Malov.

– Holding an international competition, especially in unfavorable conditions associated with a tense international situation, is probably a very difficult matter… What difficulties did the competition encounter? – I ask the deputy chairman of the competition jury, general director of the International Federation of Ballet Competitions Sergei Usanov.

– This time the competition was in jeopardy. Two days before the start, our partners – the Krasnodar creative association “Premiere” – refused to hold the competition. They entered into an agreement with the Winter Theater for only one day and staged their performance on the opening day of the competition, and that’s it! It’s good that Rosconcert and the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation are actively involved. Thank God, everything went without any disruptions, but at the last moment everything was done on nerves, enormous efforts were expended. As for the creative side itself, the competition was held as time allows now. There is simply no other option in this situation.

– Despite the difficult circumstances, the number of artists was approximately the same as at previous competitions. Although the number of countries has decreased. Many artists couldn’t come?

– Yes, many really wanted to come – I talked to them. They submitted applications, but due to the worsening international situation, they did not go at the last moment because pressure was put on them. In addition, the logistics of the trip itself are terribly expensive, and not everyone can afford it – transfers, flights. Moreover, you have to fly for more than a day, or even a day and a half.

This is difficult and, naturally, some refused at the last moment. Well, there are financial problems that did not allow some jury members to fly from America, Italy, and Turkey. Nevertheless, the competition was a success. I believe that in the conditions in which we now find ourselves, this is the best option that could be envisaged.