Kyiv City Ballet - Gala programme - York

[SheilaC]

The performance last night was very successful and raised nearly £27k for Unicef's Ukraine appeal. It had sold out within 3 hours of booking being opened to the general public.

 

Prior to the performance I had reservations about the format, with the first part concentrating on class. However it worked well as the director, Ivan Kozlov, introduced each part of class humorously and explaining aspects of ballet training, from the five positions to the number of years necessary for training. Given that many in the audience were likely to be sponsors rather than a regular ballet audience it probably gave them more insight into what ballet involves and enabled them to see dancers as individuals with different personalities before watching them as performers, projecting very different personas, in the second part.

 

The second part included excerpts from no less than 12 ballets. It opened with Odette's pas de deux from Swan Lake, backed by 12 corps members on the tiny stage. Kristina Kadashevych danced it with authority; later she gave a moving version of The Dying Swan. Her hands were very expressive, a feature of most of the dancers. I remembered the last time The Dying Swan was danced in York; by Marienella Nunez, no less, but dancing a different version, one danced by Ninette de Valois who taught it to Margeurite Porter who then coached Nela.

 

The other excerpts were very varied, including classical solos, from Paquita, Corsaire (two solos, one male, one female), Don Q, plus the corps and two soloists dancing the waltz from Nutcracker. There was an interesting modern solo and a pas de deux from yet another version of Carmen, and the Bulba solo by Lopukhov, which looked familiar, energetic Russian folk dance. There was an amusing duet, which the audience loved and finally 8 male dancers erupted n a lively show off piece. Altogether a varied programme and the in the finale the dancers took their applause by each dancing a brief dance related to what they had performed earlier.

 

Understandably the music, both for the class and the excerpts, was recorded. In the absence of decor the lighting varied for each piece and the costumes were attractive. The flooring was loaned by Northern Ballet. The production was professional, I've been to less slick galas in London. The standard of dancing varied but there were some good dancers. The audience was highly enthusiastic.

 

I see today that the company will be touring in the States later in the year. It struck me last night that there might be theatres in the UK that might book them to dance some of their full length productions, given that the various small Russian companies that toured here regularly will no longer be able to come. Ironically, much of their rep is Russian!

[Jeannette]

I have a truly dumb question:

 

Is “Kyiv City Ballet” the same as the ballet company based at the main national opera-ballet theatre in Kyiv? Or is this a private touring group…with or without some dancers from the national troupe based in the capitol’s opera house)?

[Jan McNulty]

Here is the website:

 

https://www.kcbtheater.com/about

 

There also seems to be a National Ballet based at the Opera House:

 

https://opera.com.ua/en/persons/baletna-trupa

 

[Jeannette]

Ah, so it’s a private group. I’m sure they’re wonderful.

 

The main national ballet troupe that’s based in the large opera house in Kyiv toured the US in 2018, including performances of The Sleeping Beauty here in Wash, DC, at the National Theatre, starring Sarafanov. Absolutely first rate.

[FionaM]

Another group has been formed called ‘Ballet de Kiev’.  They are performing Swan Lake in Teatre Tivoli in Barcelona 6-17 July 2022
 

https://es.teatrebarcelona.com/espectaculo/ballet-de-kiev-el-lago-de-los-cisnes?funcio_id=290100

 

It appears to be a group of dancers from Kiev gathered by principal Ana Sophia Scheller

[Naomi M]

Kyiv City Ballet is lead by Ivan Kozlov, former Kyiv, Eifman and Mariinsky Ballet dancer. During his short time at the Mariinsky, he was a favorite of Ulyana Lopatkina and danced with her quite frequently. There is a recording of him dancing Hans van Manen's Trois Gnossiennes with her.( in the Hans van Manen Festival DVD)

 

 

The National Ballet of Ukraine is a different company (although it seems some dancers there are guesting at Kyiv City Ballet). It will tour to Orlando, USA in August

https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/06/09/national-ballet-of-ukraine-to-perform-in-orlando-for-humanitarian-benefit-event/

and before that to Japan

Many international star dancers used to dance at National Ballet of Ukraine early in their careers, such as Cojocaru, Sarafanov, Ratmansky, Dvorovenko, Matvienko.

 

[Jeannette]

LOL - Nothing wrong with a little crafty marketing to sell tickets! 😉 

 

The benefit events in Orlando & Japan - cited in the above post - appear to be THE national company…the one in which the fabulous ballerina Nataliia Matsak dances.

 

All of this reminds me of the various “Moscow Ballets” / “Russian Imperial Ballet” / “Stars of Bolshoi” / “The Great Russian Nutcracker”, etc  that popped up in the early 1990s, touring all over the place. Many in the audience just assumed that they were watching THE Bolshoi.

 

Come to think of it, something similar happened in the 1930s with the name “Ballets Russes” after Diaghilev’s death.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 17, 2022 by Jeannette