The art of ballet is one of the most harmonious and spectacular forms of art. For many people, ballet is a bright celebration for the soul, hearing, eyes and the highest pleasure. But also ballet is the greatest mystery for intellectuals and, of course, a fairy tale from which one does not want to return.
The most famous major Russian ballet theaters are in Moscow and St. Petersburg. They present high-class performances, including from the point of view of modern design technologies.
Ballet as a form of art: from its inception to ...
Ballet as a form of art can be associated with the mythology of Ancient Greece, despite the fact that this direction is quite young. After all, ballet was born as a synthetic form based on three arts - music, drama (theater), plastic (dance), and later added the art of painting. But the basis of the ballet performance is still dance. And the patroness of dance in Greek mythology was Terpsichore's muse. The patroness of the tragedy was the muse of Melpomene, and tragedy often becomes the basis of the plots of ballet performances.
The prerequisites for the emergence of ballet as a synthetic art form still lie in primitive society, and more precisely in its ritual rites, where ritual dramaturgy, solo plastic of a shaman or priest, the mass dance of fellow tribesmen and accompaniment on primitive "musical instruments", most often noise and percussion, were combined and later winds. The development of plot plastic to music received in the era of ancient civilizations. In the medieval era, mimes, or histrions, wandering universal actors, became carriers of pantomime art.
Starting from the Renaissance, especially in the New Age, staged ballet in the royal palaces was developed in the countries of Western Europe - one of the most popular entertainments of the aristocracy of that time. True, you would not see the development of the plot in these performances, and the dance was more like a ceremony of changing beautiful poses to music. But gradually, ceremonial ballet began to change. For the first time, the Venetians played a special role in the plot, and then the French, or rather Italian dancers who moved to France and promoted this new art form there.
Ballet in Russia: the origins
The ballet came to Russia from Italy during the reign of Anna Ioannovna, who loved entertainment and invited foreign theater troupes to St. Petersburg on a contractual basis. Among them was Italian, who introduced the Petersburg aristocracy to a new art form.
And at the Winter Palace they even opened a dance school, led by the French dancer and choreographer Jacques Landet. Later, already in the 19th century, in the history of Russian ballet Gertrude Rossi and Jean Lepic left their mark. But the formation and rise of ballet art was due to the patriarch of Russian ballet Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and choreographer Marius Petipa. At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, Sergey Diaghilev, who organized the Russian Seasons in Paris, contributed to the development and popularization of Russian ballet in Europe and the world.
Moscow ballet: yesterday and today
Thanks to the production of Marius Petipa to the music of Tchaikovsky, ballet performances, which have already become classics of Russian ballet, still do not leave the stage. In Moscow, ballet is primarily associated with a theater such as the Bolshoi. It was formed on the basis of its predecessor - the Petrovsky Theater and until the middle of the XIX century showed only dramatic performances. But in the second half of the century, more and more often on its stage began to present opera and ballet performances.
But in the capital there is not one scene where you can watch ballet performances. Ballet in Moscow often takes place in the Concert Hall of the Cosmos Hotel, the Kremlin Palace and the New Opera Theater. Recently, in addition to classical ballets, they began to present ballets to music and staged by contemporary artists. They are sometimes quite controversial, but many are very successful. Although not every adherent of classical ballet can appreciate them.
Ballet Theater in Moscow: show-ballet "Kostroma"
A new type of ballet art of our time appeared - the ballet theater. Among them are the following theaters: named after I. Moiseyev, “Ballet Moscow”, the name of the ballet B. Eifman and the show ballets “Gzhel” and “Kostroma”. But this is far from all the groups specializing in modern ballet concepts. The Russian national ballet "Kostroma" was born in the early 90s of the XX century thanks to the idea and creative burning of Elena and Yuri Tsarenko. He continued his development and achieved worldwide fame thanks to their son, Ivan Tsarenko.
Having originated in Kostroma and having absorbed its ancient traditions that permeate all the ballet work of the collective, the theater has become a hallmark of not only its homeland, but also the whole country. The Russian national ballet "Kostroma" annually represents Russia on world stages and, of course, performs more time in its capital.