Third edition of Tbilisi Ballet Festival
By Mariam Chanishvili
Friday, June 28
The Third edition of the Tbilisi Ballet Festival kicked off on June 22. The closing gala concert will take place on June 30.
The Artistic Director of the Festival is Nina Ananiashvili, a Georgian ballerina and artistic director of the State Ballet of Georgia. The Daily Telegraph has named her as one of the twelve greatest ballerinas of all time.
Ananiashvili thanked the Embassy of Italy, Friends of the Georgian Ballet, South Korea's K-Arts Dance Company, every visiting guest star, and all professionals, “who grace with their dedication and hard work our Opera and Ballet Theatre.”
“For us, this festival, our ballet company, the art of ballet is not just about professional or economic value. It’s about the culture of our nation; it is what defines us as a civilization. Culture helps us understand the world around us, explain it, and sometimes escape from it - as Picasso put it- “washing the dust of daily life from our souls,” she noted.
Spectators were able to see the performances of the distinguished ballet stars and prominent ballet companies.
The program included: Le Conservatoire, The Two Pigeons (premiere); Korean Ballet “K-Arts Dance Company” - Gala Performance; Giselle; Swan Lake and the Gala Concert.
The audience was able to see Adolphe Adam’s two-act Giselle, which became largely popular since its first performance in 1841 and was staged across Europe, Russia, and the United States.
Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s two-act ballet Swan Lake will take place on June 28 (Choreographic version and staging by Alexey Fadeechev), showcasing Nino Samadashvili (Odette/Odile) and Ruslan Skvortsov (Prince Siegfried).
Festival Closing and Gala Performance will feature Victoria Jaiani, Temur Suluashvili (Joffrey Ballet, Chicago, USA), Francesco Piccinin (Estonian National Ballet), Martina Arduino, Marco Agostino (La Scala Theatre, Milan, Italy), Ruslan Skvortsov, Anastasiia Goriacheva, Ana Turazashvili (The Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow, Russia) , accompanied with the Ballet Company and Orchestra of the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet State Theatre and conducted by Alevtina Ioffe.
The Tbilisi Ballet Festival, founded in 2017, is aiming to popularize the art of ballet.
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In the framework of the third Tbilisi Ballet Festival, South Korea’s internationally renowned K-Arts Dance Company performed for the first time in Georgia at the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet Theatre. The dancers and choreographers received standing ovations after their remarkably vibrant shows on June 25 and 26, 2019.
The two distinctive programs included Korean traditional dance (Hallyangmu, Sogo Chum – Hand Drum Dance), classical ballet (excerpts from La Sylphide, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, and Diana and Actaeon Pas de Deux), contemporary dance (Bow, MOB, and No Comment), and contemporary Korean pieces (The White Road, Gak-si, and Whispering and Calling, to name a few).
At the initiative of the School of Dance of the Korea National University of Arts, the K-Arts Dance Company was established in 1997 with the goal of becoming a launching platform for professional dancers. The company consists of students of the Korea National University of Arts. One of the major focuses for K-Arts’ School of Dance is to provide professional level performance opportunities for talented students in Korea, as well as abroad. The Company’s Artistic Director is Misook Jeon.
