Tsiskaridze made a gift for three anniversaries at once: a wedding and dolls

The event is planned in Moscow

The rector of the Academy of Russian Ballet named after A.Ya. gave himself a gift for his 50th birthday. Vaganova – Nikolai Tsiskaridze. He combined his anniversary and the 285th anniversary of the founding of the Academy, which he has been heading for ten years. On the occasion of three anniversaries at once, the original performance will be performed for the first time. Its first part will be the one-act ballet “Dancing at the Wedding” by modern choreographer Maxim Sevagin, who has presented a number of outstanding premieres over the past few theater seasons.

The Suite “Spanish Dances” by Enrique Granados became the basis of both the structure of the ballet and its national flavor. The performance is a diversion of dance numbers united by the location and event – a wedding. At the celebration of life, love and dance, there are all the heroes of the wedding celebration we know – the groom, the bride, parents, friends of the bride and groom and, of course, the matchmaker. The heroes strive to prove themselves and appear at their best, because at this festival one cannot do without competition for the most expressive performance.

Tsiskaridze also turned to the ballet “The Fairy Dolls” by J. Bayer.

For the first time, J. Bayer’s ballet “Im Puppenladen” (“In the Puppet Shop”) was shown in the palace of Prince Johann of Liechtenstein, and soon on October 4, 1888 at the Vienna Court Theater (choreographers I. Hasreiter and F. Gaul). At that time, Europe was experiencing another wave of fascination not only with mechanical toys, winding boxes, and mechanical pianos called “pianolas,” but also with music hall and circus performances. The ballet with puppets, composed to light, dance music by J. Bayer, was performed under various names on the stages of many European theaters and was one of the most popular at the end of the 19th century.

For the first time in Russia, “The Puppet Fairy” was staged at the Bolshoi Theater in 1897 by choreographer I. Mendes. The premiere of this ballet in St. Petersburg took place on February 7, 1903 at the Hermitage Theater in the presence of Emperor Nicholas II, his family and high-ranking guests. The design of the performance was entrusted to L. Bakst. He changed the setting of The Doll Fairy, moving it from Vienna to St. Petersburg in the 1850s. In his decorations, the artist accurately recreated the interior of the doll shop in Gostiny Dvor, through the large windows of which Nevsky Prospekt is visible. The collection of toys that belonged to L. Bakst’s friend, the artist A. Benois, inspired the creation of costumes for the ballet.

The directors of the new original performance were the leading dancers of the imperial troupe – Sergei Nikolai Legaty, who made their debut as choreographers. Nine days later, on February 16, 1903, the performance, which had won the approval of the emperor, was already performed on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater. “Fairy of Dolls” remained in his repertoire until 1925.

In 1989, the artistic director of the Leningrad Academic Choreographic School named after A.Ya. Vaganova – Konstantin Sergeev staged his own version of the ballet “Fairy of Dolls,” inspired by memories of the Legat brothers’ performance, for his students.

In 2015, on the initiative of the rector of the Academy of Russian Ballet named after A.Ya. Vaganova – Nikolai Tsiskaridze “Fairy of Dolls” has found a new life. Based on historical documents, the production of K.M. Sergeev, a new version of the ballet was created. The legendary sets and costumes of L. Bakst are reproduced down to the smallest detail. The teaching staff of the best classical ballet school in the world, headed by its director, N.M., took part in the work on “The Puppet Fairy”. Tsiskaridze.

The play takes place in a toy store in St. Petersburg. As soon as the last customers leave and the owner closes the shop, the dolls come to life. The Fairy invites Harlequin, Clown, Chinese, Japanese, French, Spanish dolls to the ball… Two Pierrots are in love with the beautiful Fairy of Dolls – sad and cheerful. She tries to pay attention to both, flirts and dances with each separately. The night ends. And with it magical transformations…

The premiere of the play is planned in Moscow.